Contents
Called “bread of Saint John”, carob is a fruit consumed since antiquity. It has served in different ways throughout the history of mankind.
It was eaten as food, but its seeds were also used as a measure. Carob seeds were used as units of measurement in ancient times.
They weigh about 0,20 grams each. 1 carat then represented the weight of a carob bean in the trade of precious stones. Let’s find out together what are the benefits of carob.
What is carob
Carob is the fruit of a tree. They are in the form of a pod. The carob tree grows in North Africa and the Middle East. It is a tree that can reach up to 15 meters in height. But on average, its size varies between 5 and 10 meters.
Its lifespan can reach 5 hundred years. Its bark is rough and brown. The carob tree is cultivated rather for its fruits which are in the form of pods; their length varies between 10 and 30 meters.
The pods are green at first and then turn a dark brown color when they reach maturity.
Carob pods bear seeds that are brown in color. They are fifteen to twenty seeds in a pod. Juicy and sweet luscious partitions separate these seeds from each other (1).
More and more carob, which had fallen into oblivion, appeared towards the end of the 20th century.
Several countries in the world now cultivate the carob tree, whether in Mexico, the United States, South Africa, the Middle East, the Maghreb, India. This great interest in the carob tree has several reasons.
Beyond food, the carob tree is also used to facilitate reforestation and reforestation. This makes it possible to compensate for erosion and desertification. It must be said that this tree has benefits on the ecological system.
Composition de la caroube
The most nutritious part of the carob is its pulp. It is located inside the pod. It contains:
- Plant fibers, in particular galactomannan: The fibers in the diet are regulators of intestinal transit.
Foods high in fiber like carob can help prevent gastrointestinal complaints and constipation.
In case of chronic diarrhea, you can consume them not only to rehydrate yourself, but to rebalance, restore the digestive system.
Carob, thanks to its fibers, also protects you from ailments linked to the colon. Berber peoples used carob to treat digestive disorders.
Carob pods were also processed and mixed with honey or oatmeal to treat diarrhea in ancient Egypt.
- Protein: Proteins represent 20% of body mass. They are contained in all the tissues of the body; whether it is the hair, the nails, the digestive system, the brain …
Proteins are part of the functioning of tissues. Collagen, for example, is a protein that has a role in the elasticity of the skin.
Proteins also help transport blood. Proteins are useful for blood clotting. They also act as hormones, enzymes in the body.
They are important in the transport and storage of lipids for energy. Proteins are essential for the body.
- Trace elements such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, silica. Trace elements are present in different parts of your body in small quantities.
They play a different role in terms of beauty, energy, tissue composition, blood composition, enzymatic reactions.
- Tannins: Tannins have several properties in your body. They have astringent, antiviral, antimicrobial, anti inflammatory properties.
They have a protective activity on the vascular elements. They also behave as antioxidants, anti-diarrhea or inhibitors of the enzymatic system.
- Starches: Starches are a source of energy in the body. They serve as fuel, and therefore very important for sports activities.
- Sugar: They allow the body to make energy from glucose.
The benefits of carob
Locust bean gum for weight loss
After harvesting the pods of the carob tree, they are crushed. The seeds are removed from the pulp. These seeds will then be freed from their skins by an acid treatment.
They will then be split and then treated before being crushed to obtain locust bean gum powder. Locust bean gum is a vegetable gum (2). Locust bean gum is considered effective in weight loss.
In fact when you consume carob, the fibers contained in it will stimulate, increase lipid metabolism. The lipids will therefore be used more for energy, which promotes their oxidation. Carob has an influence on weight and energy.
Beyond its benefits on weight, locust bean gum is used in food technology as a thickener. Its slightly bland taste allows the food to be sweetened.
It is also used in cheese substitutes such as lygomme.
To protect your vocal cords
After several sessions of training or doing concerts, musical performances, your voice is almost broken.
Lozenges and other synthesized products can help you maintain your vocal cords. But the carob is even better. Natural, 100% vegetable, especially for vegetarians, carob has long been used to soften the voices.
In 19th century Britain, musicians bought locust beans to maintain their vocal cords before and after concerts.
Against gastroesophageal reflux
Locust bean gum is used to fight gastroesophageal reflux disease in children. Different studies have been carried out on children who suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease.
After a few weeks of treatment, the children’s situation really improved.
Carob is also used in infant flours as a replacement for wheat because 100% pure carob contains more nutrients than wheat.
Thanks to the action of tannins and galactomannan a vegetable fiber, locust bean gum helps you à fight against gastroesophageal reflux.
In addition, it has a positive action in digestive disorders. If the child has diarrhea and vomiting, use locust bean gum to treat it.
In the pharmaceutical industry, carob is used in the manufacture of anti-diarrheal drugs.
In the event of a fatty or dry cough, carob is an essential food to treat these small health concerns.
Hypoglycemic properties
Better than chocolate, carob contains many properties to protect your health. Locust bean gum helps reduce blood sugar levels and therefore stabilize it.
Carob is very rich in fiber. It should be remembered that fiber is effective in lowering lipid levels in the body. They are particularly essential in the normalization of glucose levels (3).
Considering some interference that carob could have in diabetes treatments, it is important to talk to your doctor before consuming for long periods of time and in large quantities.
Precautions
Consumption of carob is apparently without side effects. No case of poisoning has been reported with carob. However, it is necessary to avoid an excess of consumption in order not to become intoxicated.
Being a regulator of intestinal transit, its overconsumption can inevitably affect the balance of your digestive system.
The different forms of carob
Carob seeds are used in the food industry. They are ground into a powder and used either as a cocoa substitute or as an additive to cocoa powder. They have gelling and stabilizing properties.
The American food industry used carob as a substitute for cocoa powder in the 1980s. At that time, cocoa was very expensive and difficult to obtain for industrial purposes.
- Carob powder is made from the pulp contained in the carob bean. Carob powder is a natural substitute for cocoa powder. Ideal for children.
It contains more fiber and calcium. It’s healthy, natural, without caffeine or theobromine. Carob powder is safe and can be consumed anytime like chocolate.
Carob powder are used in confectionery as a substitute for pectin, gelatin. It is also used as a stabilizer for ice cream.
It is also used in the composition of cookies, drinks and especially in chocolate.
In biotechnology, the powder is used as a culture medium for bacteria.
When using carob powder in your recipes, reduce the amount of sugar you used by a quarter because the carob powder is sweet.
However, you will need to enhance the taste of your confectionery and the like with strong flavor ingredients.
I do not recommend carob for the preparation of mousses because it liquefies faster. Moreover, unlike chocolate, carob powder dissolves less easily in lipids.
Use a blender or first melt the carob powder in lukewarm water before using it in your recipes.
For prescriptions in medicinal forms, the prescribed dose for an adult is 30g per day. To easily consume carob powder, you need to dissolve it in a hot drink, preferably milk, coffee, tea, or hot water.
The dose of carob powder à to consume the infant is 1,5g per kilo per day. This means that you will give him 4,5 g of carob powder per day for a 3 kg infant.
- Carob in pieces: Carob is also sold in pieces. You can make your own locust bean gum from chunky locust beans.
- Locust bean gum: it is made from the seeds of carob bean in powder form. It is used mainly in the preparation of ice creams and creams, cold meats, infant cereals, soups, sauces, dairy products in general.
Its role is to thicken, to stabilize the preparations in which it intervenes. It makes ice cream and creams more creamy.
In your recipes, mix the dry locust bean gum with the other ingredients before dissolving. This to facilitate its incorporation.
To obtain the viscosity of the gum, bring the carob solution to a boil for 1 minute. Leave to cool to obtain a viscous appearance.
In ice cream, add 4g / liter
In cold cuts, meats, fish, add 5-10 g / kg
In your soups, sauces, bisques … add 2-3g / liter
In your broths, low-fat dairy products, gelled desserts, use 5-10 g of locust bean gum / liter
- Organic carob oil: you have carob in the form of essential oil
- Carob capsules are to be taken twice a day. One capsule is around 2Mg.
Consume them in the morning at the time of the breakfast for a better effectiveness of the carob. For people on a slimming diet.
Carob can be an appetite suppressant for you. In this case consume 3-4 capsules per day, 1 hour before breakfast.
Carob syrup: carob syrup is obtained from the seeds which are roasted and then processed. The seeds are also used as a coffee substitute in confectionery (4).
Recipes
Carob brownie
You will need:
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 6 tablespoons of carob powder
- ¼ teaspooné
- ½ cup of sugar or 1 cup of sugar depending on your taste
- ½ cup unsalted butteré
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup of pecans
Preparation
Program your oven for 180 degrees.
In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, coffee, carob powder, salt. Mix all these ingredients well.
In another bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Whisk them until they look very frothy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat again until a perfect incorporation.
Then add the other ingredients (flour, sugar, salt…). Beat until the ingredients are incorporated into the cream.
Melt a little butter to spread in the bottom of your mold.
Pour the resulting dough and put the mold in the oven.
For metal molds, put the oven at 180 for 25 minutes
For ice-cream mussels, 35 minutes would be perfect.
At the end of the cooking time, use a fork to check the brownie’s doneness.
Let cool for 15 minutes before dividing.
Your kids will love this delicious and fondant brownie.
Carob milk
You will need:
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 tablespoon of carob
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
Preparation
In a cooking utensil, combine the milk and the carob powder.
Mix well for a perfect incorporation, then lower the milk from the heat.
Let cool and add the vanilla and honey
Nutritional value
This hot drink is perfect in the evening, in winter. It will relieve your coughs, sore throats and broken voice. It is also good against fevers.
Milk promotes sleep. Associated with carob, it gives you quality sleep, restful sleep.
Honey is full of vitamins and minerals. It also softens the voice and therefore works for the good health of your vocal cords just like carob.
carob chips
You will need:
- 1 cup of coconut oil
- 1 cup of carob
- 2-3 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla (4)
Preparation
Heat your coconut oil over a low heat
Lower the heat and add your carob powder
Add the sugar and vanilla and mix well
Then pour the mixture into a cool dish
When the mixture has become solid, take it out of the refrigerator and cut it into pieces.
These chips can be used in your various cakes, ice creams….
Conclusion
Carob is sold in several forms. In syrup, powder, gum, you will find on the sites or in the trade the form which suits you best.
This sweet-tasting fruit is to be tested in your kitchen, whether in your desserts, your pastries, drinks, ice cream and others.
This chocolate substitute is also widely used in infant flours. It has the power to calm babies’ digestive disorders.
Don’t forget to share our article if you liked it.