The astonishing carob
- Written by Janet Johnstone
To my mind, they are the big four – arvores sequeros – olive, fig, almond, and carob. Common denominators of the Algarve landscape, productive even in neglect and still fruitful long after the farm has become a ruin. The destinies of the fruit of three are clear; the slightly mysterious one is the carob, an ancient tree with roots, you might say, in the Bible.
Its immediate use is not at all obvious, yet it has the most astonishing, and increasing, utility. Most people identify carob as a chocolate and cacao substitute in confectionary. Far from stopping there, the story just begins.
The carob tree (alfarrobeira) origins are in antiquity, possibly native to the eastern Mediterranean (Turkey or Syria), but perhaps even earlier in the southern Arab peninsula. Grown and cultivated for thousands of years, thus rendering its origins and distribution difficult to track, there are some experts who place it as far back as 4.000BC in the eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks, Romans and the Arabs each spread it progressively farther in the western Mediterranean eventually to Portugal and Morocco. Much later, in the 1800s, Spanish missionaries took it to Mexico and the southern California region and the US began importing seeds to grow trees in 1854.
Some official plant names can be boring in translation, but the carob (Ceratonia siliqua) sparkles. Ceratonia comes from the Greek keration and more historically from keras for ‘horn’ and from the Latin siliqua referring to the hardness and shape of the pod. The common name ‘carob’ comes originally from Hebrew kharuv and its subsequent Arabic version kharrub.
Keration also gives us the term ‘carat’, alluding to the ancient practice of weighing precious stones against the size of the seeds because it was held that they were always a uniform size and weight. In late Roman and early Byzantine times, the seeds were used to measure a pure gold coin; the soldius weighed 24 carob seeds (about 4.5 grams). Consequently, the carob also became the measure for gold purity with 24 carat gold the equivalent of 100 per cent pure.
The carob tree is also called ‘St. John’s Bread’, a Biblical reference to St. John the Baptist’s time in the desert where he survived on ‘locust’ which may have been carob fruit. Pods have been used for food for man and for animals since prehistoric times. A particular advantage was that the pods could be stored and transported over long distances. No longer a staple food for humans, it remains a traditional feed for livestock but man has returned to it for sustenance in times of poverty or famine.
Every part of the pod is put to use. Crushing separates the outer leathery layer from the soft inner pulp and from the seeds. The seed coat is often separated further from its contents and the soft inside used inter alia to make locust bean gum. Today it is seed yield which has the greatest commercial value. As if the fruit had not contributed enough, the bark and the tree itself can be used. All in all, it is appears a rather simple fruit but with a complex group of applications. Think back on the olive, the fig, and the almond, none of which lend themselves to such diversification.
It is said that carobs were an important source of sugar before sugar cane and sugar beet became more widely available. Pods used to be imported to the US where street vendors in the Italian section of lower Manhattan used to sell them for chewing. In hard times in Germany, roasted seeds served as a substitute for coffee while in Spain the seeds were mixed with coffee beans. In the 1920s in California, experiments started to produce ‘health food’ from the pods; some of the chocolate substitutes developed at this time are still used today.
Two types of flour are yielded from the seed pods. The coarser flour, high in fibre, is added to breakfast foods, while the finer variety is goes into confections, cakes and breads. Carob flour is an ingredient in some pet biscuits. The flour can be added to hot or cold milk. When coarsely ground and boiled in water, the pods produce a thick, honey-like syrup much like molasses. From the syrup process, two by-products (milled and chopped pomace) are currently being tested as a peat-based mixture substitute for use in nurseries.
Pods are relished by horses, cattle, pigs, goats and rabbits. Whole pods with the seeds are broken (‘kibbled’) and crushed for animal food. Some may recognise that term as a generic name for dry pet food. (An animal should rely on no more than 10 per cent of this food source as the tannins therein are believed to be a growth retardant.)
Given man’s ingenuity in discovering plants capable of sustaining life, nothing noted is exceptional. Yet there are ‘commercial’ applications about which probably few of us have any idea. The seed is processed into a gum (called locust bean gum) which is increasing in importance as a stabiliser and thickener, a binder and a gelling or dispersing agent for an incredible range of everyday products, such as bakery goods, ice cream, salad dressings, sauces, soups, cheese, mayonnaise, salami, canned meats and fish, fruit pies, jelly, mustard, soft drinks and other food products. In a move which will hearten those who favour recycling, the seed residue after the gum and sugar have been extracted can be made into another type of flour free of starch and sugar for use in products for diabetics. The residue is also used to produce fungal protein and infusions of this pulp are fermented into alcoholic beverages.
Surprised? Read on. The seed gum contributes to the manufacture of cosmetics such as emulsions, shaving and other foams, pharmaceutical products such as pills and toothpaste, detergents, paint thickener, ink, shoe polish, adhesives and glues, photographic paper, paper pulp bonding, insecticides and match heads. The tannins from the seed coat and the gum are applied in leather tanning. Medicinally the seed pulp is used in laxatives while the tannins and the bark are use to treat diarrhoea. In the US, the pods are added as a flavouring for uncured tobacco. It is even to be found in concrete for strengthening solidification. While this list is extensive, it is not exhaustive and, moreover, continues to grow as scientific investigation continues to find new uses. For example, the natural antioxidants in the seed coat are being examined for possible food industry use.
The tree itself is used in a variety of ways. The hard, close-grained wood is suitable for cabinetwork and as a fuel burns slowly and makes excellent charcoal. The trees help the environment when deployed for watershed protection, windbreaks and shelterbelts, soil erosion control, land reclamation, and of course for wildlife habitat. It is a tough species and survives in nearly all soils including steep, stony hillsides where few if any other crops can grow.
World carob production is estimated at about 310.000 tonnes a year from 200.000 hectares. Yields are variable depending on the cultivar, the region and local farming practices.
Spain is the leading producer (135.00 tonnes in 1997, making up 4l per cent), followed by Italy (45.000 tonnes, 15 per cent), and Portugal (30.000 to 35.000 tonnes, 10.5 per cent). Next in line are Morocco, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and others. Sixty per cent of Portugal’s commercial production is located in four places: Silves, Faro, Loulé, and Tavira with additional areas around Mértola in the Alentejo.
It is ironic that as utilisation of the carob has increased, production has nevertheless decreased in most countries owing to low and variable pricing, farm mechanisation, and the use of coastal lands for roads, housing, and industrial estates.
Growing habits
Well-drained light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils are best, but nutritionally poor soils also work as long as the tree is in full sun. Once mature, it tolerates strong winds, drought, mild frost, and most pests, but it dislikes water logging. It can reach 15 metres in height with an annual pod yield up to 100 kilos or more, although the tree first fruits at about six years of age. A mature tree requires little attention and only slight pruning every three or four years in autumn immediately after harvesting to remove dead wood and to allow light through the top middle sections.
Usually by the end of August most of the carob pods are ripe, completely brown to the very top and the seeds rattle inside the pod when shaken. They are kind enough to harvest themselves by falling onto the ground. The rest can be encouraged down by a long stick or bamboo pole. Alternatively you can simply wait until they all fall. Using a stick is tempting, but remember that while the pods are ripening on the tree, the buds for next year’s growth are already in full bloom, and vigourous pole action can harm the buds and seriously diminish next year’s crop. Dry them further in the sun for a day or two but do not expose them to rain or heavy dew as wet pods ferment quickly.
After harvesting you can deliver them to a carob reception company. One is Téofilo Fontainhas Neto S.A. in S. B. Messines (Tel: 282 333 330, teofilo@mail.telepac.pt). There are others. At the moment, Téofilo is paying €5,30 for 15 kilos if ripe and the same for 17 kilos if still green inside, but the price can change on a daily basis. Carobs may be stored in a dry and ventilated place and out of reach of rodents which may appreciate the food store you carefully collected for them. Beware that the pods can be susceptible to moths and other insects and to rotting if not having been sufficiently dried before storage.
I thought I had finished this article when the auto mechanic came to the house, stood in the shade of the carob tree, and, unprompted, told how he dried the leaves to make an infusion which eases an upset stomach. And then, of course, there is the liquor….
