About Carob

Ancient Greeks recorded that the Egyptians called this particular tree as the "Egyptian Fig".The Egyptians not only ate the pods raw but used the gum out of the seeds (LBG) to produce a liquid which they widely used in the mummification of their dead.Traditionally the crushed carob pods produce a very thirst quenching drink widely enjoyed during the Ramaddan in North Africa.It is known that most Egyptian Kings had representatives here in Cyprus to collect only the best carobs to be sent to Egypt to be turned into this drink due to its healing qualities in the digestive system.Finally the seeds were widely used in the past by gold merchants as a measure of weight. The carob seed has the particular property that it is of equal weight.The word carat comes from the word Ceratonia Siliqua and it represents 0.020grams a weight that used to be a measure of weight rather than the quality of the gold.