Ceratonia siliqua, commonly known as the carob tree, St John's-bread, or 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 to replace cocoa powder. Carob bars, an alternative to chocolate bars, are often available in health-food stores.
Carob consumed by humans is the dried (and sometimes roasted) pod. The pod consists of two main parts: the pulp accounts for 90% and the seeds for 10% of the pod weight.
Carob is mildly sweet and is used in powdered, chip or syrup form as an ingredient in cakes and cookies, and as a substitute for chocolate. Carob bars are widely available in health food stores. A traditional sweet, eaten during Lent and Good Friday, is also made from carob pods in Malta. Dried carob fruit is traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat.
While chocolate contains levels of theobromine which are toxic to some mammals, carob contains significantly less caffeine and theobromine, and is therefore used to make chocolate-flavored treats for dogs.
Carob pod meal is used as an energy-rich feed for livestock, particularly for ruminants, though its high tannin content may limit its use. 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. In the Iberian Peninsula, carob pods were used to feed donkeys.
The carob tree 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.
Carob trees may be grown in USDA zones 9-11.