Native to Brazil, the plant spread across South America and was taken by explorers to Europe, Africa and Asia.
It is now grown worldwide and is used as a starch and thickening agent in the cuisines of nearly every culture.
After the starch is extracted from the roots, it is further processed into forms including sticks and pearls, which are the most common in the United States, where tapioca most often is used to make pudding or thicken pie filling.
People who need to avoid gluten, however, often use tapioca starch as a replacement for flour.
Ask a food or cooking question by writing Ask Lisa at The Dispatch, 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289, Columbus, Ohio 43216; calling 614-461-5529; or sending email to [email protected], with “ Ask Lisa” in the subject line. Include your name, address and phone number. (Initials are printed on request.)
According to the MINUTE® Tapioca Company, our traditional American pudding recipe originated in Boston in 1894, in the home of housewife Susan Stavers. She was taking on boarders–one of whom was a sick sailor. Amidst his belongings were cassava roots carried home from a sea journey.
People who need to avoid gluten, however, often use tapioca starch as a replacement for flour.
It is now grown worldwide and is used as a starch and thickening agent in the cuisines of nearly every culture.
Native to Brazil, the plant spread across South America and was taken by explorers to Europe, Africa and Asia.
Ask a food or cooking question by writing Ask Lisa at The Dispatch, 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289, Columbus, Ohio 43216; calling 614-461-5529; or sending email to [email protected], with “ Ask Lisa” in the subject line. Include your name, address and phone number. (Initials are printed on request.)
After the starch is extracted from the roots, it is further processed into forms including sticks and pearls, which are the most common in the United States, where tapioca most often is used to make pudding or thicken pie filling.
If you are unsure about making sago or tapioca pudding (or returning to it after eating the runny school kind of years past), the great food historian Alan Davidson provides some words of encouragement: ‘[I]t is sometimes despised by the ignorant, that is to say, persons who have no knowledge of how good they are when properly made.’ He casts down a caveat, however: ‘[The] texture delights a few cognoscenti in Britain but is repellent to the majority and has no doubt contributed to the virtual disappearance of the pudding from British tables.’[5] And I say that it is a crying shame. It is rarely included in cookery books anymore, not even those specialising in puddings. Justin Gellatly is a fan though, and there are a couple of recipes in Helen Thomas’s excellent Pudding Book, but that’s about it.[6]
Wash the sago pearls as described above and place them in a saucepan with the remainder of the ingredients, bar the butter. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring gently. Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. After the 15-minute mark, keep a closer eye on it: cook a further 10 to 15 minutes, but stir more frequently, scraping any stuck bits from the base. Sago pearls stick and catch easily!
Speaking with Heather Ellis on the podcast about the School Meals Service and school dinners really fired off some food memories, good and bad. If it has in you too, please let the School Meals Project know about them – and let me know about them too – there’s a postbag episode of the podcast coming in just two or three weeks’ time. Three stuck in my mind: sago or tapioca pudding, pink sponge and custard, and Spam fritters. Of those, my favourite is sago/tapioca pudding – it genuinely is one I cook at home regularly. I know it was called frogspawn by children across the country, but if made well, it is delicious. Honest.
The typical way to cook the pudding these days is to either bake it I the oven or cook it on the hob, and I provide methods for both, though I prefer the latter. It is quick to make and, despite what other recipes say, requires no soaking – just a careful swish in some cold water.
Preheat the oven to 160°C. In a baking dish of 1¼ litre capacity dot the bottom with small knobs of butter. Place the sago pearls in a jug and pour over plenty of cold water to release any starch. Pour through a sieve and then scatter the sago over the base of the dish with the sugar, milk, cream and flavourings. If using cocoa powder, whisk it into the milk before pouring into the dish. Place in the oven and bake for 60-90 minutes, stirring every now and again to disperse lumps. When the time is up, and you want a browner top, you could place it under a hot grill for a few minutes. Leave the pudding to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
How It’s Made – Tapioca Pudding
FAQ
What cultures eat tapioca pudding?
What is the little balls in tapioca pudding?
What culture is tapioca from?
What is the hard stuff in tapioca pudding?
What is tapioca pudding made of?
Boba are large sweetened pearls often dyed black and used for bubble tea. Traditional uses for tapioca include tapioca pudding, bubble or boba tea, and other candies and desserts. Both tapioca pudding and boba tea are made with pearled tapioca, or small balls of tapioca starch that turn into a chewy, gummy ball when cooked.
Is tapioca gluten free?
Tapioca is an ingredient made from the root of the cassava plant. Tapioca is gluten free. Tapioca flour also known as tapioca starch is used in combination of other flours to make backed foods. Tapioca is slightly sweet and is rich in starch. Tapioca is advisable to individuals who have gluten intolerance.
Where does tapioca come from?
The cassava plant, or manioc, is native to the West Indies and to South America, where its roots are ground into meal and then baked into thin cakes. Tapioca became a common Asian food after the cassava was introduced into that part of the world during the 19th century.
How did tapioca become a popular food?
Tapioca became a common Asian food after the cassava was introduced into that part of the world during the 19th century. In Thailand a pudding is made of tapioca and coconut, and tapioca paste is rolled into balls and dried to be eaten as cereal. The Vietnamese make a kind of thin pancake using tapioca starch.