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Buying This Food
Look for: Tightly sealed containers that will protect the flour from moisture and insects.Storing This Food
Store carob flour in a cool, dark place in a container that protects it from air, moisture, and
insects. Keep carob candy cool and dry.Preparing This Food
Measure out carob flour by filling a cup or tablespoon and leveling it off with a knife. To
substitute carob for regular flour, use ¼ cup carob flour plus ¾ cup regular flour for each cup
ordinary flour. To substitute for chocolate, use three tablespoons of carob flour plus two
tablespoons of water for each ounce of unsweetened chocolate. Carob flour is sweeter than
unsweetened chocolate.What Happens When You Cook This Food
Unlike cocoa powder, carob flour contains virtually no fat. It will burn, not melt, if you heat
it in a saucepan. When the flour is heated with water, its starch granules absorb moisture and
rupture, releasing a gum that can be used as a stabilizer, thickener, or binder in processed
foods and cosmetics. In cake batters, it performs just like other flours (see flour).How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
* * *Medical uses and/or Benefits
Adsorbent and demulcent. Medically, carob flour has been used as a soothing skin powder.
As a chocolate substitute. People who are sensitive to chocolate can usually use carob
instead. Like cocoa beans, carob is free of cholesterol. Unlike cocoa, which contains the cen-
tral-nervous-system stimulant caffeine and the muscle stimulant theobromine, carob does
not contain any stimulating methylxanthines.
Lower cholesterol levels. In 2001, a team of German nutrition researchers from the Institute
for Nutritional Science at the University of Potsdam, the German Institute of Human Nutri-
tion, Center for Conventional Medicine and Alternative Therapies (Berlin) Nutrinova Nutri-
tion Specialties and Food Ingredients GmbH, and PhytoPharm Consulting, Institute for