Carob Week: Portugal's dark treasure from the carob tree
Anyone driving through the Algarve landscape will keep encountering it: the carob tree. With its broad, often gnarled crown, evergreen leaves, and amazing resilience, it is just as much a part of southern Portugal as almond, fig, and olive trees. Its dark brown fruits might seem rather inconspicuous at first glance, but they hold a culinary tradition that is centuries old.
In Portugal, carob is called Alfarroba. And it is this very special fruit that we are dedicating our next theme week to. Discover carob in its most original form as a pod, finely ground as carob flour, or already processed in Portuguese carob cookies.
Alfarroba – a typical fruit of the Algarve
The carob tree loves warmth, sun, and dry soil. Conditions that it finds in abundance in the Algarve. It manages with relatively little water and is excellently adapted to the Mediterranean climate. It is no wonder that the Alfarrobeira, as the tree is called in Portuguese, has been an integral part of the cultural landscape in the south of the country for generations.
Its fruits develop as long, initially green pods. During ripening, they change color and eventually become dark brown. That is when the typical aroma of the pulp unfolds: pleasantly sweet, malty, and slightly caramelly.
Traditionally, carob fruits were used in many ways. Today, Alfarroba is once again receiving special attention, particularly in the kitchen. In Portugal, you can find it in cakes, cookies, bread, pastries, and various desserts, for example.
Carob and cocoa – similar and yet quite different
Because of its dark color, carob flour is often compared to cocoa or used as an alternative to it. In terms of taste, however, one should not expect a classic cocoa flavor.
Alfarroba possesses its own unique character. The aroma is naturally sweet and, depending on how it is processed, reminds one of caramel, malt, and slightly toasted notes. Cocoa, on the other hand, tastes stronger, more bitter, and decidedly more chocolatey.
It is precisely this difference that makes carob so interesting. It does not have to replace cocoa at all – rather, Alfarroba opens up a whole new world of taste.
Those who are not yet familiar with carob can try out different varieties during our theme week.
Carob pods – Alfarroba in its original state
With the carob pods, you get to know the fruit in its original form. The dark brown, firm pods contain a sweet pulp and show particularly beautifully where carob flour actually originates.
Anyone who opens a pod will also find the strikingly hard seeds inside. An interesting historical oddity surrounds these: because of their relatively uniform weight, the seeds of the carob tree were long considered a unit of measurement. The term "carat," which is still used today for gemstones, for example, is derived from their name.
The pods are therefore not only culinary curiosities, but also tell a small piece of the cultural history of the Mediterranean region.
Carob flour – versatile for your own kitchen
Alfarroba is particularly easy to discover in the form of carob flour. For this, the fruit is processed and finely ground. The result is a dark brown powder with a characteristic sweet and malty aroma.
Carob flour can be used wonderfully in baking. Try it, for example, in cakes, muffins, cookies, pancakes, or bread. Desserts, porridge, yogurt, or smoothies can also be given a new flavor profile with it.
A quick tip: If you have never baked with Alfarroba before, you don't have to base an entire recipe on it right away. Simply start with a smaller amount of carob flour and combine it with your usual ingredients. This way, you can slowly get a feel for the special taste.
Combining it with nuts, almonds, figs, orange, or cinnamon also goes perfectly with the warm, slightly caramelly character of Alfarroba.
Carob cookies – a crunchy piece of Portugal
For those who prefer to try it directly, we have two different types of cookies available during our Alfarroba week.
The organic carob cookies from Seara show how well the characteristic taste of carob works in a crunchy pastry. They are an uncomplicated way to get to know Alfarroba – with coffee, tea, or just as a snack.
In addition, we have the carob cookies from Doçaria Regional Maria Teresa Pereira in our assortment. The name alone reveals what this is about: regional Portuguese baking tradition. Such products in particular show that Alfarroba is not a modern trend ingredient in Portugal, but is closely linked to the local cuisine.
Feel free to try both versions side by side. Because although both contain carob, the recipe and production can bring out completely different sides of its aroma.
A piece of the Algarve with a long tradition
Perhaps the special appeal of Alfarroba lies precisely in the fact that it is so unspectacular. No bright color, no exotic-looking shape – just a dark brown pod on a sturdy tree.
And yet, it is one of those products that tells us a great deal about the Algarve.
The carob tree copes well with heat and drought, has long shaped the landscape, and provides a fruit that can be used in many different ways, from an original natural product to fine pastries.
Our Alfarroba week is therefore an invitation to get to know this Portuguese classic a little better. Try the carob pods pure, experiment with carob flour in your own kitchen, or enjoy the finished carob cookies from Seara and Doçaria Regional Maria Teresa Pereira.
Perhaps you will discover a taste that you will automatically associate with Portugal and the Algarve in the future.
