confused: cocoa vs. carob?

[lambe]

i thought cocoa & carob were one in the same essentially, as i thought carob was a chocolate replacement? im looking to making my birthday cake & am searching for a raw chocolate mousse type recipe, & a lot of these recipes call for "1/4 cup cocoa &/or carob" which is making it tough for me as i don't know which to choose! just cocoa, or cocoa & carob, or just carob? the recipe is leaving room for too many options & too much room for mistakes, as i'm not the greatest cook to begin with. is carob even raw?

[ulimana]

they are two completely different plants. i've tasted both in the very raw form straight from the trees.

thought there is no great substitute for cacao, carob comes the closest. it has no caffeine or any of the stimulants and active compounds that cacao has, so generally is healthier. though real chocolate is fine and healthy in moderation!

[lambe]

hey wow yr website is extremely excellent. it's pretty to look at.

i guess i just have trouble discerning when to use which? i dont understand for what reasons people pick carob over cocao, aside from in an effort to deter a chocolate allergy. maybe to avoid caffeine intake too? are there certain benefits of carob that cocao doesnt provide?

[Rawkincake]

I asked the same question just recently because I ordered both - I am not positive because I mixed my carob with maca in what I made but I think I wasn't too crazy about the carob. Now the cacao/cocoa was to die for!

[Rawkincake]

Ok it is definitely the maca - I just put it in a smoothie and that odd taste that was in my other thing I made is in the smoothie.

[subbacultcha]

(Raw) carob and cacao both taste awesome but to me they don't taste that similar. I like cacao on its own but I only really like carob with cacao. Carob makes chocolate things taste like chocolate biscuits :)

[Carlsbad]

I've never had carob, but I'm going to start using it because cacao keeps me wide awake, even 16-19 hours after I've eaten it. Which is a major bummer because it tastes awesome!

[NoniPixie]

i agree with the chocolate biscuits taste when you add the carob. i've recently elimated all carob from recipes unless it's a sort of thick milk. simply cause it's too grainy and you can never get the silky chocolate texture with it. i personally like cacao, and although it's really rich and dark chocolate tasting i find that if i put the right coco oil and agave/honey in there, it tastes just as milky as milk chocolate without the biscuit texture. :) :) :) plus it's loaded with antioxidants like no other! so i'm all about the cacao.
i've never actually tried cocoa powder though. i thought i heard it was mainly always cooked, and when i started maiking raw desserts i always had cacao available. so i guess i might try the cocoa one of these days if i can get a good source. does anyone know if the texture is that like cacao or like carob?

[Rawkincake]

I think cacao and cocoa are the same - thats what ive heard anyway.

[agumble]

I've found that cocoa and cacoa are great if you're looking for a chocolate taste. I was really surprised when I recently bought carob because I thought it was supposed to taste like chocolate too but it didn't at all. It was still good, but it definitely didn't satisfy my chocolate craving. So I guess which one you use depends on what kind of taste you're looking for. And also be careful about the caffeine if you're affected by that! It's in cocoa and cacoa but not carob.

[ulimana]

thanks lambe!

yea carob is the choice if you have allergies, and want to avoid caffeine and the other chemicals in cacao.

[Jeannine]

I've never been a big fan of carob. I did make some chocolate "pudding" with chia seeds, agave and cacoa powder the other day. I wasn't too crazy about the taste/texture of it, I don't think I added enough agave or cacoa.

So, I added some of it to my smoothie this morning - spinach, pineapple, banana & chocolate pudding. I couldn't BELIEVE how good it was! It added this undertone of... decadence... to my breakfast that I felt a little guilty for. :D