The Carob tree goes under many different names in various parts of the world. Furthermore in some countries such as Italy there are regional variations in the naming. The most well known names internationally are Carob and Locust bean. Other regional names include Johannisbrotbaum (Germany), Alfarrobeira (Portugal) and Garrofer or Garrover (Catalonia).
When Carob pods arrive at the processor they are stored in
ventilated areas to allow their moisture to settle down to about 8%,
this improves their storage life. The first operation is kibbling the pods to separate the seed from the pulp.
The Carob pod can be split into two fractions: pulp and seed. Carob pulp varies in properties depending on the harvesting time, cultivar and farming practises. However a basic analysis would be (Puhan and Wielinga, 1996):
