Tapioca may be the weirdest edible thing I've encountered. Sure, fried fish eggs, black pudding, chicken feet and chicken hearts, sure all are different and not your run of-the-mill meal, but at least they're natural. Yes, tapioca is natural, too, but that's my point - naturally weird. It looks like Dippin Dots, but it's pastey and crunchy untouched, then when you boil it, it gets gelationous yet maintains its round appearance. Half of it turns clear and in the middle is a white nucleus of its remaining color. It looks like you're eating a bunch of single-cell organisms - tastes like it, too. Slimy, sort of. Tapioca is harvested locally here; I wonder what it looks like straight from the ground. Is it a process similar to making farine? Back home, I don't believe I ever ate it. I remember seeing instant tapioca pudding boxes in stores, and then I remember seeing it on a dessert table - like pudding gone rancid - who wants to chew their pudding? It did not attract me, and I've not come face to face with it since.
But, Lucy excitedly brought me some and talked about making porridge with it, so sure, I'll give it a go. Let's just say, it was effortless to eat the black pudding, but it was mind over matter to eat the tapioca. I told myself I'd lose Cool Points if I could eat cooked blood without shuddering but not do the same for an international dessert eaten for breakfast.
And, of course, whenever I hear the word "tapioca," I am forever reminded of Who's Line is it Anyway? Let me share it with you...
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