Carob

You know what? I like carob.

Carob's worst moment was the day someone decided it could be marketed as a "chocolate substitute." Once that was the standard, no one could just taste carob anymore-- they had Hershey, Lindt, or Scharffenberger on their mind clouding the actual experience of carob.

If you're expecting chocolate, carob must be a disappointment. Just as an apple would be a huge disappointment if you were expecting to taste cherry. Or steak would be disappointing if you thought it was chicken (it's one of the few things that doesn't taste like chicken!).

But carob has its own character. I find it smoother than chocolate, with a "rounder" taste and a richness like that of nuts. (The richness of chocolate reminds me more of the richness of cream.) Carob blends surprisingly well with pumpkin flavors. And carob chips stay pretty soft even when chilled, so they're easy to eat in puddings or on ice cream.

Give carob a try sometime again. And set yourself the challenging task of not thinking about chocolate as you taste it.