Pulses form an important source of protein and iron for vegetarians. They also take on the flavours of other ingredients extremely well - whether it's a heady mix of garlic and ginger in Indian dhal or the meaty flavour of sausage in a typically Andalusian stew of chickpeas and pork.

When choosing dried pulses look for shiny beans, all roughly the same size: faded beans are likely to be old. Don't be put off by the time it takes to soak pulses. With a little bit of planning, leaving out beans or chickpeas overnight to soak needn't be too much heartache.

If you're really pressed for time, canned (pre-cooked) pulses are a great alternative, though purists say they're often too sweet and lose their shape quickly when cooked further. Because they have already been soaked and cooked, you can add them straight to salads, whizz them into a pate or heat them up to serve immediately.

Black-eyed beans are small, creamy-flavoured beans with a black 'scar' where they were joined to the pod. They are much used in American and African cooking, and are the essential ingredient in a traditional southern-style dish Hoppin' John (a mixture of black-eyed beans, bacon and white rice, traditionally eaten on New Year's Day).

Borlotti beans are an Italian bean with a mild bitter-sweet flavour, used in regional stews and often mixed with rice. They're also good as a side dish (try borlotti beans in soy and lime dressing) and in soup (such as minestrone and pasta e fagioli, a pasta and bean soup).

Try Antonio Carluccio's Pasta e fagioli

Or Elizabeth David's Minestrone

Broad beans are sometimes known as fava beans, and are floury in texture when dried. Fresh broad beans are widely available in the UK in summer; they're good in rich stews such as Scotch broth, and are delicious pureed.

Butter beans are large, creamy-coloured beans with a soft, floury texture when cooked. They make a great vegetarian pate and work well in mixed bean salads, or rich, wintry stews. They are also a useful source of potassium.

Cannellini beans are creamy-white and have a fluffy texture when cooked. They go well in soups, salads and stews.

Try Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Boston baked beans

Chickpeas are shaped like hazelnuts and have a tasty nutty flavour. They're used around the world in dishes such as the Indian spicy curry, kabli chana, or the Spanish soup, caldo Gallego. They're a key ingredient of hummus (a dip of chickpeas, tahini, oil and garlic) and falafel (a deep-fried Middle-Eastern snack usually served hot). Chickpeas can be soaked from dried, but canned chickpeas do just as well for most recipes.

Great in mixed bean salads and stews such as chilli con carne, dried kidney beans should be cooked carefully because they contain toxins on the outer skin when raw, which are rendered harmless by boiling. Soak them for at least eight hours, before draining and rinsing the beans, discarding the soaking water. Place in a pan with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. The beans must boil for ten minutes to destroy the toxin. After this, simmer until cooked (approximately 45 to 60 minutes), when they should have an even, creamy texture throughout. If the centre is still hard and white, they require more cooking.

Large, flat brown or green lentils retain their shape during cooking and are delicious in soups. Red and yellow lentils cook down well, can be pureed, and are much used in Indian recipes such as spicy dhal. Tiny green Puy lentils have a distinctive flavour and keep their shape and colour when cooked, making them great in salads.

Pinto beans are the original ingredient of Mexican refried beans: this orange-pink bean with rust-coloured specks grows across Latin America and the American South-west.

Most dried pulses need soaking for several hours before cooking. Exceptions are lentils, green and yellow split peas and mung beans. Soaking times vary from four to 12 hours, but it's usually most convenient to soak pulses overnight. Add a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda to speed things up. An even quicker method is to bring them to the boil in a pan then turn the heat off and soak them for about an hour covered.

Always discard the soaking water, rinse and cook in fresh water without any salt (which toughens the skins). When bought canned, the beans are already cooked and only need draining and rinsing before heating.

Allow about 55g/2oz dried weight per person. Once soaked and cooked they'll at least double in weight. Canned pulses need to be rinsed thoroughly in a colander, as they're often stored in sweetened or salted water that can overpower your cooking.

Dried pulses store well for long periods (six months to a year) if kept in a dry, airtight container away from the light, but it's best to eat them as soon as possible, as they toughen on storage and take longer to cook.

Pulses are handy to keep in the storecupboard, especially cans, which can be useful for last minute pates, soups and salads.

If you cook pulses and you aren't going to eat them immediately, cool them as quickly as possible and then put them in the fridge or freeze them. If you keep cooked pulses in the fridge, eat them within two days.

Pulses are also handy to have in the storecupboard to use as a weight for pastry in order to 'bake blind'. This involves filling an uncooked pastry case with baking parchment or greaseproof paper and weighing it down with dried beans or lentils while you cook the case, guaranteeing a crisp tart or pie case before the filling is added. Of course you can't cook your baking-blind beans after they have been used in this way, so do make sure you label the storage containers carefully.

Soya beans are high in calcium, low in saturated fats, and cholesterol-free. They are protein-packed and full of iron. The beans can be ground into flour, fermented, or can undergo several other processing methods to form a variety of foods.

Soya beancurd or tofu is made from coagulated soya milk. Tofu is sometimes known as soya cheese, and is sold as blocks packaged in water. It can be bought as silken tofu (soft and creamy in texture), or as a denser, firmer version (the firmer kind may also be purchased smoked, marinated, or, in Chinese groceries, fermented to give a strong, cheese-like flavour).

Miso is a fermented condiment made from soya beans, grain (rice or barley), salt and water; miso varies widely in flavour, colour, texture and aroma. Paul Merrett uses white miso in his video recipe for Grilled aubergines with miso.

Soya milk is made from boiling soya flour in water, then straining. This alternative to dairy milk is widely available in supermarkets and health food stores. It can be drunk by people who are lactose-intolerant. Some brands may be fortified with calcium or vitamins; soya oil and margarine are also available, as an alternative to butter.

Soy sauce is made from a mixture of soya beans, cracked roasted wheat, salt and water, which is fermented and aged for several months. Dark soy sauce is aged for much longer than light soy sauce, hence its darker colour; it's slightly thicker and less salty than light soy sauce.

Tempeh is a fermented soya bean paste with a chewy texture and distinctive flavour; it can be used as a meat substitute.

Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is soya flour that has been processed and dried. TVP has a sponge-like texture and is available either cut into small chunks, or ground into granules resembling minced beef - it can be flavoured to resemble meat.

Although not a soya product, mycoprotein (or Quorn) is often used in a similar way to tofu. More 'meat-like' than soya foods, mycoprotein is made from a fermented fungus, mixed with egg albumen and textured to resemble meat. It can be sliced, diced or shredded. Mycoprotein is a source of protein, fibre, biotin, iron and zinc, and is low in saturated fats.

Soya beans are available dried or canned. The dried beans take a long time to soak - at least 12 hours. They are most often eaten in the form of soya-based products, such as soya milk, beancurd (tofu), TVP, soy sauce and miso (fermented soya bean paste).

Soya products have variable shelf lives, so read the packaging for storage instructions. Beancurd (tofu) is usually sold packed in water in plastic packets or containers. It can be refrigerated like this and kept for up to five days, as long as you change the water daily.

Once opened miso paste keeps for up to three months in the fridge.