Page 24 - Boardwalk Meander_Issue_4_2022

GARDENING

The pods from the carob tree are roasted
or cooked for a short time and are then
ground into carob powder. Roasting
enhances the chocolate-like flavour.
Instead of cocoa powder, you can
use carob powder; just remember to
reduce the sugar in the recipe because
of the natural sweetness of carob.

Inside the pods are the beans;
these are used extensively in food
manufacturing for their gelling and
binding properties. Some dogs love
eating the pods.
ADVANTAGES
OF CAROB:

• Carob is caffeine free. Unlike
chocolate, carob contains neither
caffeine nor theobromine.
Caffeine, and to a lesser extent
GOAL-
theobromine (the stimulant that
is harmful to dogs and cats), are
BALL
both stimulants, making you
more alert and giving you an
CHOCOLATE THAT YOU AND energy boost. However, they can
also make you restless, anxious
YOUR PET CAN ENJOY, SAFELY • and irritable.
Carob aids with digestion and
may ease nausea or an upset
ost of us love chocolate. appeared in South Africa in 1949 and has stomach.
Unfortunately, some of us been here ever since.
Mare unable to eat chocolate • Carob is high in calcium and
because of the caffeine content. There The tree is drought tolerant and has rich in vitamins A, B, D and E. It
may be a solution at hand, but please a broad, spreading form that makes also contains minerals such as
check with your doctor if it applies to you. it an ideal shade tree. The leaves are magnesium, iron, phosphorus,
leathery, glossy and dark green.
The solution lies in carob chocolate. manganese and potassium.
The tree can bear carob pods (the fruit)
The chocolate we’re used to eating is after about six to eight years of growth • Carob has anti-viral and anti-
made from cocoa, which is naturally and by its 12th year, it can bear up to bacterial properties.
bitter and has lots of sugar, fat and 100 pounds of pods per year for the The biggest reason carob powder is
additives. Carob chocolate is made next 100 years. The pods can be up to a healthy for you is that it is natural.
from the naturally sweet legumes of foot long and are reddish-brown. Carob comes from the pods of carob
the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). trees and is naturally sweet. Carob
Carob has been consumed since doesn’t undergo the extensive
The carob is a flowering evergreen tree or ancient times and has been used as processing that chocolate does to make
shrub. It is native to the Mediterranean, food for over 5 000 years. It is also it taste good. Carob, therefore doesn’t
but also grows in other warm climates. It used as feed for livestock. have the additional sugar, corn syrups,
chemicals, additives and processed
Its name is referenced in the Bible, chemicals that chocolate does.
where carob is called “honey locust”
or St. John’s bread as it was consumed In South Africa, we have a small
by John the Baptist while he was in the factory called Bellair Montagu that
wilderness. The husks that were eaten produces dried fruit ground with carob
by the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ parable chocolate and yoghurt. It also produces
were discarded carob pods.
carob-covered nuts, seeds and ginger.
The word carat, which is still used My favourite is the carob-covered
today to measure gold and diamonds, sunflower seeds. Thank you, Bellair, for
comes from the Arabic name for these wonderful healthy snacks.
the carob seeds because of their Information sourced from
uniformity in weight. www.bellair.co.za

22
Boardwalk Meander Estate Issue 4 · 2022