I know there are many of you that have had to ditch the chocolate on your healthy life journey.
Some of you can’t tolerate the caffeine.
Others of you have migraines that can be triggered by the tyramine found in chocolate.
And that makes the chocoholic in me go sit in a corner and cry.
But, cry no more, Baby!
There is something that can take the place of chocolate in all your favorite goodies!
I have recently been introduced to carob. Or re-introduced, actually.
But this carob is nothing like what carob used to taste like.
This stuff is called Uncommon Carob, and indeed it is!
Uncommon Carob is smooth and creamy. It doesn’t have any bitter aftertaste. And the best part?
It comes in unsweetened, slightly sweetened, and wait for it…
Peppermint!
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, they added organic peppermint oil to their creamy, amazing goodness!
Let’s all just take a moment…
“OK”, you say.
“I’m down with peppermint”, you say.
“But what the heck is carob?”, you say.
I hear ya! It’s not totally main stream yet. But it will be soon.
What is Carob?
Carob tree and pods
Carob is a tree that is native to the Mediterranean regions and can grow as high as 49 feet. That’s a big tree, ya’ll!
They produce big seed pods that take almost a year to mature. The pods are 80 – 90% pulp and the rest is seeds.
The pulp is what’s used for making carob powder or chunks. The pods are dried and roasted and the pulp is removed and finally ground for carob powder or flour.
On a side note, the seeds are used to make locust bean gum. That’s a thickening agent used in the food industry.
So, enough with the botany all ready!
What does carob taste like?
You know how a chocolate malt tastes chocolate-y, but not chocolate?
Well that’s what carob tastes like. Chocolate-y but not chocolate. In fact. it has a malty-ish sort of taste to it.
Carob is naturally high in calcium and fiber. It’s also a good source of potassium and magnesium. And it’s gluten-free.
It’s also naturally sweet. So unsweetened carob is plenty sweet if you’re using it on it’s own.
Uncommon Carob
Uncommon Carob varieties
The good folks at Azure Standard sent me some packages of Uncommon Carob products to play with in exchange for my honest review.
And play I did!
Uncommon Carob comes in individual 2 oz bars and in 8 oz packages of baking buttons. Like chocolate chips, only better.
And both the bars and the baking buttons come in all 3 varieties: unsweetened, sweetened, and cool mint. Uncommon Carob products are organic, non-GMO, dairy-free and soy-free.
I must confess that the baking buttons are pretty hard to resist eating by the handfuls…
They would make an excellent addition to a trail mix or granola.
Of course, you can simply substitute them for chocolate chips in any recipe you have hangin out in your recipe box as well.
The bars can honestly just be eaten as a snack. Or chunked up and added to cookies or muffins or pretty much anything.
Or you could melt them down and use them for anything you would normally use baking chocolate for.
So many things to make with Uncommon Carob, so little time…!
But just to get you started, here’s my Peppermint Carob Pecan Cookies recipe. I made them with Einkorn flour, but you can use regular flour if you want to.
You’re so gonna love ’em!
What would you use Uncommon Carob for first?
Blessings!
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