Carob in Mediterranean Cuisine
Carob is one of the rare fruits that grows on almost every coast of the Mediterranean and has therefore become the common culinary heritage of the region. It turns into syrup and pastel in Cyprus, syrup and bread in Crete, fasting desserts in Malta, molasses with tahini and Ramadan drink in the Levant; in Spain, it takes place both in the memory of the famine years and in modern food research.
In this article, we discuss how carob is used in different cuisines of the Mediterranean, country by country, based on sources, and summarize the common flavor language that connects these cuisines.
The Common Fruit of the Mediterranean
Before moving on to carob cuisines, it is necessary to remember the prevalence of the tree in the Mediterranean. The genetic study published by Baumel et al. in Molecular Ecology in 2022 showed that carob was domesticated more than once in many regions of the Mediterranean, largely by selecting from local wild trees. According to the authors, there was also a transport of domesticated varieties over long distances, and these movements were associated with Roman, Greek and Arab migrations.
This genetic picture also explains the similarities in cuisines: carob already existed on every coast; however, as people, languages and agricultural knowledge moved from coast to coast, the way they were used became similar. According to the work of Ramón-Laca and Mabberley, most of the carob names in European languages are of Arabic origin; Greece and southern Italy are exceptions. "algarroba" in Spanish, "ħarrub" in Maltese and "carob" in Turkish share the same Arabic root.
For its part, the 2024 compilation by Martins-Loução et al. highlights that throughout history, carob has been associated with difficulty as a food consumed "when there is nothing else to eat", but over time it has evolved into a symbol of resilience. To understand the place of carob in Mediterranean cuisines, it is necessary to keep this dichotomy in mind: on the one hand, festive desserts and syrups, and on the other, the memory of the famine years.
Cyprus: Syrups, Pasteli and "Black Gold"
When it comes to carob cuisine in the Mediterranean, one of the first places that comes to mind is Cyprus. According to encyclopedic sources, carob syrup (haroupomelo) and the caramel-like "pasteli" dessert made with this syrup are among the traditional products in Cyprus. An article in Tablet Magazine also draws attention to the place of carob syrup in Crete and Cyprus.
One of the studies that best illustrates the diversity of carob products in Cyprus is the 2018 study by Papaefstathiou et al. This study examined the nutritional composition of 20 traditional carob products and found that the values vary greatly depending on the type of product:
- Total sugar in the pulp of local varieties was measured as 53.6–54.8 percent, and energy was measured as approximately 280–286 kcal per 100 grams.
- In carob syrups, moisture was found to be in the range of 24-31 percent and sugar was found to be in the range of 55-62 percent.
- In products such as carob chocolate and praline to which oil or other ingredients are added, the fat content is up to 30-40 percent.
- In products such as carob powders and carob coffee, caffeine and theobromine remained below the detection limit.
These results show that carob in Cyprus is not only used as syrup; It shows that it is processed into many different products such as powder, coffee, chocolate, confectionery and cream. The island's carob history is also intertwined with exports and port warehouses; The title of an article in the Hampshire Mills Group newsletter describes carob as "Cyprus' Black Gold". We discuss the carob economy in Cyprus in a separate article.
Crete and Greece: Honey Syrup and Carob Bread
Crete is one of the most established centers of carob in the Greek world. According to a source introducing the nature of Crete, it is thought that there is the largest natural carob grove in Europe on the island. The same source states that Cretans traditionally consume carob beans as a sweet snack and lists the traditional uses as follows:
- Carob "honey" (syrup) obtained by boiling pods and used as a sweetener
- Using the roasted and ground pods mixed with flour to make bread
- Roasting the beans with almonds and chickpeas and using them instead of coffee
- The use of carob flour among the people in infant nutrition and stomach ailments
The use in the last article belongs to folk tradition; it should be read as a cultural record, not as a medical recommendation. The same source also states that in difficult times, carob trees feed the poor people and the resistance fighters on the mountain. Encyclopedic sources also refer to the production of carob syrup in Crete and the preference of carob wood as firewood.
Malta: Fasting Sweets and Good Friday Cookies
In Malta, carob is known by the Maltese name "ħarrub"; In the blurb of Friends of the Earth Malta, the tree is referred to as "Siġra tal-Ħarrub". In his work in the archives of the University of Malta and presented at the Third International Carob Symposium in Portugal in 1996, Charles F. Grech states that in Malta, carob pods were traditionally used in animal feed and fasting desserts, but gained high market value during periods of food shortage, such as the Second World War.
The article in Tablet Magazine also mentions a carob cookie tradition specific to Good Friday in Malta. When these two pieces of information are read together, it is seen that carob is associated with the fasting periods of the Christian calendar in Maltese cuisine. Carob, which has a natural sweetness and can be stored for a long time during periods when meat and dairy products are avoided, has become a practical ingredient in making desserts.
According to Grech's study, carob is a symbol of longevity in Maltese. Old carob trees on the island are also seen as part of cultural heritage.
Spain: From Famine Years to Modern Cuisine
Spain is one of the largest producers of carob in the Mediterranean; According to a report published in Infoagro in 2025, the Valencia Region leads Spain's carob production with approximately 33,000 tons per year. According to the compilation in the Turkish Journal of Botany, the names of carob in Spanish come from Arabic, and Arab and Andalusian Muslims played a decisive role in the spread of the tree in the Iberian Peninsula.
In Spain, the memory of carob in the kitchen is largely associated with difficult years. The same review states that carob was associated with famine in Spain for a long time and that this negative image lasted until the Civil War period. In a document prepared by the Málaga Provincial Historical Archive, it is stated that during the war years, famine became so severe in some towns that people had to resort to consuming potato peels and carob. According to an article published in The Conversation, in the post-war "hunger years", women used carob "chocolate" instead of chocolate.
Today, Spain is also home to research on the reuse of carob in modern cuisine. For example, in a study conducted in Spain, carob flours with different roasting degrees were tried in gluten-free cakes and cookies; it has been reported that lightly roasted flour reduces staling in cakes, while highly roasted flour reduces the taste of cookies due to the bitter taste (Román et al., 2017). Carob, which was used as a "chocolate substitute" during the famine years, has become the subject of research for gluten-free and cocoa-free products today.
Italy: Carob of the South
In Italian, carob is called "carrubo" (Fuson and Yee, 2022). According to Ramón-Laca and Mabberley's linguistic observation, southern Italy, along with Greece, is among the regions where carob names do not come from Arabic; this suggests that carob has a very ancient history in the region.
We could not find detailed and verified sources on carob cuisine in Italy within the scope of this article. For this reason, instead of giving details about local carob desserts and liqueurs in Italian cuisine, we prefer to discuss this subject with its sources in the following articles. In a study prepared by the University of Southern California, it is generally stated that larger pieces of carob (kibble) are used in the production of syrup and liqueurs.
Levant and North Africa: Tahini Molasses and Ramadan Drink
On the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, carob is used in ways very close to Turkish cuisine. According to encyclopedic sources, "debs bi tahini" is made by mixing carob molasses with tahini in Lebanon; this is almost the exact equivalent of tahini-molasses in Turkey. In Egypt and the Levant, the cold "carob" drink prepared from carob is especially popular during Ramadan. The article in Tablet Magazine also mentions the carob drink drunk during Ramadan.
Carob has also been the subject of scientific studies in Lebanon. In one study, carob-based milk drinks were developed with roasted and unroasted powders prepared from six different carob varieties; It has been reported that drinks prepared with roasted powder have a higher overall taste and prominent notes of caramel, mocha, and roasted coffee (Srour et al., 2016). Another study compared Lebanese carob syrups with date and maple syrups (Toufeili et al., 2022).
The Common Carob Language of the Mediterranean
When carob products from different countries are placed side by side, a common culinary language emerges:
| Region | Prominent uses in resources |
|---|---|
| Cyprus | Syrup (haroupomelo), pastel, powder, coffee, chocolate and confectionery |
| Crete | Syrup made by boiling, carob bread, roasted beans instead of coffee |
| Malta | Fasting period sweets, Good Friday cookies |
| Spain | Instead of basic food and "chocolate" during the famine years; gluten-free product research today |
| Lebanon and the Levant | Debs bi tahini, carob drink in Ramadan, carob drinks with milk |
| Turkey | Molasses, tahini-molasses, carob sherbet, fruit pulp |
The common denominator in the table is clear: Carob was first extracted with water and condensed into syrup or molasses all over the Mediterranean, and then this syrup was combined with tahini, flour or nuts and turned into desserts. Roasting and grinding it turned it into a powder that can be used instead of both coffee and cocoa. We also discuss carob cuisine in Turkey in our article titled "Traditional Anatolian Flavors with Carob Fruit".
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the pastel in Cyprus?
According to encyclopedic sources, it is a traditional Cypriot dessert made with carob syrup, similar to caramel.
Is Debs bi tahini the same as tahini-molasses?
The basic logic is the same. Debs bi tahini in Lebanon is made by mixing carob molasses with tahini.
Why is carob associated with scarcity in the Mediterranean?
Since it is drought resistant and its dried fruit can be stored for a long time, it was consumed as a survival food in years when grains were not enough.
Is carob coffee traditional in the Mediterranean?
Sources about Crete state that the beans were roasted with almonds and chickpeas and used instead of coffee; In Cyprus, carob coffee was examined among the traditional products.
The Common Taste of the Mediterranean with Carob Türkiye
Carob, a common heritage of the Mediterranean, continues to be included in both traditional recipes and modern food products today. At Carob Türkiye, we supply carob fruit, crumbs, flour/powder, seeds, and extracts.
Our Products Our Products You can examine the making of carob molasses on the page. What is Carob Molasses and How is it Made? You can read it in our article. For your wholesale and export requests Contact Now You can contact us on our page.
Domestic resources
Mahdad, Y. M., Gaouar, S. B. S., "Origin, distribution and domestication of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.)", Turkish Journal of Botany (TÜBİTAK), 47(2), 89–96, 2023. doi.
org/ 10. 55730/ 1300- 008X. 2748 Foreign sources
Papaefstathiou, E., Agapiou, A., Giannopoulos, S., Kokkinofta, R., "Nutritional characterization of carobs and traditional carob products", Food Science & Nutrition, 6(8), 2151–2161, 2018. doi.
org/ 10. 1002/ FSN3. 776 Gavin, P., "The Beauty of Boxer", Tablet Magazine, February 7, 2025. tabletmag.
com/ sections/ food/ articles/ beauty- boxer- carob OpenIT, "Carob tree", Cretan Beaches. cretanbeaches.
com/ en/ flora/ carob- tree Grech, C. F., "The current status of Ceratonia siliqua L. in the Maltese Islands: its history, distribution, utilisation, threats, legal protection, planning policy and its impacts on Maltese language, society and culture", 3rd International Carob Symposium, Tavira, 1996. um.
edu. mt/ library/ oar/ handle/ 123456789/ 5167 Falzon, A., "November Flower of the Month: Carob Tree (MT: Siġra tal-Ħarrub)", Friends of the Earth Malta, 2021. foemalta.
org/ blog/ carobtree/ Wikipedia, "Carob" (regional uses). en.
wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Carob Archivo Histórico Provincial de Málaga (Junta de Andalucía), "Confites y caramelos: Carestías, racionamiento y productos vedados". juntadeandalucia.
es/ cultura/ archivos_html/ sites/ default/ c… The Conversation, "The silenced famine of the Spanish post-war period finds a voice in new exhibition". theconversation.
com/ the- silenced- famine- of- the- spanish- po... Infoagro, "La Comunidad Valenciana lidera la producción de algarroba con 33.000 toneladas anuales", 27.02.2025. infoagro.
com/ noticias/ 2025/ la_comunidad_valenciana_lidera... Román, L., González, A., Espina, T., Gómez, M., "Degree of roasting of carob flour affecting the properties of gluten-free cakes and cookies", Journal of Food Science and Technology, 54(7), 2094–2103, 2017. doi.
org/ 10. 1007/ S13197- 017- 2649- x Srour, N., Daroub, H., Toufeili, I., Olabi, A., "Developing a carob-based milk beverage using different varieties of carob pods and two roasting treatments and assessing their effect on quality characteristics", Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 96(9), 3047–3057, 2016. doi.
org/ 10. 1002/ jsfa. 7476 Toufeili, I., Itani, M., Zeidan, M., Al Yamani, O., Kharroubi, S., "Nutritional and Functional Potential of Carob Syrup Versus Date and Maple Syrups", Food Technology and Biotechnology, 60(2), 266–278, 2022. doi.
org/ 10. 17113/ FTB. 60. 02. 22. 7419 Martins-Loução, M. A., Correia, P. J., Romano, A., "Carob: A Mediterranean Resource for the Future", Plants, 13(9), 1188, 2024. doi.
org/ 10. 3390/ plants13091188 Baumel, A., Nieto Feliner, G., Médail, F., et al., "Genome-wide footprints in the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) unveil a new domestication pattern of a fruit tree in the Mediterranean", Molecular Ecology, 31(15), 4095–4111, 2022. doi.
org/ 10. 1111/ mec. 16563 Ramón-Laca, L., Mabberley, D. J., "The ecological status of the carob-tree (Ceratonia siliqua, Leguminosae) in the Mediterranean", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(4), 431–436, 2004. doi.
org/ 10. 1111/ j. 1095- 8339. 2003. 00254. x Fuson, C., Yee, S., "Carob: From Pod to Pantry", Plants & People, University of Southern California (Scalar), 2022. scalar.
USC. edu/ works/ plants- and- people/ carob- from- pod- to- … Andrews, R., "The Black Gold of Cyprus", Hampshire Mills Group Newsletter 123, 2018. Hampshiremills.
Scientific Resourcesorg/ Newsletters/ 123%20Winter%2018%20Newsle...
