Middle East

Carob

Ceratonia siliqua pod.

Dried pod, ground into flour or reduced to molasses.

Part Used

Ground pod flour, or reduced into a thick molasses (dibs kharoub).

Form

Kharoub (Arabic); harnup (Turkish).

Levant, Cyprus, Turkey, broader Eastern Mediterranean.

Sweet, malty, faintly chocolate-like without caffeine or bitterness.

Natural sweetener and flavoring for syrups, desserts, and some savory glazes.

Carob molasses drizzled over tahini (a classic Levantine breakfast pairing); carob-sweetened pastries.

Tahini, sesame, walnuts.

Add molasses at the point of serving or glazing rather than early in cooking, to preserve its distinct flavor.

Molasses keeps many months refrigerated once opened; pod flour keeps a year or more sealed.

A mix of date syrup and a small amount of cocoa powder approximates the malty-chocolate profile.

Long used historically as a caffeine-free chocolate substitute; its molasses form (dibs kharoub) is culturally as significant as its flour form.

Not a dry spice blend component; used as syrup or flour in its own right.