Carob Fruit in Period
I found references to Carob in the book “A King’s Confectioner in the Orient”. I found this a little odd as I know chocolate comes from South America and had always made the assumption so did Carob. I was wrong. While chocolate is period, it’s period as a drink not a solid. However Carob was used in various recipes, especially for Middle Eastern sweets.
Referencing: https://sites.redlands.edu/trees/species-accounts/carob-tree/ website, I found pictures of the actual dried Carob pods ready for harvesting. Much like olives the fruit tree is hit with a stick, hard enough to cause the ripe pods to fall but not hard enough for the tree to be damaged. Like coffee beans, also found in the Middle East, the Carob seeds need to be dried before being processed into a powder and/or block form.
Various names include: Keras (Greek), Siliqua (Latin), Kharuv (Hebrew), Kharroub (Arabic), Caroubier (French). https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/18/3303
“A King’s Confectioner in the Orient”, talks of a sweets made of Carob/Chocolate. I believe that this is a mis-translation into English from Kharroub to Chocolate, as many English speakers think the two flavors are inter changeable. However at this time, chocolate was available as an import from South America as the Spanish and Portuguese were importing Coco beans, vanilla and tomatoes while forming banana plantations in the new world. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-americas/history-of-chocolate so chocolate from the Americas could actually be.
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