A huge range of eating and cooking chocolate is available in supermarkets and specialist shops, including chocolate made from organically grown ingredients and coming from Fairtrade sources. The difference between all the various brands depends on the type of cocoa beans used, the proportion of cocoa solids and cocoa butter, the sugar content and the flavourings.

Chocolate is made by roasting and grinding up cocoa beans to yield chocolate 'liquor'. This comprises around 50 per cent cocoa solids and 50 per cent cocoa butter (the fat from the beans). In the labelling of chocolate the cocoa solids generally include the cocoa butter - it's basically all the bits of the chocolate that are from the cocoa pod rather than the later additives such as sugar, milk, lecithin, vanilla, etc.

When buying chocolate, read the list of ingredients. Look at the percentage of cocoa solids and sugar, as this indicates the quality and taste of the chocolate. The higher the cocoa content, the less sugar it contains and the more 'chocolatey' it's going to be.

According to the experts, a good plain chocolate should contain at least 70 per cent cocoa solids to deliver the desired chocolate hit, but 100 per cent is available from speciality chocolate shops.

High-quality chocolate will make a distinctive, crisp, snap when broken, shattering cleanly. It should also start to melt when you hold it in your hand for a few seconds - the quicker the better, as this indicates a high cocoa butter content. (Cocoa butter has a melting point of 37C/99F, just below human body temperature, which is one of the factors that gives chocolate its enduring appeal.) In less expensive chocolate, vegetable oils and shortening have been substituted for the cocoa butter, and may even have been through the process of hydrogenation to lower these fats' melting point and reproduce cocoa butter's essential characteristic.

Plain chocolate: also known as dark or Continental chocolate (or by its American names - bittersweet or semi-sweet), plain is a popular choice for cooking because it's 'purer'. The additional sweetness or dairy elements in other types of chocolate may be seen as impurities or uncontrolled variables when cooking, whereas a pure dark chocolate provides the desired taste and texture for a recipe. Should the recipe require additional sweetness or creaminess this can be added to the cook's tastes, not the quirks of the chocolate.

Milk chocolate: in producing milk chocolate, some of the cocoa solids are replaced by milk solids (dried or condensed milk), giving it a sweeter taste and smoother texture. When sourcing your milk chocolate you should look for brands that contain high percentages of cocoa solids and real vanilla - the fewer chemicals and additional materials the better.

White chocolate: This is technically not real chocolate as it doesn't contain any cocoa solids, but it retains a popularity all of its own. Better brands of white chocolate are made with a high proportion of cocoa butter along with milk solids, real vanilla and sugar.

Couverture: this fine-quality chocolate used by chefs is "tempered" before use (melted, cooled and re-melted), which gives it a smooth, glossy sheen. Couverture is available in plain, milk and white chocolate varieties, in both blocks and chocolate chips.

There are several other cocoa and chocolate products useful for cooking, including cocoa powder and chocolate chips, as well as an entirely cocoa-free chocolate alternative: carob.

There are two types of cocoa powder: alkalised, which has a more mellow flavour, and non-alkalised; the two are interchangeable in cooking. NB: drinking chocolate is not a suitable substitute for cocoa powder.

Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape without melting during the cooking process, providing a decorative and solid chocolate hit to cakes or biscuits, such as chocolate chip cookies or muffins.

Carob is made from the roasted and ground pods of the evergreen carob tree and is often seen as a 'healthier' alternative to chocolate. Carob bars taste like chocolate and are free from caffeine and other stimulants, however they still contain a lot of sugars and therefore calories, so, unfortunately, it's not the chocolate lovers' fat-free option.

Store chocolate tightly wrapped in its original packaging or in cling film in a cool, dry place. Properly stored, plain chocolate will keep for a year; milk and white chocolate for about six months (it will still taste okay after this time, but will not melt as well if kept any longer). If stored at warmer temperatures, chocolate can develop a 'bloom' - a white, filmy residue. This 'bloom' may well be 'cocoa butter bloom', which indicates that the chocolate wasn't tempered correctly, or that it has got too warm and then cooled down again, allowing some of the cocoa butter in the chocolate to separate from the cocoa solids. The cocoa butter crystals rise to the surface and re-crystallise. This doesn't always affect the flavour of the chocolate, but should be seen as a warning that it hasn't been stored in ideal conditions. Tempering the chocolate again to realign its crystalline structure can rectify the bloom.

There is a second type of 'bloom', referred to as a 'sugar bloom', caused by moisture settling on the surface of the chocolate, which can happen when the bar is stored in a damp atmosphere. Any moisture in contact with chocolate draws up the sugar crystals to the surface; the sugar then dissolves in the water, and later re-crystallises on the surface, destroying the texture of the chocolate. The whole appearance and texture of the chocolate will be grey and gritty, and sadly the only place for the bar is the bin. So be careful when storing chocolate in the fridge; it's best kept in an airtight container.

Chocolate is used in a wide spectrum of dishes - sweets, cakes, biscuits, desserts and sauces, and even some savoury dishes. Cocoa powder is ideal for providing a concentrated chocolate flavour in cakes, biscuits and icing. Block chocolate is used for making richer cakes and for creating chocolate mousses, tarts, cheesecakes, sauces and ice cream. Below is a small taster of the many kinds of things you can cook with chocolate, but make sure you search for more chocolate recipes in our database if you don't see what you're looking for here.

Wonderful examples of classic puddings made with chocolate are available to watch as Sophie Grigson shows us how to make Chocolate and hazelnut torte; or Lesley Waters sends the indulgence factor off the scale with her video recipe for Individual chocolate marquise pots.

The epitome of chocolate for most chocolate lovers is the indulgent chocolate cake - layers of light chocolatey sponge with creamy chocolate filling and a smooth chocolate icing to top it off. There are hundreds of chocolate cake recipes and variations, including the classic Black Forest gateau, the Austrian truffle cake Sachertorte, chocolate fudge cake and chocolate brownies.

Lesley Waters shows you how to make rich-melting chocolate brownies in her video recipe for Chocolate brownies.

Try this recipe for Black Forest gateau with mint chocolate shards

Chocolate and chilli as a culinary marriage may strike modern consumers as a bit off the wall, but the combination is as old as chocolate itself. Chocolate's first applications were as a drink spiced with chillies, much loved by the Aztecs of Central America.

Watch Lesley Waters utilise the unique relationship that chocolate has with chilli in her video recipe for Soft-centred chocolate cakes with chilli chocolate sauce and orange and mascarpone cream.

In certain parts of Europe and Mexico, chocolate's a common ingredient in savoury recipes. Several Spanish Catalan dishes are flavoured with chocolate; Mexico has its mole (a chilli and chocolate sauce that's the basis of several meat dishes but can be used widely, as in the Pumpkin enchilada recipe below); and in Italy chocolate is paired with boar and hare - it goes particularly well with game as seen in this recipe by Lesley Waters for

Griddled venison steak with a red wine, chocolate and chilli sauce

Pumpkin enchiladas with mole sauce by Simon Rimmer

It might seem strange to imagine chocolate sauces with meats in savoury dishes but if you consider the complexity of flavours in a high-quality chocolate with 70 per cent (or more) cocoa solids, there are deep cherry tones, almost liqueur-like tangs and a bitter sweetness that can complement a rich meat in much the way a red wine can. As ever, whether cooking cakes, patisserie or partridge, the motto is to seek out quality chocolate - the results will shine through.