I am sure that many of you have heard of, and most likely tasted, Tapioca pudding. If you have not, you are weird. I am going to explain to you what Tapioca pudding is and where it came from.
First off, tapioca comes from a plant called cassava. It is a small green plant. Its leaves are a sickly green color, and the stalks are yellow-green (see picture on right.) It mainly grows in South America, although you can find it in other places. From the roots you can produce a flavorless high-starch ingredient. The little white balls in tapioca pudding are made from this ingredient. Tapioca pudding is simply tapioca (the little white balls,) milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
Here are some interesting facts. The cassava plant produces cyanide. If you do not process the plant, it could kill you. July 15th is National Tapioca Day (that's two days before Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince comes out in theaters!) Finally, in 1972, just outside of Wales, a swiss freighter was almost sunk. It was carrying 1500 tons of tapioca (thats 3,000,000 pounds!) As it was sailing, the ship caught fire, which started to cook the tapioca, causing it to expand. Finally the fire was put out, and the tapioca cooled down.
So, I hope that you enjoyed these facts, and you know know what you are eating.
