Bubbles of cassava

I tried to explain what tapioca was to someone who's never heard of it or tasted it before. Is tapioca an American thing? It was nearly impossible to explain because I realized I had no idea where it came from or really what it was. Were they air bubbles? Were they cooked up using different ingredients? These little weird things that I found in my pudding as a youth had officially come back to make my wheels start turning. And after serious review of my mental space I decided I had no clue at all where tapioca comes from or how it is made.

From Wikipedia:
Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. It is similar to sago. It is processed into either fine dried flakes, or more commonly, small hard white spheres or "pearls" that are soaked before use. These spheres are a common ingredient in Southeast Asian desserts, in puddings such as tapioca pudding, and in drinks such as bubble tea where they provide a chewy contrast to the sweetness of the drink. Cassava flour (tapioca flour) is commonly used as a food thickener, and is also used as a binder in pharmaceutical tablets.

Comes from a root! I'm still weird about the whole thing. Tastes good though. So, at Jewel yesterday I purchased some tapioca pudding and ate some today under a tree in the garden of the oldest house in Chicago. A fine way to top off a lunch.

Tapioca is also used in bubble tea, which in my humble opinion sounds fucking NICE.

Today your love, tomorrow the world.