THERE is one very simple way to save vast sums of money – learn to cook. And if you can’t learn to cook, at least learn how to peel a potato. It could save you a fortune.

We’re not talking cordon bleu here, or even anything fancy. Just basic stuff. A recent survey revealed that three quarters of 16-year-olds can’t boil an egg. Well, they’ve got two years to learn before they are abandoned in their university hall of residence. If they’re bright enough to get to uni, they’re bright enough to be able to cook themselves a meal.

When I was at university a fellow student once asked me how to cook baked beans. She genuinely hadn’t a clue.

“Didn’t you ever watch your mother in the kitchen?” I asked.

“Kitchen?” she replied vaguely, clearly puzzled by the concept.

I learnt subsequently that she had grown up in a vast stately home and never ventured into the kitchen which I guess was half a day’s march from her bedroom and sitting room.

So I guess she had an excuse. The rest of us don’t.

The rich have staff to cook. Everyone else has takeaways. If you count the number of takeaways in Darlington now, it’s hard to believe that most houses actually have kitchens.

If you took all the ready meals out of the supermarkets, there wouldn’t be much left. And if you want to see where supermarkets make their profits, just look at the price of potatoes.

In Asda this week basic potatoes were 33p per kg. A snip. A great basis for cheap, filling and nutritious meals for only a small bit of effort.

How long does it take to peel a couple of spuds? How much effort, skill or talent does it take to boil them for 20 minutes?

Ready-made creamy mashed potato costs £2.20 a kg – that’s six times as much. Which even allowing for the costs of the gas and the weight of the peel (negligible if you were trained by my mum) is ridiculous.

Microchips are £3.53 a kg – ten times as much as potatoes. Crisp potato slices are £4.60 a kg. By any argument, that’s an awful lot of money for potatoes, however crisp and convenient.

Another great supermarket ploy is to take new potatoes, put them in a cellophane tray with a blob of butter and a sprinkling of herbs and charge you twice as much for the privilege.

New potatoes do not need cleaning or scraping, just a quick scrub. So what convenience are you paying for? For the amount you pay extra for one of those cellophane tubs you could buy a whole pack of butter, a bunch of herbs and have a few more meals with delicious potatoes.

There are things worth spending as an occasional treat. There are things worth spending on when we’re in a hurry. Potatoes in a cellophane tub are not among them.

Learn to love a real potato. It will save you a fortune.