I noticed an interesting plant at work today, its a carob tree. Right now there are funny shaped green bean pods growing all over it! I did some research online and apparently once the pods mature they can be processed and either turned into a sweet powder which can be used as a substitute for chocolate, or it is turned into a kind of gum used to thicken and emusify liquids. A co-worker of mine is from morocco and says they eat the pods whole over there as a snack.I guess this tree does really well in our soil and climate, although it is certainly not native. Does anyone have familiarity with this kind of tree? Are their more around the valley in landscaping? They are very large beautiful trees and adapt well to drought.When this tree ripens i'll get a big bag o' pods and see what can be done with them!
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For the milling last year, I took 8 5 gallon buckets of carob pods and came home with about 9 gallons of carob power. I use it to bake with, as a chocolate substitute. I store it bagged in the freezer and it is truly tasty to work with. I recommend harvesting and milling it and it is a great christmas present for those who like to be adventurous with their cooking! What a totally undervalued resource we have at our fingertips! Good luck
that is so much carob!! i can't wait to try it out, i've been checking out that tree almost everyday! do you use the powder in place of flour when cooking with it? or use it like cocoa powder?
I have the best results when using it like cocoa power, although you do have to adust the flour requirement if your recipe contains it. Like if you originally needed 4 cups flour and 2tbls cocoa power, you could use 3 1/2 cups flour and 2tbls carob power. using the carob power is alot of fun but there is definately a learning curve because so few recipes know how to incorporate a carob substitute. As long as you are gentle with yourself and anticipate few funky concoctions working with carob is a great way to move into more healthful baking. And there is something just amazing in the feeling that comes from cooking with something that you harvested and processed. It gives me the coolest surge of hunter/gather pride!
Well I am a huge fan of the flavor of carob products, but this tree smells pretty stinky. I am not sure why, but as a kid i remember I couldn't stand to go near them.
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