i would like to know more about carob

[samariah]

I do love my chocolate but sometimes i question whether or not its truly good for me so I want to start experimenting with carob. Is it true that carob is a fruit and not a bean like chocolate is? Also, i hear its naturally sweet and not bitter like choco. Does anyone here abstain from chocolate but eat carob? have you noticed any differences in switching health/feeling wise? i'm thinking of ordering some raw carob from alissas site.

[The Forager]

Carob to me tastes way more bitter that cacao does. I've never gotten used to carob. I have a small bag sitting here un-used because it tasted so nasty to me. Expect nothing similar to chocolate.. lol

[Shell]

I bought a bag of carob, opened it up, took a sniff, and..........phew! Wow! That's not what I expected! It smelled a bit like old socks, IMHO......BUT, I still tried it, and I mixed it with cacao to temper the taste. It wasn't bad, but I definitely noticed a certain "laxative" effect, shall we say?! It tastes nothing like cacao......nothing! I'm not sure, but I think as far as cacao being "good" for you....well, I personally don't think anything is wrong with it! I mean, it DOES have caffeine in it, but it also has a host of other benefits, of which containing antioxidants is a very important one! Oh, and carob powder is made from the pods of the carob tree......

[StarFire]

I used to HATE carob... I do mean greatly dislike carob! then... when I went raw - it was in Alissa recipe for fudge balls... uggghh... I thought oh gawd.. no way... but I figured.. okay - I'll try it --

so - I tried it... and wierdly enough -- OMG... I can't get enough of those fudge balls. THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!! I even have people asking me to make it for them (SAD EATERS... devout chocolate eaters.... looove Alissa's fudge balls!) ... so that said - I guess I've developed a taste for carob... which I never thought I would.

:D

[Lilly the Naiad]

... devout chocolate eaters.... looove Alissa's fudge balls!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself :p

[samariah]

i tried carob today and i love it. yeah it doesnt taste like chocolate but i'm always up for interesting new tastes and this tastes good to me!

[Stina]

I like carob enough that I went ahead and ordered five pounds of it to save money. specified Raw, of course. The warehouse, via the healthfood store, sent me a bag labeled toasted and argued with the hfs owner that toasted is to Raw! I told the owner to tell them to get on the bandwagon, folks (this was UNIF) because Raw is a huge growing movement and heat-treated is not raw and sent that baby back.

[Rubyred]

I've been using half carob and half cocoa in my recipes. Pure cocoa really gets me wired and carob is a little too strong tasting by itself. The two are good together!

PS. Carob taste better in recipes than it smells. ;)

[samariah]

i really like the smell, especially mixed with cinnamon

[Riiiya]

well gee- now i want to try some carob :D i wasn't interested but now i'm so curious :rolleyes:

[juliebove]

I think carob is nasty. Doesn't taste a thing like chocolate. Only looks like it.

[Dimond]

If you get the wrong carob, you won't like it. Unfortunately many places, including some raw sites sell the kind that is awful. The good stuff is a great alternative to chocolate & way easier to use because it doesn't need as much sweetener.

[samariah]

how is alissa's carob?

[rawsurfer]

pretty good i think. i def like cacao better than carob but im just not buying the whole "cacao is a superfood" line. i dont feel very super when i eat chocolate, even though i love it. i ate some fudge 5 hours ago and i feel like im on crack. so i use carob when i dont want the heby jeebies. its alissas. quite tasty. i also put lots of carob in my banana sprout spinach smoothies and it gives it a chocalate quality.

[samariah]

yeah i know the crack feeling. the one time i woke up feeling like i was having a heart attack from too much cacao foods the day/night before. carob i think needs to be appreciated more on its food and less compared to cacao. it really has a delicious, unique taste all its own. its not merely a lesser version of chocolate.

[Dimond]

Not sure what manufacturer Alissa's is from as I believe she changed it not so long ago. Since she's always updating & improving products, I would assume it's good. I always ask companies lots of questions because I ended up with the bad stuff more than once. Luckily got refunds.

[Blazin'Jane]

One other little factoid about cacao is that is has lots of magnesium in it, which, I understand, most people need. I like both carob and cacao and wish I knew which gives you more bang for the buck nutritionally.

[samariah]

coconut meat is also a good source of magnesium if your looking for some.