History, Uses and Value of Carob

Chocolate is one of life's simple pleasures. But there are those who cannot enjoy chocolate due to health reasons or lifestyle. So where can one obtain a form of chocolate bliss? The answer is carob. Carob has been traced back to such ancient cultures as Greek and Egyptian where it was used medicinally to help treat such inflictions as eye infections, stomach pain and digestive tract. According to "Carob: Chocolate Stand-In Full of Healthful Benefits" by Patricia Mitchell, carob when by other names such as St. John's Bread, Algarroba, Locust Bean and Locust Pod and both the bark and the pods were brewed into a tea and consumed.

Carob comes from a tropical pod with fleshy pulp and inedible seeds. The pulp is extracted from the pod, dried, roasted and then ground. The final product looks similar to cocoa powder, but does not have the same flavor and/or texture. According to the article "What is Carob?" by the editors at Easy Home Cooking Magazine, since carob is not as flavorful as chocolate, the carob must be increased to recreate the same flavor intensity, thus if you are using one part cocoa powder, then you must increase the carob powder one and a half times more by weight. Even with this increase, carob is still a more figure friendly ingredient. One Tablespoon of carob powder on has twenty-five calories. Further, it has no fat, no saturated fat or cholesterol and has only six grams of carbohydrates. Finally, carob powder is caffeine free and has three times the calcium of cocoa.

The people at Herbs2000, further state that not only can you obtain a cocoa powder like product; the rest of the plant is also very useful in many different ways. The seedpods can be ground into a flour consistency and is used in the cosmetic industry as an herbal face pack as it cleans and tones the skin. The bark of the tree has a strong source of tannin for coloring of leathers and the wood itself is very hard and is highly prized. The wood is often used in the carving of walking sticks. Carob is considered to be on of the safest herbal medicines even though there have been rare reports of allergies (Source: www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_carob.htm).

Following the practice of Ayurvedia to help gratify, nourish, strengthen and heal the body, carob is used in this following drink and can be enjoyed anytime.

Carob Delight: What you need - (a) 9 to 10 whole cardamom pods; (b) 2 cups water; (c) 2 and half cups milk; (d) ¼ cup of carob powder; and honey or cane sugar to taste.

To make the Carob Delight: (1) crush cardamom pods and bring to simmer with the water. (2) Combine 1 cup of the water with the carob powder and whisk until the carob is fully incorporated and return to pot. (3) Add milk, stir to combine. (4) Bring to light boil, watching carefully so it does not boil over. (5) Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth. (6) Let cool. (7) To serve, pour into glass and sweeten with honey or cane sugar until you reach desired sweetness.