Carob Syrup

– wash and rinse the carob pods;

– crush them with a hammer;

– transfer the crushed carob pods into a big pot and cover them with water;

– put the pot on the stove and bring to boil;

– cook for about 1 hour;

– after an hour, remove the pot from the stove and cover it with a lid;

– leave the pan aside for 24 hours. The carobs will slowly infuse;

– after 24 hours, take another big pot and cover it with a sifter;

– pour the liquid from the pot containing the carobs into the second one (and through the sifter);

– put a handful of cooked carobs in the centre of a sterilized kitchen cloth. Close the cloth and squeeze it forcefully onto the second pot where you have just transferred the liquid with the sifter;

– remove the carobs from the kitchen cloth and replace them with another handful of cooked carobs. Squeeze again. Repeat these steps till you finish all the carobs;

– put the second pot full of  liquid on the stove and bring it to boil;

– reduce the heat to medium/low and cook for around 2 hours or till the liquid reduces to 1/3 of its original volume. By the end of this process, the liquid should have the consistency of a viscous syrup;

– remove the pot from the stove and transfer the syrup into a sterilized jar or glass bottle.