US cinnamon addiction claims a new victim

Pringles has released a triumvirate of festive flavours in the US

Pringles has released a triumvirate of festive flavours in the US. This Christmas there will be pumpkin pie, white chocolate and peppermint – and sugar and sodding cinnamon.

Just what is it with our American cousins and cinnamon? You can't walk into a Starbucks over there without being assailed by it like a cloud of midges, or open a box of cereal without finding it spiked with "America's favourite spice". People even suggest putting it in your air conditioner to make your home smell "more homely" if you are trying to sell it, which strikes me as merely a quick way to make it like a Viennese bakery.

Of course the once noble spice, which was eulogised in the Song of Solomon, and noted by Pliny the Elder as having a worth 15-times that of silver, does have a place: a cinnamon and apple crumble. A hard-to-reach low-end crisp, however? Not so much.