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49-555: La Tomatina is a Spanish festival in Buñol , Spain where participants throw tomatoes at each other. It is said to be the biggest food fight in the world. From the festival's origin as a food fight between friends in the 1940s, it has become a famous tourist attraction . Until 2013 there was no limit to the number of participants; in 2013 the festival became a ticketed event for no more than 20,000, so as not to overwhelm Buñol's population of about 9,000 people. La Tomatina Festival started

98-480: A symbiotic relationship with rhizobia to make use of atmospheric nitrogen . It remains unclear if carob trees have this ability: Some findings suggest that it is not able to form root nodules with rhizobia, while in another more recent study, trees have been identified with nodules containing bacteria believed to be from the genus Rhizobium . However, a study measuring the N-signal (isotopic signature) in

147-476: A xerophyte (drought-resistant species), carob is well adapted to the conditions of the Mediterranean region with just 250 to 500 millimetres (10 to 20 in) of rainfall per year. Carob trees can survive long periods of drought, but to grow fruit, they need 500 to 550 millimetres (20 to 22 in) of rainfall per year. They prefer well-drained, sandy loams and are intolerant of waterlogging , but

196-508: A different subfamily of the Fabaceae : Mimosoideae . Early Spanish settlers named them algarrobo after the carob tree because they also produce pods with sweet pulp. The carob genus, Ceratonia , belongs to the legume family, Fabaceae , and is believed to be an archaic remnant of a part of this family now generally considered extinct . It grows well in warm temperate and subtropical areas, and tolerates hot and humid coastal areas. As

245-405: A long stick and gathering them together with the help of laid-out nets. This is a delicate task because the trees are flowering at the same time and care has to be taken not to damage the flowers and the next year's crop. The literature recommends research to get the fruit to ripen more uniformly or also for cultivars which can be mechanically harvested (by shaking). After harvest, carob pods have

294-453: A moisture content of 10–20% and should be dried down to a moisture content of 8% so the pods do not rot. Further processing separates the kernels (seeds) from the pulp. This process is called kibbling and results in seeds and pieces of carob pods (kibbles). Processing of the pulp includes grinding for animal feed production or roasting and milling for human food industry. The seeds have to be peeled which happens with acid or through roasting. Then

343-558: A substitute for chocolate in recipes because of the color, texture, and taste of carob. In Malta , a traditional sweet called karamelli tal-harrub and eaten during the Christian holidays of Lent and Good Friday is made from carob pods. Dried carob fruit is traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat . Carob powder (carob pulp flour ) is made of roasted, then finely ground, carob pod pulp. Locust bean gum

392-510: A terminal leaflet. It is frost-tolerant to roughly −7 °C (19 °F). Most carob trees are dioecious and some are hermaphroditic , so strictly male trees do not produce fruit. When the trees blossom in autumn, the flowers are small and numerous, spirally arranged along the inflorescence axis in catkin -like racemes borne on spurs from old wood and even on the trunk ( cauliflory ); they are pollinated by both wind and insects . The male flowers smell like human semen , an odor that

441-604: Is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae . It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit , which takes the form of seed pods , and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes. The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East . Portugal is the largest producer of carob, followed by Italy and Morocco . In

490-450: Is added and boiled for some time. The result is a cold beverage, also called kharrub , which is sold by juice shops and street vendors, especially in summer. This drink is popular during Ramadan in Gaza . In Lebanon the molasses is called debs el kharrub (literally: molasses of the carob), but people generally shorten it to debs . The molasses has a sweet, chocolate-like flavor. It

539-665: Is called באקסער bokser , derived from the Middle High German bokshornboum "ram's horn tree" (in reference to the shape of the carob). The carat , a unit of mass for gemstones , and a measurement of purity for gold, takes its name via the Arabic qīrāṭ from the Greek name for the carob seed κεράτιον (lit. "small horn"). Although cultivated extensively, carob can still be found growing wild in eastern Mediterranean regions, and has become naturalized in

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588-427: Is caused in part by amines . The fruit is a legume (also known commonly, but less accurately, as a pod ), that is elongated, compressed, straight, or curved, and thickened at the sutures. The pods take a full year to develop and ripen. When the sweet, ripe pods eventually fall to the ground, they are eaten by various mammals, such as swine, thereby dispersing the hard inner seed in the excrement. The seeds of

637-464: Is commonly mixed with tahini (typically 75% kharrub molasses and 25% tahini). The resulting mixture is called debs bi tahini and is eaten raw or with bread. The molasses is also used in certain cakes. The region of Iqlim al-Kharrub , which translates to the region of the carob , produces a significant amount of carob. In Cyprus , the dried and milled carob pods are left to soak in water, before being transferred into special containers out of which

686-406: Is necessary. Nitrogen-fertilizing of the plants has been shown to have positive impacts on yield performance. Although it is native to moderately dry climates, two or three summers' irrigation greatly aid the development, hasten the fruiting, and increase the yield of a carob tree. The most labour-intensive part of carob cultivation is harvesting, which is often done by knocking the fruit down with

735-421: Is often used as a firewood . As it makes such excellent fuel, it is sometimes even preferred over oak or olive wood. Because the much fluted stem usually shows heart rot , carob wood is rarely used for construction timber. However, it is sometimes sought for ornamental work--particularly for furniture design, as the natural shape of the trunk is well-suited to the task. Additionally, the extremely wavy grain of

784-413: Is produced from the endosperm , which accounts for 42–46% of the carob seed, and is rich in galactomannans (88% of endosperm dry mass ). Galactomannans are hydrophilic and swell in water. If galactomannans are mixed with other gelling substances, such as carrageenan , they can be used to effectively thicken the liquid part of food. This is used extensively in canned food for animals in order to get

833-687: Is restricted due to low polymorphism for molecular markers . Carob products consumed by humans come from the dried, sometimes roasted, pod , which has two main parts: the pulp accounts for 90% and the seeds 10% by weight. Carob pulp is sold either as flour or "chunks". The flour of the carob embryo (seed) can also be used for human and animal nutrition, but the seed is often separated before making carob powder (see section on locust bean gum below). Carob pods are mildly sweet on their own (being roughly one third to one half sugar by dry weight), so they are used in powdered, chip or syrup form as an ingredient in cakes and cookies , sometimes as

882-493: Is rich in proteins (50%). The testa, or seed coat (30–33% of seed weight), contains cellulose, lignins , and tannins . Carob pods are about 1/3 to 1/2 sugar by weight, and this sugar can be extracted into a syrup. In Malta , a carob syrup ( ġulepp tal-ħarrub ) is made out of the pods. Carob syrup is also used in Crete , and Cyprus exports it. In Palestine , crushed pods are heated to caramelize their sugar, then water

931-406: Is sometimes flavored with orange or chocolate. In Yemen , carob tree is playing a role in controlling diabetes mellitus according to Yemeni folk medicine, and diabetics consume carob pods as a juice to lower their blood sugar levels. The carob tree is widely cultivated in the horticultural nursery industry as an ornamental plant for Mediterranean climates and other temperate regions around

980-630: Is the larva of the carob moth ( Myelois ceratoniae Z.), which can cause extensive postharvest damage. Cadra calidella attack carob crops before harvest and infest products in stores. This moth, prevalent in Cyprus, will often infest the country's carob stores. Research has been conducted to understand the physiology of the moth, in order to gain insight on how to monitor moth reproduction and lower their survival rates, such as through temperature control, pheromone traps , or parasitoid traps. In 2022, world production of carob (as locust beans)

1029-622: Is then kneaded, stretched and pulled until the fair, golden color and toffee-like texture of pasteli is obtained. Carob is used for compote , liqueur , and syrup in Turkey, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Sicily. In Libya , carob syrup (called rub ) is used as a complement to asida (made from wheat flour). The so-called "carob syrup" made in Peru is actually from the fruit of the Prosopis nigra tree. Because of its strong taste, carob syrup

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1078-766: The Balearic Islands and Catalonia ( Catalan / Valencian / Balearic : garrofer, garrofera, garrover, garrovera ); Malta ( Maltese : ħarruba ), on the Italian islands of Sicily ( Sicilian : carrua ) and Sardinia ( Sardinian : carrubba, carruba ), in Southern Croatia ( Croatian : rogač ), such as on the island of Šipan , in eastern Bulgaria ( Bulgarian : рожков ), and in Southern Greece , Cyprus , as well as on many Greek islands such as Crete and Samos . In Israel ,

1127-693: The Hebrew name is חרוב ( translit . charuv ). The common Greek name is χαρουπιά ( translit. charoupiá ), or ξυλοκερατιά ( translit. xylokeratiá , meaning "wooden horn"). In Turkey , it is known as "goat's horn" ( Turkish : keçiboynuzu ). The various trees known as algarrobo in Latin America ( Samanea saman in Cuba , Prosopis pallida in Peru , and four species of Prosopis in Argentina and Paraguay ) belong to

1176-714: The Maltese islands , apart from times of famine or war, when they formed part of the diet of many Maltese people . On the Iberian Peninsula , carob pods were historically fed to donkeys. The pulp of a carob pod is about 48–56% sugars and 18% cellulose and hemicellulose . Some differences in sugar ( sucrose ) content are seen between wild and cultivated carob trees: ~531 g/kg dry weight in cultivated varieties and ~437 g/kg in wild varieties. Fructose and glucose levels do not differ between cultivated and wild carob. The embryo (20-25% of seed weight)

1225-609: The Mediterranean Basin , extended to the southern Atlantic coast of Portugal (i.e., the Algarve region) and the Atlantic northwestern Moroccan coast, carob pods were often used as animal feed and in times of famine , as "the last source of [human] food in hard times". The ripe, dried, and sometimes toasted pod is often ground into carob powder, which was sometimes used as a substitute for cocoa powder , especially in

1274-514: The Renfe system. Every year upwards of 40,000 people gather in the town to throw over 115,000 kilograms of tomatoes at each other in the yearly La Tomatina festival . The festival is a popular sight and tourists from across Europe flock to the town to join in the fun. Near the town are the training grounds and facilities of football club Levante UD . Carob The carob ( / ˈ k ær ə b / KARR -əb ; Ceratonia siliqua )

1323-579: The endosperm and the embryo are separated for different uses. Few pests are known to cause severe damage in carob orchards, so they have traditionally not been treated with pesticides . Some generalist pests such as the larvae of the leopard moth ( Zeuzera pyrina L.), the dried fruit moth ( Cadra calidella ), small rodents such as rats ( Rattus spp. ) and gophers ( Pitymys spp. ) can cause damage occasionally in some regions. Only some cultivars are severely susceptible to mildew disease ( Oidium ceratoniae C.). One pest directly associated with carob

1372-399: The western Mediterranean . The tree is typical in the southern Portuguese region of the Algarve , where the tree is called alfarrobeira , and the fruit alfarroba. It is also seen in southern and eastern Spain ( Spanish : algarrobo, algarroba , Catalan / Valencian / Balearic : garrofer, garrofera, garrover, garrovera ), mainly in the regions of Andalusia , Murcia , Valencia ,

1421-473: The "jellied" texture. While chocolate contains the chemical compound theobromine in levels that are toxic to some mammals , carob contains none, and it also has no caffeine , so it is sometimes used to make chocolate-like treats for dogs. Carob pod meal is also used as an energy-rich feed for livestock , particularly for ruminants , though its high tannin content may limit this use. Historically, carob pods were mainly used for animal fodder in

1470-508: The 1970s natural food movement . The powder and chips can be used as a chocolate alternative in most recipes. The plant's seeds are used to produce locust bean gum or carob gum, a common thickening agent used in food processing . The carob tree grows up to 15 metres (50 feet) tall. The crown is broad and semispherical, supported by a thick trunk with rough brown bark and sturdy branches. Its leaves are 10 to 20 centimetres (4 to 8 inches) long, alternate, pinnate, and may or may not have

1519-426: The carob juice gradually seeps out of and is collected. The juice is then boiled with constant stirring yielding a thick syrup known as haroupomelo . Although this syrup is frequently sold and eaten as is, haroupomelo is also used as a base for a local toffee -like sweet snack known as pasteli . Constant stirring of the carob syrup causes it to form into a black, amorphous mass which is then left to cool. The mass

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1568-437: The carob tree contain leucodelphinidin , a colourless flavanol precursor related to leucoanthocyanidins . The word "carob" comes from Middle French carobe (modern French caroube ), which borrowed it from Arabic خَرُّوبٌ ( kharrūb , "locust bean pod") and Persian khirnub , which ultimately borrowed it perhaps from Akkadian language harūb- or Aramaic חרובא ḥarrūḇā . ' Ceratonia siliqua ,

1617-463: The climatic requirements of their growing regions has occurred. Though a partially successful breaking of the dioecy happened, the yield of hermaphrodite trees still cannot compete with that of female plants, as their pod-bearing properties are worse. Future breeding would be focused on processing-quality aspects, as well as on properties for better mechanization of harvest or better-yielding hermaphroditic plants. The use of modern breeding techniques

1666-417: The cooling- and drying-sensitive seedlings are then transplanted to the field in the next year after the last frost. Carob trees enter slowly into production phase. Where in areas with favorable growing conditions, the cropping starts 3–4 years after budding, with the nonbearing period requiring up to 8 years in regions with marginal soils. Full bearing of the trees occurs mostly at a tree-age of 20–25 years when

1715-548: The days before the fight include a paella contest near the town's square, tomato fireworks, and different music bands and parades around the medieval city centre. On Wednesday morning, the first event before the tomato battle is the "Palo Jabón", centred on a long greased pole with a piece of ham at its top. The goal is for participants to climb the pole and make the ham drop, which requires them to climb on each other. During this effort, other celebrants sing and dance in circles, and all participants are doused with water from hoses. Once

1764-417: The deep root systems can adapt to a wide variety of soil conditions and are fairly salt-tolerant (up to 3% in soil). After being irrigated with saline water in the summer, carob trees could possibly recover during winter rainfalls. In some experiments, young carob trees were capable of basic physiological functions under high-salt conditions (40  mmol NaCl/L ). Not all legume species can develop

1813-463: The ham falls, the tomato battle commences. Usually, the fight lasts for about one hour, after which the town square is covered with tomato debris. Fire trucks then hose down the streets and participants often use hoses that locals provide to remove the tomatoes from their bodies. Some participants go to the Los Peñones pool to wash. The citric acid in the tomatoes leads to the washed surfaces in

1862-486: The last Wednesday of August in 1945 when some young people spent time in the town square to attend the Giants and Big-Heads figures parade. One participant's Big-head fell off, as a result of the festivities. The participant flew into a fit of rage, and began hitting everything in their path. There was a market stall of vegetables that fell victim to the fury of the crowd, as people started to pelt each other with tomatoes until

1911-453: The local forces ended the fruit battle. The following year, some young people engaged in a pre-planned quarrel and brought their own tomatoes from home. Although the local forces broke it up, this began the yearly tradition. In the following years, the boys' example was followed by thousands of people. La Tomatina was banned in the early 1950s by Francisco Franco due to the festival's lack of religious significance, however, this did not stop

1960-419: The participants, who were later then arrested. The people protested against the prohibition and the festival was again allowed with more participants. The festivity was again canceled until 1957 when, as a sign of defiance, a tomato funeral was held: a demonstration in which the residents carried a coffin with a large tomato inside. The parade was accompanied by a music band that played funeral marches. The protest

2009-453: The scientific name of the carob tree, derives from the Greek κερατωνία keratōnia , "carob-tree" (cf. κέρας kéras , "horn"), and Latin siliqua "pod, carob". In English, it is also known as " St. John's bread" and "locust tree" (not to be confused with African locust bean ). The latter designation also applies to several other trees from the same family. In Yiddish , it

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2058-431: The tissue of the carob tree did not support the theory that carob trees naturally use atmospheric nitrogen. The vegetative propagation of carob is naturally restricted due to its low adventitious rooting potential. Therefore, grafting and air-layering may prove to be more effective methods of asexual propagation. Seeds are commonly used as the propagation medium. The sowing occurs in pot nurseries in early spring and

2107-409: The town becoming very clean. Since 2002 participation in the event has been restricted to the 20,000 holders of paid tickets. In 2015, it was estimated that almost 145,000 kg (320,000 lb) of tomatoes were thrown. The city council prescribes a short list of instructions for the safety of the participants and the festival: La Tomatina Buñol has inspired similar celebrations in other parts of

2156-568: The world, being especially popular in California and Hawaii . The plant develops a sculpted trunk and the form of an ornamental tree after being "limbed up" as it matures, otherwise it is used as a dense and large screening hedge . The plant is very drought tolerant as long as one does not care about the size of the fruit harvest, so can be used in xeriscape landscape design for gardens , parks, and public municipal and commercial landscapes. In some areas of Greece, viz. Crete, carob wood

2205-496: The world: Similar festivals Events in Spain 39°25′10″N 0°47′26″W  /  39.41944°N 0.79056°W  / 39.41944; -0.79056 Bu%C3%B1ol The local economic base is a mixture of the industrial and the agricultural ( carob trees, almond trees, fruit trees , olive trees and grapes ). Buñol's population is about 9,000 people. Buñol has regional rail passenger service to Valencia via

2254-439: The yield stabilizes. The orchards are traditionally planted in low densities of 25–45 trees per hectare (10 to 20/acre). Hermaphroditic or male trees, which produce fewer or no pods, respectively, are usually planted in lower densities in the orchards as pollenizers . Intercropping with other tree species is widely spread. Not much cultivation management is required. Only light pruning and occasional tilling to reduce weeds

2303-660: Was declared a Fiesta of International Tourist Interest by the Secretary Department of Tourism due to its popularity. The 2020 event, which was to be its 75th anniversary, was cancelled in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain . It had only been cancelled once before, in 1957, for political reasons. Due to COVID-19, the 2021 event was also cancelled. In the last edition, on August 28, 2024, more than 23,000 people from 51 countries participated. Events during

2352-897: Was estimated to be 56,423 tonnes , although not all countries known to grow carob reported their results to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization . Production amounts for Turkey and Morocco accounted for nearly all the world total reported in 2022. Most of the roughly 50 known cultivars are of unknown origin and only regionally distributed. The cultivars show high genetic and therefore morphological and agronomical variation. No conventional breeding by controlled crossing has been reported, but selection from orchards or wild populations has been done. Domesticated carobs ( C. s. var. edulis ) can be distinguished from their wild relatives ( C. s. var. silvestris ) by some fruit-yielding traits such as building of greater beans, more pulp, and higher sugar contents. Also, genetic adaptation of some varieties to

2401-485: Was successful, and La Tomatina Festival was finally permitted and became an official festival. As a result of the report of Javier Basilio, a broadcaster from the Spanish television program called Informe Semanal , the festival started to be known throughout the rest of Spain. Since then, the number of participants increased year after year as well as the excitement about La Tomatina Festival. In 2002, La Tomatina of Buñol

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