What is Carob Fruit ?
Carob tree – “Ceratonia siliqua” is a fruit of dark brown, pea-like use with pulp and seeds. Carob carob is a sweet and healthy alternative to chocolate.
Carob can be found in many different forms such as powder, fruit, a syrup or molasses, cold-pressed extract or a supplement. Unlike Europe, there are many forms of carob produced in Turkey.
The healthiest is the cold-pressed carob extract at low temperature.
Unlike carob molasses, its extract doesn’t boil. It is produced at low temperature by blowing excess water under the vacuum.
In summary, we can say that the last stage is very important here.
A carob dried in a dehydrator will be raw when grinded, but it is impossible to talk about it if it is roasted.
Can we say that dates that dry at the top of date trees in Dubai at high temperatures exceeding 60 degrees are not raw?
How to use your carob?
You can add carob powder as a cacao alternative to your favorite desserts, choose carob extract as an alternative to liquid sugar.
It is a great alternative to use cold press carob extract instead of Agave which contains high fructose.
When we look at those who are interested in working on raw cakes in the world, we have seen that they started to use alternatives such as stevia, xylitol, eryritol and maple because of the high fructose content of agave.
Xylitol, stevia or erythritol does not provide full performance in raw desserts. Maple syrup is a healthier alternative to agave.
Maple is not considered raw but, it is accepted by raw food chefs.
If we go back to carob, we can say that it is a real source of healing in Turkey. Cold pressed carob extract is a great substitue of chocolate or date syrup in raw vegan desserts.
Although carob powder is common in the world, the extract cannot be found easily. In the near future we presume that the carob extract will become widespread and replace other liquid sweeteners .
Which carob?
In Turkey, GEKOO brand is the superior in quality. In addition carob products, the brand has also organic baby products, legumes, tahini, tomato paste, etc.
You can use Gekoo safely and buy for your children. They are available in Turkey for now. We hope they will be available around the Europe and Scandinavian countries soon.
Reasons that make Carob a great alternative to chocolate:
contains high fiber
great source of antioxidants
contains low levels of fat and sugar
free from caffeine
does not contain gluten
contains 2x more calcium than cacao
It has been confirmed by research that carob contains 3x calcium amount compared animal milk.
Does not contain a migrating trigger compound.
Carob contains vitamins B-2, B-3, B-6, as well as calcium, magnesium, copper, potassium, selenium, zinc.
Gurmevegan’s alternative healthy nutella recipe with carob:
Ingredients:
1 cup of organic cold press Gekoo carob extract – (not molasses, make sure you are using extract)
1/3 cup hazelnut butter or Gekoo organic tahini (both can be used, tahini is our favorite but both of them have great results when combined with carob.)
2 tablespoons of Gekoo organic carob powder (alternative raw cacao can also be used.)
Instructions:
- Transfer all the ingredients at room materials to a high speed blender. Process until smooth.
- Let it cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. You can consume it either by scooping it on bread or crackers. Also a great filling for desserts. It can be used as a filling in croissants and can be used instead of dates in making raw brownie.
If you can’t find carob extract in your city, you may want to have a look at Amazon. Check options HERE.
We hope you enjoyed this article. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!