Red Sweet Potato

The red-skinned variety, and genuinely a different vegetable in use: drier, starchier, and less sweet than the orange kind, with pale flesh that stays firm.

Because it holds its shape it is the better choice where you want distinct pieces — in a mixed vegetable curry, in a tray of roast vegetables, or cut into thick chips. Where the orange sort would turn to purée, this one stays as chunks.

Choose firm tubers with dry, intact red skin. Any softness, particularly at the tips, is the beginning of rot.

Same as the orange sort: cool, dark, dry, never the fridge, and unwashed. Being drier, it actually keeps a little better.

Two to three weeks stored properly.