At 07:42 PM 3/15/01 -0400, matesz wrote:
>------------------------------
>
>Dianne Heins <[log in to unmask]> said:
>>Now carob, otoh, is in the pulse family, according to the encarta
encyclopedia
>entries (same aspea)...
>
>My reply:
>I looked carob up in the dictionary.  I'd heard it referred to as a fruit
>before.  Anyway, it comes from an evergreen tree with compound leaves and
>edible pods.  It is not the same as a "bean," although people often call it
>a pod, seed, or bean.

I was speaking botanically:

"  Scientific classification: Carob belongs to the subfamily
   Caesalpinioideae, family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae). It is
   classified as Ceratonia siliqua."
[http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761562975]

 "(Ceratonia siliqua), tree of the pea family (Fabaceae)..."
[http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/1/0,5716,20741+1+20424,00.html?qu
ery=carob]

"Fabaceae, divided into three
 subfamilies: Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoideae, and Papilionoideae, or
Faboideae. (The
 widely accepted taxonomic system proposed by Arthur Cronquist, however,
divides the
 order into three families.) The characteristic fruit of many members is a
pod or legume consisting, in essence, of an ovary that is a tightly folded
leaf, as in a pea pod. "
[http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/2/0,5716,34102+1+33509,00.html?kw
=legume]

It does have the distinct advantage of being native to the Mediteranian area.

As for amount of processing, I was thinking of (and should have said) the
form in which it's most commonly used in recipes, which is at least roasted
and ground...

Dianne