Carob   The carob pod is the fruit of the carob tree, which is native to the Mediterranean region. The trees, some of them hundreds of years old, are cultivated by farmers.

pod, kernels, gum

They flower in October and November, and the pods are harvested from September onwards of the following year. Cooperatives then sell the pods to "kibblers", who separate pulp from kernels. The pulp which has a sugar content in excess of 50 per cent, is mainly used as animal feed. The kernels are dehusked in the factories of carob bean gum manufacturers and the endosperms separated from the germs. The ground germs are used mainly as protein in animal feed. A milling process turns the endosperms into carob bean gum. From the kernels it is possible to extract approximately 35 per cent (i.e. from the pods approximately 3,5 per cent) of galactomannan.