Tapioca Pudding

Vanilla isn't boring

Greetings,

The end of May marks the time for many when summer vacations are planned or begin and when those in the Northeast can enjoy warm-weather activities. Our son will be staying with us next weekend so that he and his friend, Cody, can participate in a Gran Fondo, a type of long-distance cycling race originating in Italy in 1970, taking place in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. Participants can choose between a 14, 53, or 79-mile route. They opted for the 79/-mile distance and met up at our house earlier in the month for a 60-mile practice session to take advantage of some of the climbs in our area. Personally, I can't imagine biking that far. I don’t know Cody very well, but I do remember that he sang the praises of tapioca pudding after eating a dish at our house years ago. Undoubtedly, he does not recollect this, but the compliment stuck with me. Tapioca is the type of dessert that strikes me as nourishing, sweet but not too sweet, and comforting after subjecting your body or mind to stress. I had planned on making a batch to be ready when they returned from their practice ride but had forgotten that the tapioca pearls need to soak in water overnight. In any event, they recovered from their ride nicely after a couple of protein drinks, but I plan on being better prepared this weekend with some tapioca in the fridge.

Tapioca is from the root of the cassava plant and is native to South America. Like tofu, it has little flavor on its own and is a blank canvas awaiting the imagination of the cook. It is primarily a carbohydrate with very little protein or other nutrients but has the advantage of being gluten-free. The tapioca pearls that you purchase at the grocery store are amazingly uniform in size and are made by adding hot water to the cassava root and then forming it into small pearls. The tapioca pearls are what add a unique texture to tapioca pudding. Both large and small tapioca pearls require overnight soaking in water and both sizes require the same amount of preparation time. I prefer the added texture of the larger pearls. An instant tapioca is also available and is tasty, but does not quite measure up to the luxurious taste of the non-instant. I have made the instant, small pearl, and large pearl all within this past month using the Reese tapioca that can generally be found in the aisle with the Jell-O. The recipe listed below is directly from the back of the packaging for the large pearl variety.

Tapioca pudding is fully dependent on the addition of vanilla extract after it has cooked and before it is refrigerated. Vanilla receives a bad rap for being perceived as a safe or boring choice of flavor. I think that it is a sophisticated, warm, and inviting flavor that helps to make tapioca pudding so comforting. Most of the world’s supply of vanilla comes from Madagascar. Seed pods are harvested from the vanilla orchid. The flowers are time-consuming and labor-intensive to grow and the seed pods which take nine months to mature are mainly harvested by hand. The vanilla seed pods are steeped in alcohol, generally vodka, to make the delicious extract.

Large Pearl Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup large pearl tapioca

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs separated

1 t. vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a bowl soak tapioca in 2 cups of room temperature water overnight. Drain water.

2. In a double boiler, heat milk until no longer cold. Add salt and tapioca. Continue heating until small bubbles appear at the sides of the pan. Cover, turn the heat to very low and cook for one hour. Make sure that the milk mixture does not simmer or boil.

3. Separate egg whites from yolks. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow in color. Add a little of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and blend thoroughly. Then add the yolk mixture to the hot milk mixture, stirring constantly. Place the double boiler over medium heat and cook until mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.

4. Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly fold the egg whites into the hot tapioca mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Serve warm or chilled.

   Makes 6-8 servings.

   

   Thanks for reading!

   Vicki