When I visited Israel for the first time in 1989, my foster mother was amazed by the fact that Jerusalem is full of carob trees that the locals seem to utterly ignore. The ripe pods drop to the sidewalk and litter parked cars overnight, but it seemed that no one was picking up the pods and taking them home to eat. She, of course, being a big carob fan and health food nut harvested as much carob pod as she could, and used it in all sorts of experimental recipes at home for nutritional and medicinal purposes — and of course, for its sweet taste.
More than 20 years later, and I still have that same surprised feeling when I see trees full of carob and no one taking it all home. Sure, in the shuk here in Haifa you can buy carob pods, but why don’t people get some of that free food? I just don’t know. Maybe it’s because carob has a tradition in the Middle East of being animal fodder and famine food.
Carob is actually an amazing plant. It’s native to the Mediterranean area, and archeological evidence shows that it has been used by humans in the area where modern Israel sits for more than 4000 years. The wood is used to make slow burning charcoal and can also be used to make beautiful furniture, household items, or sculptures. The pod and the seed are used for food, medicinal and industrial uses.
The carob pod is high in pectin which means that it is useful as a thickener for both food and industrial uses. It also has significant tannin content which serves as an antibacterial agent and helps to stop some toxins and free-radicals from being absorbed into your body. Another component of the carob pod is lignans which have been shown to be antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory. This also makes carob useful in remedies for bacterial or viral diarrhea. It treats both the symptoms and the cause of the diarrhea, and it’s safe even for small infants.
Speaking of infants, carob powder is used as a thickening agent in special feeds made for babies with gastro-oesophageal reflux. The carob serves a double purpose in making the formula more palatable and reducing reflux. Carob can also be used for relief of heartburn or chronic GERD in adults.
Carob syrup is also used as a soothing remedy for sore throat and cough.
Carob has shown usefulness in lowering cholesterol and in fighting cancer, diabetes and lupus.
Carob seeds also have many important uses. The endosperm contains a useful carbohydrate, galactomannan, that can be used to make locust bean gum which is used in food and industry. The embryo of the seed is used to make high-protein carob germ.
I mentioned that there are industrial uses for carob, too. It’s used as a surface thickener for papers, as a coating for threads used industrial weaving to prevent thread breakage, and as a liner for well walls to improve their resistance and strength. Carob is used as a flotation agent in mining. It is used as a water binder in explosives. It is even used in petroleum processing to make a more stable product.
Carob trees also have the advantage of being highly fire resistant. They have traditionally been planted amongst more flammable crops such as olive trees and grains in order to retard fires and improve the chances of saving at least some of a farm in the event that a fire should start. In some places, it is common to plant carob trees near the house in order to protect from fires. (The site Bat Plants points out that it would be a good idea for Southern California homeowners to consider this Middle Eastern tradition when thinking about their recent history.)
Bat Plants taught me another very cool thing about carob trees in Israel. They have a special relationship with the bats that I love watching when I take my dog out for walks at night. Egyptian Rousett bats like to eat carob pods and spit out the seeds, which is one of the reasons you can find so many carob trees — and bats! — in many Israeli towns.