Tapioca

Just the starch

Cassava (also called yuca, manioc) is a starchy tuberous root native to South America. Tapioca is the purified starch extracted from the root — leaving behind the fibers, proteins, and the cyanogenic compounds that make raw cassava toxic.

The processed starch is essentially flavorless — its uses depend entirely on its physical properties (translucent gel when cooked, gluten-free, neutral taste).

Several physical forms

• Tapioca flour / starch — fine powder. Used in gluten-free baking, gravies, sauces.
• Pearls (boba) — small round beads, 5-10 mm. Used in bubble tea, puddings.
• Pearls (small) — 2-3 mm. Traditional tapioca pudding.
• Sticks / flakes — partially-processed forms used in Asian and Brazilian cooking.

Bubble tea’s foundation

The black tapioca pearls in bubble tea — invented in Taiwan in the 1980s — are made by mixing tapioca starch with brown sugar syrup, rolling into balls, and boiling. The resulting pearls are chewy, semi-translucent black, and slightly sweet on their own.

A typical bubble tea recipe uses 30-40 g of tapioca pearls per drink, soaked in flavored syrup before being added to milk tea or fruit drinks.

Brazilian tapioca

In Brazil, the same starch is wetted, formed into pancake-like discs on a hot pan, and filled with savory or sweet ingredients — tapioca crepes are a popular street food, similar to (but distinct from) wheat-based crepes. They’re naturally gluten-free.

Pudding tradition

The classic American “tapioca pudding” — small pearls cooked in milk with sugar, vanilla, and egg — was once a Sunday dessert standard, now mostly a niche product. The pearls retain a slight chew at the center, giving the pudding its distinctive texture.