Carob, the alternative to Chocolate.
Carob is the fruit of the Ceratonia Siliqua, commonly known as Carob tree, and belongs to the pea family. In Ancient Egypt it was used as a sweetener and digestive complement, a bit like the Aztecas used Cacao.
One of the best attributes of the Carob flour is that contains around 50% of natural sugars (fructose, sucrose, glucose, maltose). Therefore, it avoids the need to add sugars, instead it is necessary with Cocoa powder because of its bitter taste. Also, is a source of iron (more than the cattle liver), calcium (more than milk), magnesium, potassium and fibre.
The Carob flour has been used in the healthy food industry as much as chocolate.
Compared to the cocoa, is a healthy alternative that can be consumed without extra additional ingredients. The Cocoa is also a good option if it is consumed alone, however that is not common, because the most popular way to eat Cocoa is as Chocolate, and usually this contains refined sugars, milk power or chemical additives. Luckily, in the markets we can also find Chocolates with high content of cocoa, and these are the healthiest ones.
The taste of Carob flour is sweet and is used as a substitute of cocoa to make cakes and cookies. If you like to cook, you can discover how Carob tastes and feel the benefits of this alternative choice with this amazing Carob Fudge recipe. Let´s try it!!
Carob Fudge
Ingredients:
1 Cup of Chopped Dates.
1 Cup of Water.
½ Cup of Carob Powder
1 Cup of Peanut Butter
½ Cup of Coconut
1 Cup of chopped walnuts
1 table spun of Vanilla
How to make it.
First cook dates in a 1/2 cup of water until they are very soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
The next step is combine 1/2 cup of water with carob powder in a small saucepan. Boil carob mixture 5 minutes until making a smooth paste. Finally, combine the cooked dates with the remaining ingredients.
Press into 8 inch square pan and refrigerate.
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