Cassava
  Manihot esculenta

Native to the tropical regions of Mexico, Central America, and South America, cassava is known by many names—manioc, mandioca, manioca, tapioca, Brazilian arrowroot and yuca. The Tupi-Guarani Indians of the Amazon were growing this root plant about 5000 years ago in areas of present day Colombia and Venezuela. The two varieties of cassava—bitter and sweet—both contain a toxin called hydrocyanic or prussic acid. This is removed, naturally, before the root is prepared as food. In 1492 the Arawak Indians of the Caribbean island of  Hispaniola served Christopher Columbus a flat, tortilla-like bread made from cassava flour.

 By the late 1500’s Portuguese slave traders had carried cassava from their colony of Brazil to the west coast of central Africa. There they traded cassava for slaves, and also fed their captives cassava on the crowded ships returning to Brazil. The Spanish carried the plant to the Philippines and from there to Southeast Asia. Today Thailand is a major exporter of cassava in the form of tapioca for puddings and thickeners.

Making cassava bread in Guiana (source)
 

 Five hundred million people worldwide rely on the starchy cassava root for a large percentage of their carbohydrate calories. Cassava usually makes up one-sixth of the total daily calories consumed by the average person in Madagascar, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Tapioca

Image source

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 and is commonly used to make a milky pudding similar to rice pudding. Purchased tapioca comprises many small white spheres each about 2 mm in diameter. 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. In other parts of the world, the bitter-cassava plant may be called "manioca" or "yucca".

Cassava is native to South America. The balls are prepared by boiling for 25 minutes, until they are cooked thoroughly but have not lost pliancy, then cooled for 25 minutes. The pearls have little taste, and are usually combined with other ingredients, savory or sweet.

Tapioca is a word derived from the Tupi language of Brazil (from tipi'óka). This refers to the process through which cassava (Manihot esculenta) is made edible. We should note, however, that as the word moved out of South America it came to refer to similar preparations made with other esculents: 'Tapioca' in Britain often refers to a rice pudding thickened with arrowroot, while in Asia the sap of the Sago palm is often part of its preparation.

Cassava (tapioca pearls) "bubble tea" (image source)

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 Taiwanese drinks such as Bubble Tea, or Boba Milk Tea where they provide a chewy contrast to the sweetness of the drink. Cassava flour (tapioca flour or tapioca starch) is commonly used as a food thickener, and is also used as a binder in pharmaceutical tablets and natural paints. In Malaysia, fried tapioca crisps are one of the many selections found in the local snack kacang putih.

A typical recipe for tapioca jelly can be made by washing 2 tablespoonfuls of tapioca, pouring a pint of water over it, and soaking for three hours. It is then placed over low heat and simmered until quite clear. If too thick, a little boiling water can be added. It can be sweetened with white sugar, flavoured with coconut milk or a little wine, and eaten alone or with cream.

In South and Southeast Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia) tapioca pearls are known as Sabudana (Sagu, also called 'Seeme Akki' in Kannada language). It is commonly used as a food after fasting (popularly called 'Khichdi') among some Hindus in central part of India (Maharashtra region). Also the pearls (sabudana) are used to make snacks.

In Northern parts of India, Tapioca is thinly sliced in and made into wafers like salted potato wafers. A sweet dish called Payasam is also prepared in the same parts of India with Sabudana. In the South Indian state of Kerala, Cassava, often referred to as tapioca in English, and kappa or kolly or maracheeni in Malayalam, is a staple food. Tapioca is used to make a granules like product called Chowwary in Malayalam. This is used to make a light porridge by adding milk or buttermilk, recommended for patients recovering from illness.

In Indian cuisine, the granular preparation of cassava starch is known as tapiaco. It can also be used to thicken puddings. In Tamil, the roots of tapiaco is called Maravallikezangu, and is used to prepare chips. Tapiaco is also used to prepare maida flour. Tapiaco chips also prepared in this parts of South India.

During World War II's Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia, many refugees survived on tapioca.

In Brazilian cuisine, tapioca is a dessert made by combining tapioca with shredded coconut. The tapioca is stirred, drained through a sieve, fried into a tortilla shape, and sprinkled with coconut. It is then filled with either "doce" (sweet) or "salgada" (salty) ingredients. Choices range from chocolate, bananas with condensed milk, chocolate with bananas, to various forms of meats and served warm.

More about Boba tea

Cassarate: the tapioca ship disaster

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