Tag Archives: carob

health benefits of carob

The Health Benefits Of Carob

What is Carob?

 

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is a flowering evergreen tree in the legume family. It is also sometimes referred to as St. John's Bread. There’s a biblical story story which shares that St. John the Baptist subsisted on carob beans mixed with honey while he crossed the desert.

Carob was traditionally eaten in the Middle East as a source of sugar before sugar cane and beets were used for that purpose. The seeds are also referred to as “locust beans.” Locust bean gum, a thickening agent found in alternative dairy and other products, comes from these seeds.

 

Benefits of Carob

 

Naturally sweeter than cacao (the base ingredient for chocolate), carob is more than a sweetener.  There are a wide range of health benefits from it and many of the studies being done indicate positive outcomes from the use of carob:

 

  • Many people prefer carob to chocolate because, unlike chocolate, it does not contain the stimulants caffeine or theobromine. It also does not have any oxalic acid which can cause calcium oxalate kidney stones in some individuals.
  • It is rich in tannins creating a binding effect which can be helpful when given to someone with diarrhea. Tip: I have found documentation suggesting 15 g. of carob in applesauce (for flavor and ease of ingestion) is an acceptable dose for children.
  • Carob is currently being examined as a protein source.  Research indicates that the flour made from the germ of carob has a high protein content, as much as 46%.  according to studies currently being done at the Universidad de Sevilla, Instituta de la Grassia, by isolating the germ further, protein content percentages, in a laboratory setting, have reached as high as 95%.  This isolate is of interest because it would offer an alternative to soy or dairy proteins for protein shake formulas created for athletes and for diabetics.  
  • The germ flour of carob also yields higher levels of arginine, an essential amino acid that is important for healing wounds, for immune function, and for hormone release among other physiological functions.  
  • For people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance carob flour and carob bean gum can be a good choice as carob contains no gluten.
  • There appears to be a cholesterol lowering effect of carob fiber which is taken from the pulp of the fruit. According to a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition “Daily consumption of food products enriched with carob fibre shows beneficial effects on human blood lipid profile and may be effective in prevention and treatment of hypercholesterolemia.”  
  • Carob fiber is also high in phenolic antioxidant substances, and there are studies underway looking into the chemo preventive qualities of carob.
  • Carob is rich in polyphenols which can reduce oxidative stress scavenging free radicals. These phenols have been shown to reduce the risk of some chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
  • The tannins and polyphenols found in carob fiber may have the potential to be helpful with those who suffer from type 2 diabetes. These compounds can reduce the blood glucose response by inhibiting enzyme activity; therefore, slowing the rate of starch digestion.

Carob usually comes in a powder form although it is possible to also buy it in blocks. It is not currently available in gum or liquid form, these tend to be only used for commercial applications.

 

Is it like chocolate?

Carob does not have the same taste/flavor as chocolate, but many people like it. Especially because, as mentioned above, it’s naturally sweet.  As well as being sweeter, carob provides good nutrient density when compared to cocoa.  The comparison below is for one cup:         

Carob can be substituted for cocoa in a recipe by replacing each part of cocoa powder with 2-1/2 parts carob powder by weight.

To substitute for baking chocolate, use 3 Tablespoons carob powder plus 2 Tablespoons water for one square baking chocolate.

You can also purchase carob chips, a healthier option is to choose the unsweetened ones.

If you are monitoring calories and/or carbohydrates, here is a comparison of unsweetened carob and unsweetened cocoa powder:

1 Tbsp unsweetened carob = 25 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder = 12 calories and 3 grams of carbohydrates

In conclusion, carob is great as a sweetener substitute, it is high in protein and will probably be coming soon to a protein supplement near you.  Useful for people who cannot ingest gluten, it is also showing promise as a functional food that may help lower cholesterol and help prevent oxidative cell damage. It may also be effective in the prevention of colon cancer and reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Consider adding carob to your diet but please remember to read the labels.  If you start seeing wonderful health claims on the front of a package that's fine but always check what other ingredients are in your food before you unthinkingly purchase something because of the marketing language.

I like carob, and we do use it sometimes in baking. I don't consider it to be a “substitute” for chocolate, but instead another ingredient with its own unique flavor. Give it a try, you may discover a new flavor to use plus some health benefits too.

Sources
 

Cake Questions

My friend Claire recently learned about using carob as a substitute for chocolate and decided that she wanted to try it. She felt that it was best to start with a recipe that already used carob and try to change the sugar/fat ratios so she picked this recipe.

Here are her notes, “Instead of using 2/3 cup I substituted with 1/2 cup brown sugar plus 4 tbsp's milk. It turned out looking & tasting just like a chocolate cake; just not as sweet as the ones you normally get from the store, because I didn't use as much sweetener. I shared it with a friend and she liked it and thought it was a chocolate cake. The texture of the cake is dense and more like that of a banana bread. I think if I use 100% all purpose flour or cake flour it will make a difference. I baked for 30 minutes and it turned out a little dry, so I would probably bake less than 30 minutes next time. Also adding icing might help with the dryness but I didn't use it.”

My reply: “This certainly looks great and your picture looks wonderful!! I would make one small change. Instead of brown sugar (which these days is nothing more than white sugar stained with molasses) I would try demerara sugar which is a lower process than white sugar and has a fairly good moisture content mimicking the effect of brown sugar.

In case you are wondering why manufacturers pull the molasses out of sugar to make white sugar and then add it back to make brown, it's so that they can get a consistent color palette in the product. Silly but that's why they do it.

As to the moisture…the cake probably came out a little drier because you used less sweetener. You can try to modify that by either adding a little more fat (oil or butter) or by adding something like sour cream (just a little) to help which would also give a subtle richness to the cake or applesauce which would help add moisture. The applesauce typically doesn't add anything to the flavor profile, just moisture.

Since I personally encourage people to eat more whole grains I would leave the whole wheat the way it is is the recipe, switching back to 100% enriched flour is nutritionally less desirable and will also significantly change the properties of the cake.”

As a general note, when you are modifying recipes it's sometimes difficult to remember all the different pieces that make up the whole. Changing one ingredient can have a major effect on the overall result. When working with baked goods the most important things to think about are if your change will impact the loft (whole grains are more dense requiring possibly more moisture or more leavening), the moisture, or the flavor. But most importantly, like Claire, have fun and experiment with your food.

Photo: Courtesy of Claire Wang

Mesquite Flour

My friend Misty asked me “What do you know about mesquite flour?”  Mesquite (genus Prosopis) is a deciduous, leguminous tree that grows quite well in Texas and Mexico and has a range that goes as far north as Kansas and westward to southern California.  Most people use the wood to create a flavorful smoke that imparts a fabulous taste to barbequed meats.  But mesquite also has another purpose.


I had heard of people using mesquite flour before I moved to Texas, a high protein legume that was high in fiber and originally part of the Native American diet for Southwestern tribes.

Researching it further I have discovered that it apparently also has a good profile for calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and is high in the amino acid lysine.  Because of it's high soluble fiber content and low glycemic index, in spite of a reported sweet flavor, mesquite flour is believed to be a good choice for diabetics.  

Mesquite flour was traditionally consumed by Pima Indians.  With the advent of a modern diet many of them have developed diabetes; this seems to be attributed to their decline in consumption of mesquite flour.  According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition “the slow digestion and absorption of starch in traditional foods was a factor that helped protect susceptible populations from developing diabetes.”  These traditional foods included corn, lima beans, white and yellow teparies, mesquite, and acorns.  Another study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology highlighted an ethnobotanical study in Israel which researched plants used for the treatment of diabetes; one of the plants included was mesquite.

Because mesquite is a legume I am assuming that it has a non-glutinous profile making it best suited for quick breads, cakes, and muffins or cookies rather than for a yeasted bread.  

Mesquite also has another use, the flowers are attractive to bees and I have heard that mesquite honey is quite flavorful.  You can purchase mesquite honey on the internet as well as mesquite flour. There are also recipes available that call for mesquite flour.  All in all it seems like it might be somewhat similar to another legume flour, carob, which I wrote about here and here. Both are sweet, high in fiber and provide a good protein content.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org