Autumn brings with it an array of colorful fruits and vegetables from the garden…and seeds. This Thanksgiving, as we dig into our root cellars for orange carrots, purple potatoes, and red beets, as well as colorful persimmons, pomegranates, and grapes, let’s not forget our podded friends, seeds and nuts, that also contribute to holiday stuffings, nut breads and more. Today we’re exploring one other option: Carob, a locally grown seed pod that substitutes for chocolate (okay, nothing replaces chocolate) and holds a place at the fall table.
Carob powder is in season, and you can find carob (to make your own) growing on many streets here in Los Angeles. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is used as a street tree in Mediterranean climates, so if you just walk around the block you’ll catch the fragrant smell of carob on the breeze in November. Making carob powder is easy, just a little time consuming. Here’s how:
Technically a fruit, carob pods are eaten while the seeds are discarded.
Pick your pods
Carob pods are relatively easy to access, as there are plenty of low-hanging branches. Harvest pods that are brown and crisp, but avoid picking pods off of the ground. Since carob trees are mostly located along the street, they are going to be coated with road dust and pollution. So…
Rinsing removes surface dirt. Then soak overnight or at least a couple hours to soften pods.
Rinse well
We researched several sources and found that it’s easier to cut open the pods if they have been soaked awhile. Make it easy on yourself and soak them for at least a couple hours after rinsing.
You’ll need a hammer or meat tenderizer and a pair of garden shears for the next part.
Get out your aggression
The next part is fun. We thought it would be difficult, but it actually isn’t. Again, a little research showed that cutting through the middle of the pods before smashing them made it easy as pie to access the seeds. The seeds are so hard, they don’t shatter during the process, making it easy to separate them out from the edible pods.
Make a cut down the center of the pod to give seeds an easy exit.
Smash the pods with a hammer or meat tenderizer. The seeds will shoot across the room!
Separate seeds from pod. Discard the seeds (or try to grow a new tree).
Dry the pods
Next, place the pods on a screen or dehydrate them for a day in the solar (or electric) food dehydrator. You can dry them out at a low temperature in the oven as well.
Dry carob pods until crisp and brittle.
Grind to a powder
Place carob bits in a high-speed blender, or use a sturdy coffee grinder
It only took a minute or two in a Vitamix to pulverize the carob beans into powder.
It will be lighter than store bought carob powder because it hasn’t been toasted. This is raw, local carob powder!
Strain the powder
In order to have an even consistency, sift the powder through a fine sieve. You can re-grind the larger bits until the whole batch is broken down to fine powder.
Big pieces go back in the blender for another round.
Ta-DA! Carob Powder!
Carob is naturally sweet, but you can add honey or other sweetener if you like.
Now you’re ready to use your carob powder. We trolled the interwebs to find some tasty recipes for holiday desserts this season. Carob powder is versatile and can be served in beverages, cookies, cakes and more. Check out these great recipes:
Mineral Rich Hot Carob Drink – with cardamom and cinnamon, it’s perfect for holiday sipping by the fire.
Raw Vegan Cashew Chocolate – it should say “cashew carob”, but you get the idea. The picture alone makes us want to make this.
Spiced Carob Cookies – more spicy goodies for the holiday season. Mix in some honey or a vegan sweetener and go to town. Oh, and they’re grain-free.
Avocado Carob Mousse Pudding – avocados are also in season, so this is a definite one to try. Dates, honey, disguised avocado…what could be better? We’ll be cranking this one out this week.
Even if you don’t live in a Mediterranean climate, you can find carob powder at your local health food store or online. It’s time carob took its place at the Thanksgiving table with the rest of autumn’s bounty. Don’t you think?
When you make carob powder at home, how do you store them? 🙂
In the fridge? Or in the kitchen looker? And for how long?
If you dehydrate the carob first before grinding it, it will be shelf stable. I’ve had mine on the shelf for a year or so and it’s still good. If you’re worried about it getting old you could keep it in the fridge or freezer.
Any places in the valley you can find carob trees?
They set fruit in fall so you can usually smell carob if you’re walking or riding around on a bike. You might try checking out these maps on Fallen Fruit (http://fallenfruit.org/projects/public-fruit-maps/) to see if there are any documented in your area. You could also put the word out on NextDoor if you are on that to see if any neighbors know of one in the area.
I love Carob and want to make my own Carob Powder!
Live in NY so I need to source carob pods from somewhere more Mediterranean like.
Do you recommend any place for obtaining pods?
The ideal thing would be to trade – I make a very wonderful raw “chocolate” using carob powder and some other ingredients.
I would love to trade my recipe and some raw “chocolate” for enough pods to make a good supply of carob powder! (I kind of live on this chocolate…)
Let me know if you are interested in my recipe and I will send…
Thanks,
You may want to post on a few Facebook gardening boards local to Los Angeles. Someone may be willing to ship from L.A. for you. We’ve got trees around here but it’s not harvest time right now.
I have just bought organic carob powder – and I have a huge old carob(algarroba) tree in my house on Spain!! So delighted to find your recipe. Thank you I shall have fun trying it if I can get the pods back to the uk where I spend most time! Looking fed to your gardening tips too.
Love it! Have fun making your own.
Thank you so much for the carob powder directions! I have 3 boxes of carob beans ready to process after picking them from a large tree last week in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Wonderful! Have fun with the processing – get friends involved if you can. Many hands make light work.