Carob: use, properties, and tradition

Cultivated for at least four millennia, Carob, whose pods, according to biblical tradition, were the only food consumed by John the Baptist in the desert, represents not only an excellent source of fiber but also an effective food additive and a cocoa substitute.

The name of Ceratonia siliqua L., a member of the Fabaceae family (formerly Leguminosae), derives from the Greek Kèras = horn, alluding to the fruit’s shape, and siliqua from the Latin for fruits, which are pods.

The Italian common name Carob seems to derive from the Arabic Charub, while the English name St. John’s-bread and the German Johannisbrotbaum are justified by the belief that Carob pods (St. John’s bread) were the biblical “locusts” on which John the Baptist fed in the desert, referring to the biblical passage in the Gospel of Matthew, which in the fourth verse of the third chapter states: “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey”. Obviously, the biblical locusts were not insects but precisely carob pods, as they were once called.

Due to their high nutritional value, they have been used since ancient times to feed animals, as another Gospel, that of Luke, testifies. In the parable of the prodigal son, in fact, it is recounted that the young man “longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything”.

The Carob tree is an evergreen tree. Commonly, it does not exceed 8-10 meters in height, but it can reach considerable dimensions in circumference, with grooved and branched stems. Originally from the eastern Mediterranean regions, it is cultivated in the southern regions of Italy and in Sicily.

The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and compound. The flowers are grouped in racemes that arise directly from the bark of the branches and also from the trunk.

The fruit is a large legume, straight or curved, up to 20 cm long and 3 cm wide, with a brown-blackish epicarp, very hard when ripe. Inside there is the mesocarp, a fleshy and sweet layer of reddish-brown color divided into locules, each of which contains an oval seed, flattened at the apex, reddish-brown in color, shiny, and very hard. Each fruit, called a carob pod, contains 4-12 oval seeds, dark brown to blackish, of very hard consistency. The sweetish pulp can be consumed both raw and toasted.

The fruits, rich in sucrose and glucose, vitamins A, B, D, and minerals, are used both in human and animal nutrition, as well as for alcohol production. Fresh fruits have laxative and emollient properties (anti-catarrhal syrups). If dried and powdered, they represent a traditional remedy for diarrhea and are used especially in childhood and intestinal infections.

The seeds of the fruit, given their constant weight, were used in the past by jewelers as a unit of weight in the trade of gemstones under the name of “carats”, a term still used today to identify a specific unit of mass (1 carat = 200 mg).

Both the fruit and the seeds (about 62%) contain mucilages.

Indeed, from the seeds, “carob gum” is extracted, which, in the form of powder, swells in lukewarm water.

This gum contains galactomannans and is used in pharmacy against infant vomiting and in low-calorie diets. In the food industry, it is used to stabilize ice cream, dairy products, sausages, and bakery products, as a thickening agent in the preparation of various types of sauces, and as an additive in gelatins (it is additive E 410: thickener, stabilizer, gelling agent, and emulsifier).

The flour of the Carob fruits, with a pleasant neutral and slightly sweet taste, is a valid alternative to cocoa; it is used instead of sugar to prepare desserts, creams, cakes, and baked goods, or to enrich milk and yogurt. Having the advantage of a very low fat content and a high dose of fiber, it helps reduce lipid assimilation. For external use, the flour of Carob seeds (in quantities of one or two handfuls) in total or partial bathwater has a refreshing, emollient, and moisturizing effect for dry and easily inflamed skin.

In the past, on New Year’s Eve, Carobs were offered as gifts to children who, from door to door, wished families well.

Prepare the Carob Syrup

It is a thick, very dark, and sweet liquid obtained by cooking the pulp of Carob in water.

To prepare the syrup, the crushed pods are placed in a saucepan, enough water is added to cover the mixture, and they are boiled until softened, then pounded in a mortar. The result is a moist mixture that is drained, and the collected liquid is put back on the heat. When the juice turns brown and begins to thicken, it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool.

Carob syrup is similar to honey and is generally packaged in dark glass jars. It is used served as jam, but also as a natural sweetener; it has a high energy content and is also used as a remedy for coughs (expectorant).

GIULIA CALDARELLI