WHY A SACK OF POTATOES WILL PAY WINTER DIVIDENDS

First choose your spuds. You want the unwashed ones – the dirt helps them keep in peak condition. You’ll probably be offered several good commercial varieties but if you’re not familiar with them buy one or two loose ones from each and conduct your own taste test.

Desiree is our most popular red potato with well-flavoured, cream-coloured waxy flesh. It’s a great general-purpose variety. King Edward is the traditional favourite for roasting. It’s suitable for anything, though, but you’ll pay over the odds due to its popularity. Marfona is a good keeper with great flavour. The large yellow-fleshed tubers are ideal for baking though they also boil well without breaking up. Maris Piper is perhaps the best if you want a spud that is superb for every job. It has a floury texture when cooked and is the top potato for chips.

Whichever type you plump for they’ll most likely be sold in a paper sack so leave them in that. Store them in a dry, airy, rodent-proof, frost-free place, if possible in the dark to prevent sprouting. If some start to sprout, rub out the shoots while still small and use those potatoes first before they start going soft or shrivelling.

Even if a few go to waste you’ll still have saved a fortune by not buying small bags at supermarket prices.