Carob (Ceratonia siliqua; related species- Jacaranda procera)
Folk Names: Algarroba, Caaroba, Caroba, Carobinha, Chocolate, Egyptian Fig, John's Bread, Locust Bean, Locust Pods, Sugar pods
Description: Carob is an evergreen tree of the legume family, which can grow up to fifty feet. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean, probably the Middle East, but it grows well anywhere that citrus is grown and prefers dry climates that receive more than 30 centimeters of rainfall. The pinnately compound leaves have two to six pairs of oval leaflets. It produces no fruit until its fifteenth year, but then will continue to produce fruit well into its old age. The dark-brown fruit of carob is a pod, technically a legume up to a foot long and fairly thick and broad. Most carob trees are monoecious, with individual male and female trees. The pods and seeds are edible, rich in sugars, protein, and vitamin A, B vitamins, and several important minerals. The pods contain four series of oval holes, each bearing a seed like a watermelon seed. Each pod can contain up to 15 seeds. Carob bean, seeds and pods are edible.
Effects:
Planet: Jupiter, Saturn
Element:
Associated Deities:
Traditions:
Carob is believed to have been in cultivation for at least 5000 years. Ancient Egyptians used the gummy properties of carob seed as an adhesive in binding mummies, and the pods and seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs. The Romans are said to have eaten the pods green for their natural sweetness. The ancient Greeks knew this tree as well and planted it in Greece and Italy. There are references to carob in the Bible, and the name, St. John's bread or locust bean, came from the belief that the pods were the "locusts" eaten by John the Baptist in the Wilderness (though the story is apparently wrong--he ate migratory locust).
Seeds were used to weight gold, hence the word "carat" from which the name Carob evolved. Mohammed's army ate kharoub, and Arabs planted the crop in northern Africa and Spain. Spaniards carried carob to Mexico and South America, and the British took carob to India, Australia and to South America, though the Chiriguano tribe of South America say the tree came from Aguara-Tunpa, a fox deity.
Records show that carob was intentionally introduced into the United States in 1854, and the first seedlings were planted in California in 1873.
Magic:
Carob beans may be carried or worn to bolster the health and to guard against evil. It is believed anyone who carries a seedpod will be blessed with great wealth; something to think about if you’re planning a trip to the casinos. If you wish to string the seeds as beads on a necklace, soak them first to soften them.
Known Combinations:
none noted
Medical Indications: Parts Used:
Singers believe that chewing the pod will clear up a rough voice.
Nutrition:
Though the pods are used as livestock feed, we know carob mostly as a cocoa substitute. It has a slightly different taste than chocolate, but it has only one-third the calories, is virtually fat-free, is rich in pectin, and has abundant protein. Not only does it have no oxalic acid (which interferes with absorption of calcium), but it a non-allergenic alternative to chocolate. Consequently, carob flour is widely used in health foods for chocolate-like flavoring. Carob is also used as a food stabilizer and food coloring.
Mercantile Uses:
This species is grown around the world primarily as a food crop, for its sweet and nutritious fruits. For commercial production cultivars with the finest quality fruits are bud grafted on common stock.
Though it is grown in California, Florida, and parts of the South, most carob used in America comes from the Mediterranean Region, especially Sicily, Cyprus, Malta, Spain, southern Sardinia, and Italy along the Adriatic Sea.