What Is Tapioca?

Tapioca is made from the roots of a large shrub which grows in the warm countries of the world. The roots of the manioc plant are about 1/3rd starch and 2/3rd water, and a great deal of time is needed to get these roots ready for eating. They are first washed and peeled. After that, it may then be put into water in a pot or a stream and left to saturate for three or four days or they may be grated into a paste without saturating. The paste can be cooked and eaten, or it can be dried and made into flour.

To make tapioca, the grated root is mixed well with very clean water and then left to stand. The pure starch grains slowly settle to the bottom, and any dirt can be poured off with the water.

The starch is then taken out and mixed with clean water again and the process repeated, sometimes four or five times. When the starch become perfectly clean, it is spread on a metal plate over a low fire and cooked. It should be stirred all the time it is over the fire. As the starch grains cooked they stick together to form irregular little balls.

After the pure starch is became cooked, it is called Tapioca. So, it's quite a long process from the roots of shrub to the tapioca which is prepared to eat. Most of the tapioca is used in the United States and Europe comes from Java, Brazil and Madagascar. In the United States "pure manioc starch" or "tapioca flour" is used to give a good finish to cotton cloth, to make fine adhesives such as are used on postage stamps. It has many other uses, as well.