# What is Tapioca? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450 "2007-10-04T00:40:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/1 "2007-10-04T00:40:36Z")
Just what is tapioca, and what purpose does it have other than tapioca pudding? “Honey? Did you make tapioca for dinner because I haven’t had my daily allowance of it today…” 😃 - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/2 "2007-10-04T00:51:53Z")
It’s a thickening agent. It is used in South America quite a bit, but is usually referred to as cassava on programs about South America. Other names also exist for the plant and product. > **[Tapioca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca)** > > Tapioca (/ˌtæpiˈoʊkə/; .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Portuguese: \[tapiˈɔkɐ\]) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta, also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. It is a perennial shrub ada... ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/3 "2007-10-04T02:02:45Z")
I’m pretty sure tapioca pudding is actually just fish eyes in yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![SharkB8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@SharkB8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharkB8)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/4 "2007-10-04T02:07:00Z")
Any of you ever been to a trendy “tea bar” that has big black balls of “tapioca” in it? Then they give you this straw with like a 5" diameter so you can freely suck up the balls with the straw…and they’re just gummy…why that goes with tea is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/5 "2007-10-04T02:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I’m pretty sure tapioca pudding is actually just fish eyes in yogurt. [/QUOTE] Years ago, my wife told me that tapioca was made from fish eyes. I believed her for half a second before I saw her laughing at me. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/6 "2007-10-04T02:33:25Z")
[QUOTE=SharkB8] Any of you ever been to a trendy “tea bar” that has big black balls of “tapioca” in it? Then they give you this straw with like a 5" diameter so you can freely suck up the balls with the straw…and they’re just gummy…why that goes with tea is beyond me. [/QUOTE] It’s originally an Asian dish, adapted for the trendy bars. I don’t know why they go together either, but it’s…ok tasting I gues. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/7 "2007-10-04T14:43:06Z")
Bubble tea. It’s fun to drink! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/8 "2007-10-04T14:48:51Z")
The book “Family Words” says that common slang for Tapioca pudding is Fish Eyes in Glue. I never heard that before I read the book, but Tapioca looked so unappetized I never tried it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/9 "2007-10-04T14:49:28Z")
Sez you. Calling blobs of chewy junk “bubbles” is deceptive advertising at best. A guy I worked with wild for this stuff - I never understood it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/10 "2007-10-04T14:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=Jinx] Just what is tapioca, and what purpose does it have other than tapioca pudding? [/QUOTE] I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/11 "2007-10-04T14:50:59Z")
It make a nice thickener for pie fillings. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/12 "2007-10-04T14:54:28Z")
[QUOTE=SharkB8] Any of you ever been to a trendy “tea bar” that has big black balls of “tapioca” in it? Then they give you this straw with like a 5" diameter so you can freely suck up the balls with the straw…and they’re just gummy…why that goes with tea is beyond me. [/QUOTE] I’ve learned to like it, but I like it in fruit smoothies, which are usually served at those same tea bars. Sue me; my mom’s Asian. Oh, and to the OP: it’s starch from the root of the cassava plant. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/13 "2007-10-04T15:26:17Z")
I remember I was the kid in the third grade cafeteria who everyone else gave their tapioca pudding to. I loved it then, and I love it now, so long as it is very cold, very sweet with lots of vanilla flavor. **Mrs. Fear** makes it for me often. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/14 "2007-10-04T15:27:55Z")
IIRC, Elmer Fudd’s brain is made of tapioca pudding. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/15 "2007-10-04T16:49:19Z")
[QUOTE=MLS] It make a nice thickener for pie fillings. [/QUOTE] I’ve used it as a thickener in beef stew. As to the pudding I prefer the large tapioca rather than the small because you can tell you’re actually eating something with tapioca in it. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/16 "2007-10-04T16:58:03Z")
[QUOTE=kniz] As to the pudding I prefer the large tapioca rather than the small because you can tell you’re actually eating something with tapioca in it. [/QUOTE] I actually agree - small pearl tapioca pudding has a texture more like rice pudding, which is nice too, but not the same. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/17 "2007-10-04T17:34:49Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] IIRC, Elmer Fudd’s brain is made of tapioca pudding. [/QUOTE] Mine too. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/18 "2007-10-04T18:13:48Z")
From dictionary: tap·i·o·ca n. A beady starch obtained from the root of the cassava, used for puddings and as a thickening agent in cooking. Here in Colombia, we call the root “Yuca.” We cook the root and eat it like that. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/19 "2007-10-04T18:19:24Z")
[QUOTE=robcaro] Here in Colombia, we call the root “Yuca.” We cook the root and eat it like that. [/QUOTE] Yep, I ate a ton of that stuff when I lived in Ecuador. For the first year, I closed my eyes and pretended it was potatoes. The second year, I preferred it over potatoes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450/20 "2007-10-04T18:26:16Z")
[QUOTE=SharkB8] Any of you ever been to a trendy “tea bar” that has big black balls of “tapioca” in it? Then they give you this straw with like a 5" diameter so you can freely suck up the balls with the straw…and they’re just gummy…why that goes with tea is beyond me. [/QUOTE] Bubble tea. Yup. It hit the Anglo malls here about five years ago and hasn’t gone away since. I can only imagine what it would have been like if we’d had it when I was a kid… those straws seem ideal for pea-shooters. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-tapioca/421450.md?page=2)