Carob is a funny thing. I find that people either love it or hate it. I personally love it and find myself defending the poor thing a lot. Meghan is not such a fan of it and whenever I mention the stuff she gives me an “ew” look.
I was introduced to carob really early on since my grandmother used to bake with it. Since chocolate kept her up at night, she used carob in its place in a lot of cakes and cookies. I don’t think carob tastes like chocolate, but it is sweet and brown so I suppose it can stand in as chocolate when necessary. I prefer to think of carob as its own unique flavour. I can’t really describe it -malty, molasses, sweet with a little bitterness at the same time. Something along those lines. I do appreciate that it is naturally sweet on its own and is so versatile. It can be added to smoothies, baked goods, and even savoury dishes to balance out the flavour and add a certain complexity.
So what exactly is carob? Let’s all put on our nutrition hats and learn!
Carob is a plant native to the eastern Mediterranean. It has been in cultivation for at least 4000 years but was only introduced to the US in 1854. Carob trees produce fruits in the form of a pod which is technically a legume. These pods are dark brown in colour and are ground into the powder that we all know and love (or hate). Every part of this fruit can be consumed. Within the pod are seeds which are surrounded by a pulp. The seeds are removed to make something called “locust bean gum” which is used readily in food manufacturing often as a stabilizer and thickener.
Now the real nutrition part. Carob powder is quite rich in many nutrients such as vitamin A, D, B2, B3, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. In addition to this, because it is free of oxalic acid which hinders the absportion of calcium, we can actually absorb and utilize this calcium. Carob is caffeine free and therefore non-stimulating, non-habit forming, and will not affect the nervous system in any other way.The tannins present in carob contain “Gallic acid” which functions as an analgesic and antibacterial agent. Carob has also been said to improve digestion and help to lower cholesterol levels. It is also useful when dealing with bouts of diarrhea. Hello new superfood!
Random and Fun Carob Tid-bits:
- Its seeds were used to weigh gold, hence the term “carat”.
- Old-timey medicine peeps found this stuff to be beneficial in clearing the throat and improving the voice. Singers used to chew on the husks of the pods.
- Our animal friends can consume carob with no problems. Cocoa and related products are toxic to many animals including dogs and cats. (Side note, my parents’ dog once ate a whole bowl of Hershey’s kisses with the foil wrappers and all and is still alive!)
Let’s move on to a fun raw carob recipe and who doesn’t love a good brownie. Just so we’re all on the same page, these don’t taste like chocolate brownies. I know there are two kinds of brownie type things. Brownies and Blondies. These are neither and I don’t know what to call them. They taste like carob and are pretty delicious to me so I’m sticking with “brownie”.
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Jen’s Raw Crazy Carob Brownies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup brazil nuts
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup carob powder (raw or toasted will do)
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon raw honey (or other liquid sweetener)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon maca powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
water/nut milk as needed
Make Em’:
- Into a food processor add the nuts, coconut, carob powder, cinnamon, maca, and salt. Process until finely ground.
- Add rasins, honey, coconut oil, vanilla and continue processing until mixture clumps together. Add your water or nut milk as needed to get things moving. Only add this if your mixture is having trouble clumping. (Clumping is a technical term here).
- Press the mixture into a small loaf pan and refrigerate for several hours before cutting into squares.
- Savour every bite as you picture Meghan giving you a grossed-out look.
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Question Of The Day: What’s one mildly odd weird food that you just love?
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I honestly can’t think of one mildly weird food. I love goji berries, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, but I know there are people out there that would think that’s weird!
There are tons of people that think those foods are “odd”. It shocks me every time!
The recipe sounds great. I’m a HUGE lover of carob myself–and no, it’s not chocolate, but it is totally appealing on its own. Gotta try those brownies!
Ricki! I saw all your carob creations the other day and got so inspired! I want to make the fridge cookies soon.
The Carob Refrigerator Cookies are a new favorite of mine–so easy, and so yummy! I actually just made a batch this morning.
The Lebanese also use a molasses made out of carob as a sweetener in place of sugar. Actually, they use many different types of molasses made from a variety of fruit: carob, grape, pomegranate (which is actually tart and used in savoury dishes) and date. Date molasses is my favourite.
I have a jar of date molasses sitting in my pantry and I don’t know what to make with it!
Well, you know I love carob too! These brownies look delish, I’m so trying them! I also love kale… like, a lot. Guess that’s sort of weird. People also tend to think I’m weird for loving beets and maca… I love ‘em!
xo
Those foods are amazing….maybe we’re all just huge weirdos? haha
Looks delicious! I’m a carob fan! And a cacao fan!
I grew up on carob drinks. My dad would buy them instead of Coca-cola (did I spell that right? Coca-cola?).
Those brownies are looking scrump! I should try it someday.
I sort of panicked when i started reading…. has Meghan given up delicious dark chocolate? has she, lord save me, to CAROB??? thankfully i quickly realized that it WASN’T chocolate lover Meghan, who gives us all those delicious chocolate recipes.
I LOVE carob. But it definitely isn’t chocolate. I always roll my eyes (politely of course) when people talk about carob as an alternative for chocolate. Sure, you can sub it in baking, but the end result is so different – and often better in my opinion!
So happy to see carob lovers
Cacao and carob are both tasty in their own ways.