Carob: It’s Not Cocoa’s Weird Cousin!

Carob is a funny thing. I find that people either love it or hate it. I personally love it and find myself defending the poor thing a lot. Meghan is not such a fan of it and whenever I mention the stuff she gives me an "ew" look. I was introduced to carob really early on since my grandmother used to bake with it. Since chocolate kept her up at night, she used carob in its place in a lot of cakes and cookies. I don't think carob tastes like chocolate, but it is sweet and brown so I suppose it can stand in as chocolate when necessary. I prefer to think of carob as its own unique flavour. I can't really describe it -malty, molasses, sweet with a little bitterness at the same time. Something along those lines. I do appreciate that it is naturally sweet on its own and is so versatile. It can be added to smoothies, baked goods, and even savoury dishes to balance out the flavour and add a certain complexity.