Carob beans are the fruit of the carob tree. Shaped like elongated pods, the beans are naturally sweet and are dark in colour when ripe and ready to be harvested.
Although carob originated in the Middle East, it is currently found throughout the Mediterranean basin and is especially common in Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
From harvesting on the hot summer days through to the end product and packaging details, Carob World monitors the entire carob value chain, to ensure quality in its manufacturing process and end products.
The company uses carob sourced in the Algarve, which is processed at its manufacturing plant in Faro, the southern Portuguese region’s capital city.
Blossom
(Sep-Nov]
Unripe beans
(Dec-May)
Ripe beans
(Jun-Sep)
After the carob beans are harvested from the trees by hand in the traditional way, they go through the first processing step: mechanical crushing to separate the pulp from the seeds.
Next, the carob pulp proceeds to the grinding and micronisation process where it is reduced to powder. Once the particles have reached the optimal size, the powder can be roasted to achieve a variety of flavours.
Finally, the specified carob powder reaches the hands of Carob World food engineers, who will blend it with other ingredients to produce the end products – bars and spreads.