For some, the changing leaves are indicative of fall, while for others it's that alluring scent of the wildly popular pumpkin spice latte — a seasonal coffee drink, known as a PSL, that mysteriously gives you a burst of delicious pumpkin pie flavor without the hassle of baking or dishwashing.
Surprisingly, those spices that go into a homemade pumpkin pie constitute less than 11% of the pumpkin pie syrup, which gives your fall beverage its incredible flavor. It has an even smaller amount of actual pumpkin.
So how does the PSL manage to taste like pumpkin pie when it has so little of what makes pumpkin pie so awesome?
For the answer, we must turn to science. We first learned about the amazing science behind the popular drink from food scientist Kantha Shelke on the Institute of Food Technologists.
Here are the facts:
