National Tapioca Pudding Day

Tuesday July 15, 2008 #52

 “Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends.” 

 ~Jasmine Heiler

Let’s take a break from the heavy lifting of our lives and enjoy one of my favorite food holidays.  Today is National Tapioca Pudding Day.  Funny food, tapioca.  What are those weird little squishy pebbles anyway?  Of course I had to check it out and it turns out tapioca is, according to Wikipedia: 

Purchased tapioca comprises many small white spheres each about 2 mm in diameter (although larger grain sizes are available). These are not seeds, but rather reconstituted processed root. The processing concept is akin to the way that wheat is turned into pasta. These tapioca pearls are made mostly of tapioca starch, which comes from the tapioca, or bitter-cassava plant.

Most people have strong feelings about tapioca pudding – love it or hate it, right?  I happen to love it.  Tapioca was a treat my mom shared with me and my siblings when I was a kid and I enjoy it to this day.  I love the combination of the light creamy sweetness, with the interesting sensation of the tapioca beads.

What food brings this kind of reaction for you?  Go on – get some tapioca (or your preferred item) and take a ‘you’ break, or better yet, share it with someone you care about.