Before you buy anything, open the spice cupboard

A tip for everyone who's joined this autumn, because the same question keeps coming up: what should I buy first?

Nothing, honestly. Open the spice cupboard and the fruit bowl. Smell cinnamon next to clove, a lemon next to an orange, a vanilla pod if you have one, and say out loud what's different. That's the training, and all it costs is a bit of mess on the worktop.

The Class on training your nose at home has more of these, and Priya posts a fresh prompt in Learning to Smell every week.

Shout if you get stuck.