Carob and Molasses Culture in the Ottoman Empire
Carob is a tree that grows almost all of the Mediterranean coasts where the Ottoman Empire ruled for a long time. In regions such as the southern coasts of Anatolia, Cyprus, Crete, the Levant and Egypt, carob fruit was used as animal feed, sweetener, beverage and trade goods; In many of these regions, carob molasses and sherbet traditions were formed, which are still alive today.
In this article, we discuss the carob culture in the Ottoman geography, the place of the name carob in the language, the traces of carob in the court registers and travelers' narratives, the traditions of molasses and sherbet, and the commercial transformation seen in the example of Cyprus, based on verifiable sources. Let us state from the beginning that archival research specific to carob is still limited.
Ottoman Geography and Carob: A Common Mediterranean Belt
The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The natural and cultural area of the tree; It covers a wide belt stretching from the southern and western coasts of Anatolia to Cyprus, from Crete to the Levant coasts, from Egypt to North Africa. Most of this belt remained within the borders of the Ottoman Empire for centuries.
This provides an important framework for understanding the place of carob in the Ottoman period. In these regions, where communities speaking different languages and belonging to different religions lived, carob was a common food source and means of livelihood. Today, the presence of carob molasses, sherbet, and desserts similar to each other in Cyprus, Crete, Lebanon, Egypt, and the Mediterranean coast of Turkey bears the traces of this common cultural past.
However, caution should be exercised here. The fact that a product is widespread in the Ottoman lands does not mean that every tradition of that product is directly an "Ottoman tradition". Carob culture existed in these regions before the Ottoman Empire and continued to develop after the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, in this article, we use the expression "carob in the Ottoman Empire" to mean the carob culture living in the geography where the Ottoman Empire ruled.
The Name "Carob": A Word That Passed From Arabic to Turkish
The name "carob" used for carob in Anatolia is of Arabic origin. In Arabic, the form "ẖarnūb" is recorded for carob in addition to the form "ẖarrūb", and "carob" in Turkish is very close to this second form.
The name "Carob" is a Turkish nomenclature based on the shape of the fruit. Both names are alive today. The fact that the name of the product is mentioned as "Alanya Carob / Alanya Carob" in the mahreç sign registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office for carob grown in Alanya shows that the local name is still officially accepted today. It is frequently emphasized in the press that carob is known as "carob" in Anatolia.
Before the Spread of Sugar: Molasses as a Sweetener
In the periods when refined sugar was not as cheap and widespread as it is today, molasses obtained from honey and fruits had an important place as sweeteners in Anatolian and Mediterranean cuisines. In Aslı Uçar's study on traditional molasses, it is stated that molasses and honey were the main sweeteners in Turkish desserts before sugar, and that molasses had a brighter period in the Ottoman period than before. According to the same study, in an edict of Suleiman the Magnificent dated 1557, it was requested to grow table, molasses and dried grapes instead of wine varieties in the vineyards; Molasses was also used as a sweetener in the halva of Topkapı Palace.
This information is centered on grape molasses; we could not find a direct record of the place of carob molasses in the Ottoman palace cuisine. However, the same study counts carob among the fruits from which molasses is made. The juice of sugar-rich fruits such as grapes, mulberries and carob was thickened by boiling, thus obtaining a product that could be stored for a long time and used in meals and desserts.
Carob is a special fruit in this respect. Ripe and dried carob fruit naturally contains high levels of sugar. In the encyclopedia article introducing the geographical indication of Alanya Carob, it is stated that the product is rich in sucrose. This feature makes carob a suitable raw material for making molasses by soaking it with water, extracting its essence and concentrating this extract by boiling.
Unlike fruits like grapes, which need to be processed immediately after harvest, dried carob can be stored year-round and turned into molasses as needed.
Carob Products in the Mediterranean Lands of the Ottoman Empire
In the Mediterranean regions where the Ottoman Empire ruled, products made from carob still live in the culinary cultures of these regions today. Encyclopedic sources summarize these traditions as follows:
- Cyprus: Carob syrup (haroupomelo) and a "pasteli" dessert made with this syrup, similar to caramel.
- Crete: Carob syrup production; preference of carob wood as firewood.
- Egypt and the Levant: A cold "carob" drink prepared from carob molasses and especially popular during Ramadan.
- Lebanon: "debs bi tahini" made by mixing carob molasses with tahini.
This list reveals an interesting picture. The Lebanese equivalent of the tahini-molasses duo, which is also popular in Turkey, is made with carob molasses. The carob drink, which is on Ramadan tables in Egypt and the Levant, shows that carob has a place in culture not only as a sweetener, but also as a drink that accompanies seasonal and religious rituals.
The traditional method in Cyprus provides a good example of how carob molasses is made. According to a source in Cyprus, carob is ground in villages, the powder obtained is kept in cold water in baskets, and the filtered sugar water is boiled slowly and brought to a syrupy consistency. This method is based on the same basic logic as traditional molasses making in Anatolia.
Carob in Documents: Traces of Ottoman Cyprus
The most concrete records of carob during the Ottoman period can be found in Cyprus. The island remained under Ottoman rule from 1571 to 1878, after which it passed under British rule. The main traces we have compiled from sources covering this period are as follows:
- Traveler's narratives: According to a source compiling the economy of Cyprus during the Ottoman period, carob was exported from Limassol in 1598, carob was counted among the island's exports in 1745, and Larnaca was among the main export items in the 1760s. The same source, referring to Ronald Jennings' study on the period 1571-1640, states that Cypriots made "pastelli" from carob.
- Sharia registers: According to Ali Efdal Özkul's study based on the Cyprus Sharia Registers, among the items of the specialization tax collected from Kasabeteyn-i İskele and Tuzla in 1828, there is cotton, silk and commanderry, as well as "carob (carob)".
- Title deed to the tree: According to Karadağ and Aylanç's study on the Turkish Cypriot folk culture, the carob tree was given a title deed during the Ottoman administration, this practice was continued for a while during the British period, and then it was abandoned.
- Organization of exports: According to a history article published in the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the packaging and export of carob started in the 1860s; Limassol merchants sent the products they bought from the peasants to Egypt, Russia and other countries.
These records show that carob was a product that was both taxed and sold abroad in Ottoman Cyprus. We could not find similar archival records on carob production on the Anatolian coasts in the sources we scanned.
The Case of Cyprus: From Warehouses to Ports
Sources describing the historic carob warehouses in Limassol state that one of the first warehouse complexes was built next to the Medieval Castle and partly during the period of Turkish rule. The same sources emphasize that trade made its major breakthrough during the British rule: the warehouses in Limassol were built in stages between 1890 and 1940, the company N. P. Lanitis was founded in 1896, and at the beginning of the 20th century, carob was exported to Great Britain, Russia, Romania and Egypt. The carob on the island was so valuable that it became known as "black gold".
This example shows that the carob trade was built on an infrastructure that existed during the Ottoman period, but the transition to industrial scale took place at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Since carob warehouses in Cyprus and the Mediterranean port trade are the subject of a separate article, we are content with this here.
Basic Steps of Traditional Molasses Making
Although it varies slightly from region to region, the production of traditional carob molasses is based on a few basic steps. A field study conducted with 45 resource people in Alanya and Gazipaşa documented these steps in detail: The broken fruit is soaked in water for at least 10 hours, first filtered through a strainer and then through a cloth bag; the liquid foam called "buynuz water" is taken and boiled by stirring constantly, and when a layer remains outside the ladle, it is removed from the stove. In the same study, it is stated that the product is known as carob, goat buynuzu, buynuz and carob in the region and that the people prefer homemade molasses to industrial products (Yıldırım and Kargıoğlu, 2015). The general framework is as follows:
- Cleaning and crushing or grinding dried carob
- Soaking the broken fruit in water and passing the essence into the water
- Filtration of the resulting wort
- Thickening the must by boiling it in cauldrons for a long time
- Filling the cooled molasses into containers and storing it
This traditional knowledge is still alive today. In 2025, at the Carob Harvest Festival held in Alanya's Obaalacami District, traditional molasses production was exhibited along with the ceremony where the geographical indication certificate was delivered. The same process in modern facilities; It is carried out with techniques such as controlled extraction, filtration and condensation under vacuum. This issue What is Carob Molasses and How is it Made? We explained it in detail in our article.
Heritage Extending to Today: Carob Molasses and Geographical Indication
Carob culture, which was shaped in the Ottoman geography, is gaining a new meaning today. In the statement that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry recommended carob cultivation to investors in 2020, it was emphasized that the fruit is used in the production of molasses in the food industry as well as table consumption.
Alanya Carob's geographical indication registration in 2025 is an important step in protecting this heritage. Thus, a product that has been grown in the same lands for centuries and is known by the same name is also defined by today's legal protection tools.
What Should You Pay Attention to When Reading Historical Information?
There are many narratives on carob and molasses culture; some of them are based on documents and some on oral culture. The 1828 specialization record above is a small example of how valuable the sharia registers can be in this regard. The production and trade figures of the Ottoman period can only be revealed through such systematic archival studies. We recommend the following approach to the readers:
- Inquire about the source of claims that include a specific date, quantity, or price.
- Read generalizations such as "It was like this in the Ottoman Empire" cautiously unless the document is shown.
- Use academic studies and official institution publications as priority sources.
The systematic examination of the records of carob and carob molasses in the Ottoman archives continues to be a valuable area of research in terms of both history and food culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did carob grow during the Ottoman period?
Carob; It is a tree that grows in the Mediterranean regions where the Ottomans ruled, such as the southern coasts of Anatolia, Cyprus, Crete, the Levant, Egypt and North Africa.
Where does the word carob come from?
Carob has passed into Turkish from the Arabic word "ẖarnūb" or "ẖarrūb" used for carob.
How was carob molasses made in the past?
In general, dried carob was broken, the essence was extracted by soaking in water, and the filtered must was boiled to thicken.
In which regions are drinks made from carob common?
In Egypt and the Levant, the cold "carob" drink made from carob molasses is especially popular during Ramadan.
Bring Carob Tradition to Today with Carob Türkiye
Carob is a fruit that has played many roles in the common history of the Mediterranean, from sweetener to beverage, from animal feed to trade goods. Today, the same fruit is a valuable raw material of the modern food industry as well as traditional molasses production.
As Carob Türkiye, we supply carob fruit, crumbs, flour/powder, seeds and extracts. For raw material suitable for molasses and extract production Carob Kibble (Granular) and Carob Fruit You can review our pages. For your wholesale and export requests Contact Now You can contact us on our page.
Domestic resources
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