Carob Pods - St. John's Bread - Whole Dried Pods - 400 Grams

Ceratonia siliqua, commonly known as the carob tree, St John's-bread, or locust bean (not to be confused with the African locust bean) is a species of flowering evergreen shrub or tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens. The ripe, dried pod is often ground to carob powder which is used as a substitute for cocoa powder.

It is native to the Mediterranean region including Southern Europe, Northern Africa, the larger Mediterranean islands; to the Levant and Middle-East of Western Asia into Iran; and to the Canary Islands and Macaronesia. The word carat, a unit of mass for gemstones and a unit of purity for gold alloys, was possibly derived from the Greek word kerátion literally meaning a small horn and refers to the carob seed as a unit of weight.

The carob pod consists of two main parts which have very different compositions and are separately used to produce different goods: The pulp accounts for 90% and the seeds for 10% of the pod weight. The pulp contains about 48 - 56% of sugars and 18% of cellulose and hemicellulose.

Carob was eaten in Ancient Egypt. Carob juice drinks are traditionally drunk during the Islamic month of Ramadan. It was also a common sweetener and was used in the hieroglyph for "sweet" (nedjem). Dried carob fruit is traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat. Also, it is believed to be an aphrodisiac.

In Cyprus, carob syrup is known as Cyprus's black gold and is widely exported.

In Malta, a syrup (gulepp tal-harrub) is made out of carob pods. This is a traditional medicine for coughs and sore throat. A traditional sweet, eaten during Lent and Good Friday, is also made from carob pods in Malta. However, carob pods were mainly used as animal fodder in the Maltese Islands, apart from times of famine or war when they formed part of the diet of many Maltese.

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