The Science of Spice

158 Spice Profiles

The fruit of the carob tree has

nourished humans and animals since

ancient times. The tree’s ability to fruit

in poor-quality soil made it important

when famine struck, and the Bible

mentions its use as livestock fodder.

The common names St John’s bread

and locust bean derive from the

“locusts” that St John the Baptist was

said to have eaten in the desert, which

scholars believed were in fact carob

pods (though most now think he was

eating grasshoppers). The word “carat”

originates from the Greek for the carob

tree, keration: Arab jewellers used the

seeds as a unit of weight for gold. The

pods were easy to transport, and the

Greeks and Arabs took carob west with

them. Arabs brought it north to Spain

and Portugal, where it was cultivated

from the 17th century, and from there

it spread to the New World.

Region of cultivation

Carob is probably native to the eastern

Mediterranean and the Levant. It is now

cultivated mainly in Spain, but also in

Italy (especially Sicily), Portugal, Morocco,

Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and Algeria.

The plant

Carob comes from an

evergreen tree in the pea

family, which thrives in

Mediterranean climates.

Powder

Carob powder is usually made with roasted

pod and pulp, but is also available raw. The

powder will keep almost indefinitely in a

sealed container in a cool, dark place.

Whole

Dried pods can be roasted

and/or eaten whole, avoiding

the rock-hard seeds; or use

to make a syrupy liquid by

boiling in water or milk.

Broken pieces are also

available as “kibble”.

Seed pods

can grow to

30cm (12in)

Ripe pods

turn from

green to

leathery

brown and

wrinkled

BOTANICAL NAME

Ceratonia siliqua

ALSO KNOWN AS

St John’s bread, locust bean, locust seed.

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS

Pentanoic, hexanoic, and pyruvic acids.

PARTS USED

Dred ripened pods (technically fruits).

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

Trees grow in orchards and ripe pods

are harvested by hand or by shaking

them on to nets.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

Pods are partially dried and either left

whole or crushed to remove the seeds.

NON-CULINARY USES

Animal feed; cigarette flavouring; seeds are

used to make a gelling agent (locust bean

gum) employed in food and cosmetics.

ITALY

GREECE

TURKEY

CYPRUS

SPAIN

PORTUGAL

ALGERIA

MOROCCO

CAROB

Sweet | Astringent | Chocolatey

Spice story

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