carob question

[JustMe]

The last couple of days, I have been having a hard time trying to get accustomed to carob. I already expected it to not taste like chocolate, but the texture is turning me off a little and this really blows because I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!!! :( I bought my batch from sunorganicfarm.com. I went back to their site and the descripion for their raw carob said 'granulated.' They also have toasted which said 'blends better without grit.' Does anyone have the same grittiness to their carob? Am I doing something wrong? I made Carmel's Easter chocolate. Thanks guys!!!

[RawTruth]

I have no grittiness at all. Mine is raw carob powder which I bought locally. A raw food restaurant also sells raw goods that they order in bulk and then repackage. That's where I got mine, but I've never heard of granaules -- sounds yucky to me. I have enough problems with the d*** cacao nibs being grainy!

[VeganVixen]

I have no grittiness at all. Mine is raw carob powder which I bought locally. A raw food restaurant also sells raw goods that they order in bulk and then repackage. That's where I got mine, but I've never heard of granaules -- sounds yucky to me. I have enough problems with the d*** cacao nibs being grainy!



Lucky cali girls get local RAW carob :mad: ........ ;)

[sachis2112]

I also get the powder. I get mine at Whole Foods. But be careful with it. You can overdo it easily. Always err on the less side.

[Spraenna]

I have found the best way to eliminate grittiness is to premix the carob powder with a small amount of warm water to form a paste and then mix into whatever it is I am making. (Like we used to do with cocoa powder when making hot chocolate from scratch - is my age showing???? )

[JustMe]

Well....

the weird thing is that it IS a powder, lol ??? The description said raw carob powder, granulated. Why it said that, I have no idea, but it does. I tasted the chocolate I made and when it was solid, it didn't feel gritty or anything so I guess it's okay. It doesn't resemble anything like chocolate to me, but I'm trying not to expect a lot of that on this diet. for example, the 'cheescakes' etc. I'm sure it has its own taste, but reminiscent is more like the term that should be used. Like reminiscent chocolate! lol

But you know, I could be trying to compare it to Hershey's Milk chocolate. i absolutely love milk chocolate, anyone have any ideas for that maybe?? :) Oh yeah, and carob has a funny smell to it too, lol Anyone find the same? Does it 'grow' on you? lol

Thanks for the replys though! You guys are awesome!

[RawTruth]

It might help if you don't even try to think of carob as a chocolate substitute. It's not. It doesn't taste like chocolate. You need to think of it as a different thing altogether.

I, personally, use carob and ground-up cacao nibs together when I want a more chocolate taste. You might want to try that.

have you tried Alissa's fudge balls yet? I thought they were great. Even though I never cared for carob since first tasting it maybe 20 years ago, Alissa's recipes that have carob taste good to me.

[JustMe]

In relation to my oils post, RT, I did do the fudge balls, but they tasted so much like coconut because I made the almond butter with added coconut oil. So I'm going to try another batch of almond butter in my champion and i'll give them another go! Thanks everyone! You're all beautiful!!!

[sachis2112]

Does your carob powder have the consistency of flour? That was something I found interesting.

[RawTruth]

but they tasted so much like coconut because I made the almond butter with added coconut oil
Ha!! I see. Geez, you've sensitive tastes!
:D :D :D I make mine with store-bought, so it didn't have an overtaste. Trader Joe's has the cheapest ("cheap" is relative of course) -- though, I suppose, at some point, the cost of what I spend on that will surpass what I would have saved buying a juicer and making my own -- ah, fahgetaboudit, that makes my head hurt. I'll just keeping buying it.

[JustMe]

Does your carob powder have the consistency of flour? That was something I found interesting.

Yes it does. I think what the problem was that there was too much oil and not enough carob to soak all of it up. So the carob that did soak up the oil was clumping and laying in the excess oil that didn't get absorbed. Does this make any sense? lol That's what it seemed like to me. The recipe was 1 cup of oil and 3/4 cup carob, but there seemed to be way more oil and i think that was why the texture was funny-looking and sort of grainy..

[sachis2112]

Actually, it sounds to me like it was too much carob. That's a lot of carob for the amount of oil.... Try this... two tablespoons of carob with one mushed up banana. If the oil is too much for you, this might work.

[Vanessa]

Hey guys- you should all know that raw chocolate is one of the best foods for you. David Wolfe just wrote a book with Shazzie called 'Naked Chocolate'. You can get it on his website www.rawfood.com.
Half the book is about the history of chocolate and the other half is recipes and ideas of what to do with raw cacao.
I hate carob, but I read that mixing carob powder and cocoa powder is pretty good- I haven't tried it yet.
I make a chocolate sauce with raw cacao nibs, agave nectar, maple syrup, coconut oil and nama shoyu. Blend it up really smooth in the Vita Mix- it's awesome. You can then make 'hot chocolate' by mixing it with almond or brazil nut milk.

[siempresam]

I just ordered some mesquite powder the other day from a raw food site (can't remember which...don't think it was rawfood.com - it's the one with the bird logo), and it said that it could be used as a carob substitute. I got the mild flavored kind. Maybe you could try something like that?

[siempresam]

Found the link to the mesquite powder. It says it is the perfect substitute for carob:

http://www.eatraw.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=ER541

[vegangelist]

vegan vixen....houston has a source for raw carob too!!!

www.centralcityco-op.org

They usually carry it anyway but you can also pre-order it in larger quantities too. I can't remember the price but it seems to be reasonable from what i remember.

kristi

[RawTruth]

Hey guys- you should all know that raw chocolate is one of the best foods for you. David Wolfe just wrote a book with Shazzie called 'Naked Chocolate'. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've heard. Over and over and over again from Mr. Wolfe. But, I don't really believe it. It just doesn't make sense to me. And, I just don't see many long-time raw foodists jumping on this bandwagon. But ... I know that a lot of people are avid converts of most anything he espouses. And that's okay, too. Different things work for different people is my belief.

I hate carob, but I read that mixing carob powder and cocoa powder is pretty good- I haven't tried it yet. I grind up raw cacao nibs and also add carob powder to the things I make with it -- it gives a fuller flavor. The cacao tastes very bitter to me on its own even though I am a reformed dark chocolate lover.

I make a chocolate sauce with raw cacao nibs, agave nectar, maple syrup, coconut oil and nama shoyu.This sounds tempting! Except for the maple syrup. Maybe I'll try it, just omitting that. Thanks.

I'm taking forever to finish this one bag of raw cacao nibs I have. I don't think I'll buy more when this one is finally finished.