Carob.
Have you heard of this health food?
Carob is often promoted as a chocolate substitute, but I'll tell you why that is so wrong.
Carob is the fruit of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), a leguminous plant, and grows as long, slightly curved, thick, dark brown pods that are from 10-25 cm long. This plant is native to the Mediterranean regions. Historically, the carob tree has been around for a very long time with one of the early records of its use dating back to ancient Egyptian times.
The pods are rarely eaten raw, but the seeds are roasted and ground into powder and other products such as syrup, bars and chips. The pods are broken into pieces and ground to make the raw carob powder or roasted to make the roasted carob powder. Other products such as carob syrup, bars and chips are also derived from the powders. Carob has been very popular in USA and Australia as a substitute for chocolate in baking and beverages.
Carob, however, does not taste like chocolate, much to my dismay when I first tasted it. The only thing that carob and cocoa have in common is that both are brown. So if you are a chocolate lover, you might probably think that carob is junk. That is also why I don't agree that it should be promoted as an alternative to chocolate. It's a health food, with a unique taste of its own. Period.
But carob's taste is not unpleasant at all. It just has a different taste from cocoa - slightly "earthy" with a natural caramel-ish sweet taste. On its own, the taste needs some getting used to, just as with many health foods, but adding the powder in drinks or cakes gives additional goodness in taste and nutrition. So do manage your expectations if you are interested in trying this health food.
Nutrition
Carob is rich in a number of vitamins and minerals but is more known to be particularly high in calcium. It is a source of protein and contains a substantial amount of dietary fibre. A 100g of carob powder contains less than 0.5g of fat, it's virtually fat-free! Carob contains some antioxidants, mostly in the form of polyphenols which help to prevent health dangers such as cancer, high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes. It has alkalizing effects on the body pH, is gluten-free, theobromine-free (so you can even feed your cats and dogs with carob!) and caffeine-free. In some cultures, carob is considered to be an aphrodisiac. Interesting food, isn't it?
There are many ways to use carob powder and syrup. Check out Forever Young Enterprise for more carob recipes and suggestions. They have a Carob Teriyaki Chicken recipe which looks really good and I wanna try that soon!
[update on 2 May 2016]
Healthy Carob Cookies
These healthy carob cookies are friendly on your hips and very easy to prepare. It can be given as a snack to your hungry kids at any time of the day, or as dessert after a meal.
Since baking is such an educational and sensorial experience, I got all the 3 kids to help. Children learn to be precise through measuring and weighing the ingredients and work as a team to complete a difficult task like holding the hand-blender down. Scooping the mixture and rolling into balls also improve their fine motor skills.
Healthy Carob Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
1. Preheat oven at 170ºC.
2. Cream butter, sugar and Carob syrup until pale, put the butter mixture aside.
3. Sift flour and Carob powder, add salt and mix well. Add 1/3 of flour at a time to butter mixture until well combined. *If you are using dried fruit and nuts, they can be added in when the mixture is well-combined.
4. Roll into small balls and place balls on a baking tray.
5. Bake at 170ºC for 5 minutes, then turn down to 150ºC and bake for a further 10 minutes until firm (not hard).
6. Transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
Note that every oven is different - I had to increase the baking time to a total of 20 minutes to get a firm texture.
The Australian Carob Co.
Forever Young Enterprise is the distributor of the range of high-quality certified organic carob products from The Australian Carob Co. The carob products are produced using state-of-the-art machinery to retain the high nutritional value. Non-GMO, nut-free and allergy-free, their products have no additives, colours, preservatives or added sweeteners. They are also halal-certified.
For a healthier living, get your Australian Organic Carob products from Forever Young Enterprise office or at Qoo10.
Have you heard of this health food?
Carob is often promoted as a chocolate substitute, but I'll tell you why that is so wrong.
Carob is the fruit of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), a leguminous plant, and grows as long, slightly curved, thick, dark brown pods that are from 10-25 cm long. This plant is native to the Mediterranean regions. Historically, the carob tree has been around for a very long time with one of the early records of its use dating back to ancient Egyptian times.
 |
| Photo credit |
But carob's taste is not unpleasant at all. It just has a different taste from cocoa - slightly "earthy" with a natural caramel-ish sweet taste. On its own, the taste needs some getting used to, just as with many health foods, but adding the powder in drinks or cakes gives additional goodness in taste and nutrition. So do manage your expectations if you are interested in trying this health food.
Nutrition
Carob is rich in a number of vitamins and minerals but is more known to be particularly high in calcium. It is a source of protein and contains a substantial amount of dietary fibre. A 100g of carob powder contains less than 0.5g of fat, it's virtually fat-free! Carob contains some antioxidants, mostly in the form of polyphenols which help to prevent health dangers such as cancer, high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes. It has alkalizing effects on the body pH, is gluten-free, theobromine-free (so you can even feed your cats and dogs with carob!) and caffeine-free. In some cultures, carob is considered to be an aphrodisiac. Interesting food, isn't it?
 |
| Photo credit |
There are many ways to use carob powder and syrup. Check out Forever Young Enterprise for more carob recipes and suggestions. They have a Carob Teriyaki Chicken recipe which looks really good and I wanna try that soon!
[update on 2 May 2016]
A photo posted by Mary (@simplylambchops) on
Healthy Carob Cookies
These healthy carob cookies are friendly on your hips and very easy to prepare. It can be given as a snack to your hungry kids at any time of the day, or as dessert after a meal.
Since baking is such an educational and sensorial experience, I got all the 3 kids to help. Children learn to be precise through measuring and weighing the ingredients and work as a team to complete a difficult task like holding the hand-blender down. Scooping the mixture and rolling into balls also improve their fine motor skills.
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| Hmm ... what smell is this? |
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| Helping out and learning at the same time |
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| Yummy Carob cookies to share with our church friends! |
Healthy Carob Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 30g Raw Carob Powder (could substitute with roasted carob powder for more intense taste)
- 20g Carob Syrup
- 220g unsalted butter (soften)
- 1/4 tsp salt (or 2g)
- 60g caster sugar
- 300g self-raising flour
- dried fruit and nuts (optional)
1. Preheat oven at 170ºC.
2. Cream butter, sugar and Carob syrup until pale, put the butter mixture aside.
3. Sift flour and Carob powder, add salt and mix well. Add 1/3 of flour at a time to butter mixture until well combined. *If you are using dried fruit and nuts, they can be added in when the mixture is well-combined.
4. Roll into small balls and place balls on a baking tray.
5. Bake at 170ºC for 5 minutes, then turn down to 150ºC and bake for a further 10 minutes until firm (not hard).
6. Transfer to cooling rack.
Notes
Note that every oven is different - I had to increase the baking time to a total of 20 minutes to get a firm texture.
The Australian Carob Co.
Forever Young Enterprise is the distributor of the range of high-quality certified organic carob products from The Australian Carob Co. The carob products are produced using state-of-the-art machinery to retain the high nutritional value. Non-GMO, nut-free and allergy-free, their products have no additives, colours, preservatives or added sweeteners. They are also halal-certified.
For a healthier living, get your Australian Organic Carob products from Forever Young Enterprise office or at Qoo10.
