Boiling Tapioca

1. Fill a pot with water when softening tapioca for boba drinks or another use besides pudding.

2. Bring the water to a boil.

4. Add the tapioca to the boiling water and stir continuously until it becomes the desired texture. The length of time needed will depend on the size and type of tapioca. It is generally done when it has a chewy texture and is mostly translucent.

Tapioca Pudding

1. Soak the tapioca overnight in enough water to cover the pearls, if using regular tapioca (not quick-cook or minute tapioca). Soaking reduces total cooking time and ensures the right texture. It does not need to be covered, but you may cover it if desired to keep out dust.

2. Put the the liquid ingredients for a pudding recipe into a saucepan. Bring to a slow boil.

3. Add the tapioca to the liquid and keep on medium heat on the stove.

4. Stir the tapioca continuously to prevent it from clumping together. Reduce the temperature to prevent curdling if the milk starts to boil rapidly. Quick cook tapioca will finish cooking in about 5 minutes.

5. After the tapioca has been cooking for five minutes with continuous stirring, it will need less frequent but still regular stirring until the tapioca pearls are almost completely translucent (See Reference 2). Regular tapioca may need to cook on low heat for up to two hours. The larger the tapioca grains, the longer they will need to cook.