Carob cheaper than chocolate

Press, 2 September 1981, Page 14

Carob cheaper than chocolate

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

Carob products are being promoted, as substitutes for cocoa and chocolate, sometimes with the suggestion that they are more “healthful.” The nutrition section of the . Department of Health has been looking into the claim. Part of the popularity of carob as a substitute may stem from its price. A recent survey of Wellington shops shows that carob powders were considerably cheaper than cocoa powder., If it is the price that matters, then carob at the moment is a better buy, says the nutrition section. If it is the nutritional value that matters, the differences are insignificant. If flavour is the main factor, then that is a matter of opinion. But it is doubtful whether the Aztecs, presented with the carob bean, would have been tempted to give it the status they awarded the cocoa bean. Carob and cocoa are both plant products. Both have been used since time immemorial. Carob, which is also called locust bean and St John’s weed, is- the pod of an evergreen tree that grows in the eastern Mediterranean. The whole bean is edible and is used as a food for both humans and domestic animals. Carob husks are mentioned in Luke 15:16 and the “locusts” mentioned by John the Baptist are believed to have been carobs. Cocoa and chocolate are also made from a bean. This is the cacao bean, the product of a tree that is a native of the Amazon forests, and is now grown commercially in tropical areas in many parts of the world. The Aztecs of Mexico, who cultivated cocoa long before its introduction into Europe in the sixteenth century, made a preparation called “chocolati.”

They believed that the tree was of divine origin and it was this belief that led the Swedish botanist Linnaeus to give the cacao tree its botanical name “Theobrome,” meaning “food of the gods.”

The cocoa bean is contained in a large pod 15cm to 25cm long which contains 2040 seeds in a pulp. When ripe, the pods are fermented, dried, and then roasted until the shells fall away.

The remains are called “nibs,” which are then ground to make bitter chocolate. Cocoa is made by processing some of the fat, or cocoa butter, out of the ground nibs. When comparing the nutritional values of carob and cocoa powders, it has to be remembered that both are used as flavourings, and the quantities used at any one time are small. As a result, the nutritional advantages of one over the other are negligible. A teaspoon of cocoa powder provides a mere seven kilocalories (29 kilojoules), while the same quantity of carob powder has slightly fewer. Both contain small amounts of protein and vitamins, but the amounts are quite insignificant in terms of the day’s requirements.

Cocoa and chocolate both contain small amounts of the natural alkaloids theobromine and caffeine. For people who wish to avoid these substances, carob is a reasonable substitute.