Homemade Tapioca Pudding Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the little balls in tapioca pudding made of? ›

Looking at a tapioca pearl, you may think, “What are these made out of?” These white little balls that give tapioca pudding its signature texture actually come from the starch of the cassava root, which is grown in the tropics. After this starch is extracted, it's formed into little pearls.

To keep your tapioca pudding from getting runny, be sure to use whole milk. The fat from the milk is necessary for that creamy texture. For a thicker texture, cook the tapioca pearls a little longer than instructed on your package. The pearls absorb the moisture and create a nice and thick pudding.

Tapioca comes from cassava. Naturally gluten-free starch is extracted from the plant, which is then turned into a powder or hard pearls. Both are normally white in color, but turn translucent when hydrated.

First, it is important to soak small pearl tapioca before attempting to make pudding with it, or the texture will be off. Some people soak overnight, but we found that 30 minutes or so worked with small tapioca, resulting in a lively textured tapioca with wonderful creamy, custard bridging the beads.

Tapioca is high in carbs and calories, so it is not a traditionally healthful food. However, it can help a person meet the recommended daily allowance of several important nutrients. It can also be a tasty, nutritious food choice for people who need to gain weight.

The tapioca pearls in bubble tea, also known as bubbles or boba, have a jelly-like texture and are made with tapioca starch, making it completely safe for human consumption. On the other hand, popping bubbles are made from water, fruit juice, sugar, and plant-based Alginic acid, which also makes them safe to eat.

”To use in freezing, substitute 1 tablespoon tapioca flour for 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for 1 cup liquid. In non-frozen sauces, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons tapioca flour for 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour.

Cornstarch is a good alternative for tapioca flour when it comes to thickening sauces. Cornstarch actually has a greater thickening capacity than tapioca flour. This means that a person should use half the amount of cornstarch than they would tapioca flour.

One of the best things about tapioca as a thickener is that it can absorb liquids before they reach a boiling temperature. This means you can thicken pie fillings quickly without waiting for them to come to temperature.

A tapioca pearl, also known as tapioca ball, is an edible translucent sphere produced from tapioca, a starch made from the cassava root.

Why did my tapioca pudding curdle? ›

Curdling occurs when the eggs in a pudding are overcooked. For that reason, stove-top puddings are usually thickened with starch and then enriched with eggs. Since the starch thickens first, the pudding will already be fully cooked and thickened before the eggs would have gotten hot enough to curdle.

Your pudding texture just won't turn out right if you don't soak the tapioca pearls first. Recipes often say to soak for 12 hours, but you can cut that down to 30 minutes and still achieve the creamy, custard-like texture that makes tapioca pudding so delicious.

“Whole pearls … can take longer for your stomach to digest,” it wrote. “Whilst it likely won't matter if you accidentally swallow a few pearls whole, it's best to sip your bubble tea slowly in order to give yourself adequate time to properly chew the pearls in your bubble tea.”

Place the tapioca in a large bowl with a quart of cold water. Cover and allow the tapioca to soak for at least 12 hours. When ready to use, use a fine-mesh strainer to drain off the water and set the soaked pearls aside.

Boba is made from tapioca starch, also known as cassava starch, which is why they're often also labeled as "tapioca pearls." They're small spheres that are often simmered in a brown sugar syrup to give them a sweet taste and dark black color.

Unfortunately, boba itself provides very few health benefits, though its calories and carbohydrates can provide you with a boost in energy. In most cases, boba tea contains high levels of sugar, which is linked to long-term health conditions like diabetes and obesity.

They are often used in desserts, such as bubble tea and tapioca pudding. Tapioca pearls are a good source of carbohydrates and fiber, and they are also low in calories. However, they are also high in sugar, so they should be eaten in moderation.

Popping boba, also called popping pearls, is a type of "boba" used in bubble tea. Unlike traditional boba, which is tapioca-based, popping boba is made using the spherification process that relies on the reaction of sodium alginate and either calcium chloride or calcium lactate.