Commercial uses for this gum include ink ingredients, film polishes, cosmetics, tooth paste, adhesives, etc. The seeds can be boiled in water to soften and then strung into a necklace. Carob powder is available at many sources, including supermarkets and health food stores. However, although pure carob is the most healthful, a variety of other ingredients are commonly added to carob, including chocolate, sugar, and cocoa. Thus, it is important for allergic individuals to ascertain that the carob they are purchasing is pure.
Carob contains only traces of theobromine, the active stimulant in chocolate and cocoa.
However, even theobromine is occasionally added to carob. The mature pods can be picked off the tree, or gathered from the ground, wiped clean, and eaten. These sweet and chewy pods make nutritional TV or study snacks and can be carried along on driving, bicycling, or backpacking trips. When gathering pods to eat, be sure that the pod is fully mature but not too old. The pods ripen in late summer and early fall.