Carob
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The carob (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Ceratonia siliqua) is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit, which takes the form of seed pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes. The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Portugal is the largest producer of carob, followed by Italy and Morocco.
In the Mediterranean Basin, extended to the southern Atlantic coast of Portugal (i.e., the Algarve region) and the Atlantic northwestern Moroccan coast, carob pods were often used as animal feed and in times of famine, as "the last source of [human] food in hard times".<ref>"Carob Pod", Mathew Attokaran, Natural Food Flavors and Colorants, 2017, Template:Isbn, p. 112</ref> The ripe, dried and sometimes toasted pod is often ground into carob powder, which is used as a substitute for cocoa powder; this often occurred in the 1970s natural food movement.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.
DescriptionEdit
The carob tree grows up to Template:Convert tall. The crown is broad and semispherical, supported by a thick trunk with rough brown bark and sturdy branches. Its leaves are Template:Convert long, alternate, pinnate, and may or may not have a terminal leaflet. It is frost-tolerant to roughly Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed
Most carob trees are dioecious and some are hermaphroditic, so strictly male trees do not produce fruit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When the trees blossom in autumn, the flowers are small and numerous, spirally arranged along the inflorescence axis in catkin-like racemes borne on spurs from old wood and even on the trunk (cauliflory); they are pollinated by both wind and insects. The male flowers smell like human semen, an odor that is caused in part by amines.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
The fruit is a legume (also known commonly, but less accurately, as a 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.Template:Citation needed
The seeds of the carob tree contain leucodelphinidin, a colourless flavanol precursor related to leucoanthocyanidins.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EtymologyEdit
The word "carob" comes from Middle French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (modern French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), which borrowed it from Arabic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (kharrūb, "locust bean pod") and Persian khirnub,<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. (1888), s.v. 'carob' Template:Webarchive</ref> which ultimately borrowed it perhaps from Akkadian language {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Aramaic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ḥarrūḇā.<ref>Template:OEtymD</ref> '
Ceratonia siliqua, the scientific name of the carob tree, derives from the Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} keratōnía, "carob-tree" (cf. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} kéras, "horn"),<ref>Template:LSJ, Template:LSJ.</ref> and Latin siliqua "pod, carob".<ref>Template:L&S</ref>
In English, it is also known as "St. John's bread"<ref>ITIS Report Page: Ceratonia siliqua Template:Webarchive. accessed 5.11.2011</ref>Template:Efn and "locust tree"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (not to be confused with African locust bean).<ref>Template:Cite book, p. 354 s.v. Khurbet Jala</ref> The latter designation also applies to several other trees from the same family.
In Yiddish, it is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} bokser, derived from the Middle High German bokshornboum "ram's horn tree" (in reference to the shape of the carob).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The carat, a unit of mass for gemstones, and a measurement of purity for gold, takes its name via the Arabic qīrāṭ from the Greek name for the carob seed {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (lit. "small horn").<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:OEtymD</ref><ref>Template:LSJ.</ref>
Distribution and habitatEdit
Although cultivated extensively, carob can still be found growing wild in eastern Mediterranean regions, and has become naturalized in the western Mediterranean.<ref name=ipgri/>Template:Rp
The tree is typical in the southern Portuguese region of the Algarve, where the tree is called alfarrobeira, and the fruit alfarroba. It is also seen in southern and eastern Spain (Template:Langx, Catalan / Valencian / Balearic: garrofer, garrofera, garrover, garrovera), mainly in the regions of Andalusia, Murcia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> and Catalonia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Catalan / Valencian / Balearic: garrofer, garrofera, garrover, garrovera); Malta (Template:Langx), on the Italian islands of Sicily (Template:Langx) and Sardinia (Template:Langx), in Southern Croatia (Template:Langx), such as on the island of Šipan, in eastern Bulgaria (Template:Langx), and in Southern Greece, Cyprus, as well as on many Greek islands such as Crete and Samos.Template:Citation needed
In Israel, the Hebrew name is חרוב (translit. charuv). The common Greek name is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (translit. Template:Transliteration), or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (translit. Template:Transliteration, meaning "wooden horn"). In Turkey, it is known as "goat's horn" (Template:Langx).<ref name=ipgri/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
The various trees known as algarrobo in Latin America (Samanea saman in Cuba, Prosopis pallida in Peru, and four species of Prosopis 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.<ref name="AEPR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EcologyEdit
The carob genus, Ceratonia, belongs to the legume family, Fabaceae, and is believed to be an archaic remnant of a part of this family now generally considered extinct. It grows well in warm temperate and 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 Template:Convert of rainfall per year.<ref name=ipgri/>
Carob trees can survive long periods of drought, but to grow fruit, they need Template:Convert of rainfall per year.<ref name=ipgri/> They prefer well-drained, sandy loams and are intolerant of waterlogging, but the deep root systems can adapt to a wide variety of soil conditions and are fairly salt-tolerant (up to 3% in soil).<ref name="ipgri">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Page needed</ref> After being irrigated with saline water in the summer, carob trees could possibly recover during winter rainfalls.<ref name="Correia">Template:Cite journal</ref> In some experiments, young carob trees were capable of basic physiological functions under high-salt conditions (40 mmol NaCl/L).<ref name="Correia" />
Not all legume species can develop a symbiotic relationship with rhizobia to make use of 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,<ref name=ipgri/> while in another more recent study, trees have been identified with nodules containing bacteria believed to be from the genus Rhizobium.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="LaMalfa">Template:Cite journal</ref>
CultivationEdit
The vegetative propagation of carob is naturally restricted due to its low adventitious rooting potential. Therefore, grafting and air-layering may prove to be more effective methods of asexual propagation.<ref name="guguay">Template:Cite journal</ref> Seeds are commonly used as the propagation medium. The sowing occurs in pot nurseries in early spring and the cooling- and drying-sensitive seedlings are then transplanted to the field in the next year after the last frost. Carob trees enter slowly into production phase. Where in areas with favorable growing conditions, the cropping starts 3–4 years after budding, with the nonbearing period requiring up to 8 years in regions with marginal soils. Full bearing of the trees occurs mostly at a tree-age of 20–25 years when the yield stabilizes.<ref name="ipgri" /> The orchards are traditionally planted in low densities of 25–45 trees per hectare (Template:Convert). Hermaphroditic or male trees, which produce fewer or no pods, respectively, are usually planted in lower densities in the orchards as pollenizers.Template:Citation needed
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.<ref name="ipgri" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Harvest and post-harvest treatmentEdit
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).<ref name="ipgri" />
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.<ref name="ipgri" />
Pests and diseasesEdit
Few pests are known to cause severe damage in carob orchards, so they have traditionally not been treated with pesticides. Some generalist pests such as the larvae of the leopard moth (Zeuzera pyrina L.), the dried fruit moth (Cadra calidella), small rodents such as rats (Rattus spp.) and gophers (Pitymys spp.) can cause damage occasionally in some regions. Only some cultivars are severely susceptible to mildew disease (Oidium ceratoniae C.). One pest directly associated with carob is the larva of the carob moth (Myelois ceratoniae Z.), which can cause extensive postharvest damage.<ref name=ipgri/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ProductionEdit
In 2022, world production of carob (as locust beans) was estimated to be 56,423 tonnes,<ref name=faostat/> although not all countries known to grow carob reported their results to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Production amounts for Turkey and Morocco accounted for nearly all the world total reported in 2022.<ref name="faostat">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Cultivars and breeding aimsEdit
Most of the roughly 50 known cultivars<ref name=ipgri/> are of unknown origin and only regionally distributed. The cultivars show high genetic and therefore morphological and agronomical variation.<ref name=ipgri/> No conventional breeding by controlled crossing has been reported, but selection from orchards or wild populations has been done. Domesticated carobs (C. s. var. edulis) can be distinguished from their wild relatives (C. s. var. silvestris) by some fruit-yielding traits such as building of greater beans, more pulp, and higher sugar contents. Also, genetic adaptation of some varieties to the climatic requirements of their growing regions has occurred.<ref name=ipgri/> Though a partially successful breaking of the dioecy happened, the yield of hermaphrodite trees still cannot compete with that of female plants, as their pod-bearing properties are worse.<ref name="zoha">Template:Cite journal</ref> Future breeding would be focused on processing-quality aspects, as well as on properties for better mechanization of harvest or better-yielding hermaphroditic plants. The use of modern breeding techniques is restricted due to low polymorphism for molecular markers.<ref name=ipgri/>
UsesEdit
FoodEdit
Template:Multiple image Carob products consumed by humans come from the dried, sometimes roasted, pod, which has two main parts: the pulp accounts for 90% and the seeds 10% by weight.<ref name=ipgri/><ref name="Droste">Template:Cite book</ref> Carob pulp is sold either as flour or "chunks".<ref name="Droste" /> The flour of the carob embryo (seed) can also be used for human and animal nutrition,<ref name="ipgri" /> 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 cakes and cookies, sometimes as a substitute for chocolate in recipes because of the color, texture, and taste of carob. In Malta, a traditional sweet called karamelli tal-harrub and eaten during the Christian holidays of Lent and Good Friday is made from carob pods.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dried carob fruit is traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carob powderEdit
Carob powder (carob pulp flour<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>) is made of roasted, then finely ground, carob pod pulp.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Locust bean gumEdit
Locust bean gum is produced from the endosperm, which accounts for 42–46% of the carob seed, and is rich in galactomannans (88% of endosperm dry mass). Galactomannans are hydrophilic and swell in water. If galactomannans are mixed with other gelling substances, such as carrageenan, they can be used to effectively thicken the liquid part of food. This is used extensively in canned food for animals in order to get the "jellied" texture.<ref name="Droste" />
Animal feedEdit
While chocolate contains the chemical compound theobromine in levels that are toxic to some mammals, carob contains none, and it also has no caffeine, so it is sometimes used to make chocolate-like treats for dogs.<ref name="Craig1984">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Carob pod meal is also used as an energy-rich feed for livestock, particularly for ruminants, though its high tannin content may limit this use.<ref name="feedipedia">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Historically, carob pods were mainly used for animal fodder in the 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.Template:Citation needed
CompositionEdit
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The pulp of a carob pod is about 48–56% sugars and 18% cellulose and hemicellulose.<ref name="ipgri" /> Some differences in sugar (sucrose) content are seen between wild and cultivated carob trees: ~531 g/kg dry weight in cultivated varieties and ~437 g/kg in wild varieties. Fructose and glucose levels do not differ between cultivated and wild carob.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The embryo (20–25% of seed weight) is rich in proteins (50%). The testa, or seed coat (30–33% of seed weight), contains cellulose, lignins, and tannins.<ref name="Droste" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Syrup and drinksEdit
Carob pods are about a third to a half sugar by weight, and this sugar can be extracted into a syrup.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In Malta, a carob syrup (ġulepp tal-ħarrub) is made out of the pods. Carob syrup is also used in Crete,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Cyprus exports it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In Egypt and the Levant, crushed carob pods are heated to caramelize their natural sugars, producing carob molasses. Water and brown sugar are then added to the mixture and boiled for a period of time. The resulting beverage, served cold and known as "kharrub" or "kharoub," is particularly popular during the month of Ramadan. This drink is widely sold by juice shops and street vendors and holds cultural significance in both the Levant and Egypt.<ref>Ramadan: Five thirst-quenching drinks from across the Middle East, Nur Ayoubi, 4 April 2022, Middle East Eye</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Lebanon the molasses is called debs el kharrub (literally: molasses of the carob), but people generally shorten it to debs. The molasses 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 molasses is also used in certain cakes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The region of Iqlim al-Kharrub, which translates to the region of the carob, produces a significant amount of carob.Template:Citation needed
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" />
Carob is used for compote, liqueur, and syrup in Turkey, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Sicily.Template:Citation needed In Libya, carob syrup (called rub) is used as a complement to asida (made from wheat flour).Template:Citation needed The so-called "carob syrup" made in Peru is actually from the fruit of the Prosopis nigra tree.Template:Citation needed Because of its strong taste, carob syrup is sometimes flavored with orange or chocolate.Template: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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
OrnamentalEdit
The carob tree is widely cultivated in the horticultural nursery industry as an ornamental plant for Mediterranean climates and other temperate regions around the world, being especially popular in California and Hawaii. The plant develops a sculpted trunk and the form of an ornamental tree after being "limbed up" as it matures, otherwise it is used as a dense and large screening hedge. The plant is very 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.<ref name="grin">Template:GRIN</ref>
TimberEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} In some areas of Greece, viz. Crete, carob wood is often used as a firewood.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As it makes such excellent fuel, it is sometimes even preferred over oak or olive wood.
Because the much fluted stem usually shows heart rot, carob wood is rarely used for construction timber.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, it is sometimes sought for ornamental work—particularly for furniture design, as the natural shape of the trunk is well-suited to the task. Additionally, the extremely wavy grain of the wood gives carob wood exceptional resistance to splitting;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref> thus, sections of Carob bole are suitable for chopping blocks for splitting wood.
GalleryEdit
- Blooming carob tree.jpg
Male flowers on a carob tree in Cyprus, which emanate a strong cadaverine odor
- Ceratonia siliqua female flowers a-RJP.jpg
Close-up of female flower on the carob tree
- Ceratonia siliqua green pods.jpg
Green carob fruit pods on tree, Template:Convert long
- Funny fruits.jpg
Fruit of the carob tree
- Carobs.JPG
Carob pods: green (unripe) and brown (ripe)
- Carob tree leaf.JPG
Abaxial and adaxial surfaces of a leaflet from the carob tree
- Ceratonia siliqua MHNT.BOT.2018.6.11.jpg
Ceratonia siliqua wood – Museum specimen
- Carob cauliflory.jpg
Carob pods growing from trunk (Cauliflory)
See alsoEdit
- Ratti, a seed from which the Indian measure unit "tola" derived
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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