On 2017-12-07 1:58 PM, wrote:
> On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 6:42:06 PM UTC-4, Janet B wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:20:14 -0700 (PDT), lenona wrote:
>>
>>> I don't care much for pearl tapioca and buying the granular kind in those little boxes is pretty expensive, so when I found the latter in a two-pound bag at an Indian store (definitely cheaper per pound), I thought I had it made.
>>>
>>> Trouble is, when I followed the Joy of Cooking recipe, while I cooked it for maybe 30 minutes, it just didn't thicken and congeal the way I'm used to.
>>>
>>> Got any ideas?
>>>
>>> I'm pretty sure this is the recipe I used:
>>>
>>> https://books.google.com/books?id=C4...ing%22&f=false
>>>
>>> 3 Tbs. tapioca
>>> 1/2 cup sugar
>>> 1/4 tsp. salt
>>> 1 or 2 beaten eggs (I only used one - maybe I should have used two?)
>>> 2 cups milk
>>> 1/2 tsp. vanilla
>>>
>>> You use a double boiler. The total time was supposed to be 12 minutes - but that was for quick-cooking tapioca, which, I assume, was not what I had. Again, I cooked it for maybe 30 minutes.
>>>
>>>
>>> Lenona.
>> Yabbut, you're supposed to mix everything and let it sit and soak for
>> 15-20 minutes before cooking.
>> That would be my first guess.
>> Janet US
>
>
> Just letting everyone know that I tried it again. I let the tapioca soak in the milk overnight (the kitchen was at 55 F or so) and cooked it in the morning, with egg. Worked reasonably well, with extra cooking time. Maybe sometime I'll try an eggless recipe.

There are a number of different styles of tapioca, like minute, small
pearl, pearl and huge pearl, like the stuff used in bubble tea. The
minute tapioca is the easiest. You can mix up the tapioca, sugar, milk
and egg and let it sit for 10-20 minutes and then cook it. The small
pearls should soak for an hour or two before adding the rest of the
ingredients and cooking. Regular pearl tapioca should soak in water
overnight to soften it up. The huge pearls should be boiled in water
for a while.