Plural of carob; the sweet brown pods of a Mediterranean tree that can be eaten or ground into a chocolate-like powder.
From Arabic 'kharrūb' (the carob tree), traveling through Greek, Latin, and Romance languages before reaching English. The pod-bearing tree is native to the Mediterranean.
Carob is naturally sweet and has been eaten for thousands of years in the Mediterranean—it may be 'John the Baptist's locust beans' from biblical texts. Modern carob powder serves as a caffeine-free chocolate substitute for people avoiding caffeine!
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