Selection of chocolate for cooking

The quality of the chocolate used in cooking is all-important. You cannot expect to have good results with inferior chocolate. Use good plain chocolate that contains a minimum of 50 per cent cocoa solids. Buy plain cooking or baking chocolate or bitter or plain dessert chocolate. Sainsbury’s now have a deluxe cooking chocolate with 53 per cent cocoa solids. Price is also an indication of quality. Buy the best you can afford. The cheaper brands, including ‘chocolate-flavoured’ coverings, have very little cocoa solids or butter and a high percentage of animal fats and synthetic flavourings and so are not suitable.