Carob

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Ceratonia siliqua
)
"Locust bean" redirects here. For the plants known as African locust bean, see Parkia.
Not to be confused with Carib.

Carob
Carob pods on the tree
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Ceratonia
Species:
C. siliqua
Binomial name
Ceratonia siliqua
Distribution map
  ✖ Native range and isolated population incl. as archaeophyte

The carob (

Mediterranean region and the Middle East.[1] Portugal is the largest producer of carob, followed by Italy and Morocco
.

In the

natural food movement.[3]
The powder and chips can be used as a chocolate alternative in most recipes.

The plant's seeds are used to produce locust bean gum or carob gum, a common thickening agent used in food processing.

Description

A leaflet of the leaf of the carob tree

The carob tree grows up to 15 metres (50 feet) tall. The

leaves
are 10 to 20 centimetres (4 to 8 inches) long, alternate, pinnate, and may or may not have a terminal leaflet. It is frost-tolerant to roughly −7 °C (19 °F).

Most carob trees are

amines.[5]

The

pod
), that is elongated, compressed, straight, or curved, and thickened at the sutures. The pods take a full year to develop and ripen. When the sweet, ripe pods eventually fall to the ground, they are eaten by various mammals, such as swine, thereby dispersing the hard inner seed in the excrement.

The seeds of the carob tree contain

flavanol precursor related to leucoanthocyanidins.[6]

Etymology

Illustration of Ceratonia siliqua

The word "carob" comes from

Arabic خَرُّوبٌ (kharrūb, "locust bean pod") and Persian khirnub,[7] which ultimately borrowed it perhaps from Akkadian language harūb- or Aramaic חרובא ḥarrūḇā.[8]
'

Ceratonia siliqua, the scientific name of the carob tree, derives from the Greek κερατωνία keratōnia, "carob-tree" (cf. κέρας kéras, "horn"),[9] and Latin siliqua "pod, carob".[10]

In English, it is also known as "St. John's bread"[11][a] and "locust tree"[13] (not to be confused with African locust bean).[14] The latter designation also applies to several other trees from the same family.

In Yiddish, it is called באקסער bokser, derived from the Middle High German bokshornboum "ram's horn tree" (in reference to the shape of the carob).[15]

The

measurement of purity for gold, takes its name via the Arabic qīrāṭ from the Greek name for the carob seed κεράτιον (lit. "small horn").[16][17][18]

Distribution and habitat

Although cultivated extensively, carob can still be found

western Mediterranean.[19]
: 20 

The tree is typical in the southern

Samos
.

In

Israel, the Hebrew name is חרוב (translit. charuv). The common Greek name is χαρουπιά (translit. charoupiá), or ξυλοκερατιά (translit. xylokeratiá, meaning "wooden horn"). In Turkey, it is known as "goat's horn" (Turkish: keçiboynuzu).[19][24]

Carob tree
A large carob tree in Sardinia, Italy

The various trees known as algarrobo in

Argentina and Paraguay) belong to a different subfamily of the Fabaceae: Mimosoideae. Early Spanish settlers named them algarrobo after the carob tree because they also produce pods with sweet pulp.[25]

Ecology

Ripe carob fruit pods on the tree

The carob genus, Ceratonia, belongs to the legume family,

subtropical areas, and tolerates hot and humid coastal areas. As a xerophyte (drought-resistant species), carob is well adapted to the conditions of the Mediterranean region with just 250 to 500 millimetres (10 to 20 in) of rainfall per year.[19]

Carob trees can survive long periods of drought, but to grow fruit, they need 500 to 550 millimetres (20 to 22 in) of rainfall per year.

mmol NaCl/L).[26]

Not all legume species can develop a

atmospheric nitrogen. It remains unclear if carob trees have this ability: Some findings suggest that it is not able to form root nodules with rhizobia,[19] while in another more recent study, trees have been identified with nodules containing bacteria believed to be from the genus Rhizobium.[27] However, a study measuring the 15N-signal (isotopic signature) in the tissue of the carob tree did not support the theory that carob trees naturally use atmospheric nitrogen.[28]

Cultivation

The vegetative propagation of carob is naturally restricted due to its low adventitious rooting potential. Therefore,

Hermaphroditic or male trees, which produce fewer or no pods, respectively, are usually planted in lower densities in the orchards as pollenizers
.

Intercropping with other tree species is widely spread. Not much cultivation management is required. Only light pruning and occasional tilling to reduce weeds is necessary. Nitrogen-fertilizing of the plants has been shown to have positive impacts on yield performance.[19] Although it is native to moderately dry climates, two or three summers' irrigation greatly aid the development, hasten the fruiting, and increase the yield of a carob tree.[30]

Harvest and post-harvest treatment

The most labour-intensive part of carob cultivation is harvesting, which is often done by knocking the fruit down with a long stick and gathering them together with the help of laid-out nets. This is a delicate task because the trees are flowering at the same time and care has to be taken not to damage the flowers and the next year's crop. The literature recommends research to get the fruit to ripen more uniformly or also for cultivars which can be mechanically harvested (by shaking).[19]

After harvest, carob pods have a moisture content of 10–20% and should be dried down to a moisture content of 8% so the pods do not rot. Further processing separates the kernels (seeds) from the pulp. This process is called kibbling and results in seeds and pieces of carob pods (kibbles). Processing of the pulp includes grinding for animal feed production or roasting and milling for human food industry. The seeds have to be peeled which happens with acid or through roasting. Then the endosperm and the embryo are separated for different uses.[19]

Pests and diseases

Few pests are known to cause severe damage in carob orchards, so they have traditionally not been treated with

Myelois ceratoniae Z.), which can cause extensive postharvest damage.[19]

Cadra calidella attack carob crops before harvest and infest products in stores. This moth, prevalent in Cyprus, will often infest the country's carob stores. Research has been conducted to understand the physiology of the moth, in order to gain insight on how to monitor moth reproduction and lower their survival rates, such as through temperature control, pheromone traps, or parasitoid traps.[31]

Production

Carob (locust bean) production – 2013-19 averages
Country (tonnes)
 Spain 44,283
 Portugal 44,214
 Italy 29,025
 Morocco 21,790
 Turkey 14,469
 Greece 12,912
World na
na = world total unavailable for 2021; Sources:
UN Food and Agriculture Organization[33]

In 2021, world production of carob (as locust beans) was not reported to

FAOSTAT. Average production over 2013-19 was led by Spain and Portugal (table).[32]
Italy and Morocco were secondary producers.

Cultivars and breeding aims

Most of the roughly 50 known cultivars

molecular markers.[19]

Uses

Food

Carob sweets
Carob cookies with carob chips are similar to chocolate chip cookies.
Carob candy that looks like chocolate

Carob products consumed by humans come from the dried, sometimes roasted,

pulp accounts for 90% and the seeds 10% by weight.[19][35] Carob pulp is sold either as flour or "chunks".[35] The flour of the carob embryo (seed) can also be used for human and animal nutrition,[19] but the seed is often separated before making carob powder (see section on locust bean gum
below).

Carob pods are mildly sweet on their own (being roughly one third to one half sugar by dry weight), so they are used in powdered, chip or syrup form as an ingredient in

Tu Bishvat.[37]

Carob powder

Carob powder (carob pulp flour[38]) is made of roasted, then finely ground, carob pod pulp.[39][40][41][42]

Locust bean gum

Locust bean gum is produced from the

canned food for animals in order to get the "jellied" texture.[35]

Animal feed

While

ruminants, though its high tannin content may limit this use.[46]

Historically, carob pods were mainly used for

Maltese islands, apart from times of famine or war, when they formed part of the diet of many Maltese people. On the Iberian Peninsula
, carob pods were historically fed to donkeys.

Composition

Maltese carob liqueur

The

seed coat (30–33% of seed weight), contains cellulose, lignins, and tannins.[35][48]

Syrup and drinks

Carob pods are about 1/3 to 1/2 sugar by weight, and this sugar can be extracted into a syrup.[49] In Malta, a carob syrup (ġulepp tal-ħarrub) is made out of the pods. Carob syrup is also used in Crete,[50] and Cyprus exports it.[51]

In Palestine, crushed pods are heated to caramelize their sugar, then water is added and boiled for some time. The result is a cold beverage, also called kharrub,[52][53] which is sold by juice shops and street vendors, especially in summer.[54]

In Lebanon the molasse is called debs el kharrub (literally: molasse of the carob), but people generally shorten it to debs. The molasse has a sweet, chocolate-like flavor. It is commonly mixed with tahini (typically 75% kharrub molasses and 25% tahini). The resulting mixture is called debs bi tahini and is eaten raw or with bread. The molasse is also used in certain cakes.[55] The region of Iqlim al-Kharrub, which translates to the region of the carob, produces a significant amount of carob.

In Cyprus, the dried and milled carob pods are left to soak in water, before being transferred into special containers out of which the carob juice gradually seeps out of and is collected. The juice is then boiled with constant stirring yielding a thick syrup known as haroupomelo.[56][57] Although this syrup is frequently sold and eaten as is, haroupomelo is also used as a base for a local toffee-like sweet snack known as pasteli.[58] Constant stirring of the carob syrup causes it to form into a black, amorphous mass which is then left to cool. The mass is then kneaded, stretched and pulled until the fair, golden color and toffee-like texture of pasteli is obtained.[57]

Carob is used for

rub) is used as a complement to asida (made from wheat flour).[citation needed] The so-called "carob syrup" made in Peru is actually from the fruit of the Prosopis nigra tree.[citation needed] Because of its strong taste, carob syrup is sometimes flavored with orange or chocolate.[citation needed] In Yemen, carob tree is playing a role in controlling diabetes mellitus according to Yemeni folk medicine, and diabetics consume carob pods as a juice to lower their blood sugar levels.[59]

Ornamental

Carob tree in Jerusalem

The carob tree is widely cultivated in the horticultural

drought tolerant as long as one does not care about the size of the fruit harvest, so can be used in xeriscape landscape design for gardens, parks, and public municipal and commercial landscapes.[60]

Timber

In some areas of Greece, viz. Crete, carob wood is often used as a firewood. As it makes such excellent fuel, it is sometimes even preferred over oak or olive wood.

Because the much fluted stem usually shows

bole
are suitable for chopping blocks for splitting wood.

Gallery

  • Male flowers on a carob tree in Cyprus, which emanate a strong cadaverine odor
    Male flowers on a carob tree in Cyprus, which emanate a strong cadaverine odor
  • Close-up of female flower on the carob tree
    Close-up of female flower on the carob tree
  • Green carob fruit pods on tree, 15 cm (6 in) long
    Green carob fruit pods on tree, 15 cm (6 in) long
  • Fruit of the carob tree
    Fruit of the carob tree
  • Carob pods: green (unripe) and brown (ripe)
    Carob pods: green (unripe) and brown (ripe)
  • Abaxial and adaxial surfaces of a leaflet from the carob tree
    Abaxial and adaxial surfaces of a leaflet from the carob tree
  • Ceratonia siliqua wood – Museum specimen
    Ceratonia siliqua wood – Museum specimen
  • Carob pods growing from trunk (Cauliflory)
    Carob pods growing from trunk (Cauliflory)

See also

  • Ratti, a seed from which the Indian measure unit "tola" derived

Notes

  1. ^ From the belief that the seeds and pulp were the "locusts" and "honey" eaten by John the Baptist[12]

References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Ceratonia siliqua (category)
Wikispecies has information related to Carob.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Locust-Tree".
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