Thought it is a good idea to make a psychedelic photo of these otherworldly carob flowers! See more on my herbalism course at bit.ly/votanotherapeia ...discover my books at bit.ly/elefteria ...and read more about that. In the Mediterranean Basin, carob pods were often used as animal feed and in times of famine, as "the last source of food in hard times". The ripe, dried, and sometimes toasted pod is often ground into carob powder, which was sometimes used as an ersatz cocoa powder, especially in the 1970s natural food movement. However, through a change in consumer tastes as well as refined industrial technology and other improved commodity processing methods in the early 21st century, carob-based products became a substitute good or an alternative to chocolate, firstly for people with digestive or dietary issues, and later to a wider range of consumers. The powder and chips can be used like chocolate in almost all recipes. Through carob-based products, people can enjoy an approximation of their favorite cocoa-like flavours in sweet treats but eating considerably fewer calories, fat and processed sugar per each ingested kilograme of product. Photo taken by me, all rights reserved. Text credit, Wikipedia. #herbaleducation #carob #carobtree #carobs #fabaceae #eatweeds #medicinalplants #wildfoodlove #wildfood #myherbalstudies #botany #greekflora #greekfood #wildherbs #foragingforfood #greekherbs #herbalistsofinstagram #herbalremedies #foraging #plantallies (at Athens, Greece) https://www.instagram.com/flowathens/p/CXndALfIGcV/?utm_medium=tumblr