Oweee--you are looking for the recipe that I hated. I called it fisheyes. Good luck!

Marilyn......I make tapioca using the smaller Minute Quick Cooking Tapioca - not sure whether this would suffice for you. Yup - my kiddies always called it "fisheyes", too - but they loved it. I always just purchase it in the grocery store near the puddings and jellos. Hope these recipes off the back of the box helps!

Fluffy Tapioca Pudding

3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons additional sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Mix tapioca, salt, 3 tablespoons sugar, milk, and yolk in pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Beat egg white until foamy; gradually beat in 2 tablesppons sugar, beating to soft peaks. Set aside. Cook tapioca mixture over medium heat to a full boil, stirring constantly - 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually add to beaten white, stirring quickly just until blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 minutes. Stir. Serve warm or chilled. Makes five 1/2 cup servings.

Another recipe off the back of the box:

Quick Tapioca Pudding

Mix 3 tablespoons tapioca, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 beaten egg, and 2 3/4 cups milk in pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Then bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 teaspoon vanilla. Stir once after 20 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

Barb

I remember buying this large "fisheyes" tapioca where they had the grains like rice and beans, called pearl tapioca. I thought it was fun to eat, it just took longer to cook. Good luck in finding it. Seems since so many people don't cook from scratch any longer it's getting harder to find the old fashioned items.

If you're into buying stuff online Amazon.com has it... Or you could try a bulk food store... But a few years ago, maybe 5 or more, I bought the large pearl tapioca at a health food store...

I let the milk mixture cool a bit, add about a 1/2 cup of it to the egg mixture ( stirring like crazy with a whisk ) and dump that back into the milk mixture ( stirring like crazy with a bigger whisk ) then continue cooking until thick... BTW, I cook it in a microwave... I can't cook pudding on my electric range without burning it and I hate using a double boiler... lol

Rita

I can't remember the brand, but I've used the recipe on the box of large, pearl tapioca. We also called it fish eyes and about once every 3 years I get a craving for it and make it.
I remember it as being quite good and light (from the egg whites).
Jo

We recently had a craving for tapioca pudding and used the advice and recipe from the link below. It was excellent and nostalgic of our childhood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tapioca pudding

Thanks everyone ... I shall keep looking for that large pearl tapioca ('fish eyes'!)that doesn't break up when cooked. With all your help I now have the recipe I believe my mother used ... NOW to find the ingredient!! I remember just enjoyng chewing on those 'pearls'in the pudding!

- Marilynn

Memories bring back my grandmothers large pearl tapioca pudding as a child. No one liked the small tapioca and she never made it.....not very pleasant in your mouth.
I know she used the "real deal" tapioca, no labratory engineered substitutes and she always bought it in the grocery store, not Chinese markets.
I remember her soaking it overnight and then making the tapioca pudding the following day.
I had her recipe but have since misplaced it among other family members helping themselves to my recipe box.
I recently purchased a bag of large tapioca from the Chinese market as no grocery stores carried anything other than the instant small pearl.....NO THANKS!
I put them in a bowl, covered them with water, stuck them in the fridge before I retired for the evening and when I got up in the morning I had mush! These are not the same tapioca as we used to get years ago.
I found two options. First, make the tapioca with the Chinese market stuff but don't soak them and use a double boiler to keep the direct heat off them.
Second choice is ordering the Large Pearl Tapioca online but you have to buy a case of 6...........I wouldn't use that much in 10 years so for that option, you either find some friends and make gifts with some or you end up tossing them out.......I don't like things in my cupboards more than 6-12 months tops!
There are several recipes online for double boiler instruction.
This is the Chinese Market stuff:http://www.culinarydistrict.com/14371.html
This is the REAL DEAL:http://www.walmart.com/ip/19475518?adid=22222222227015533016&wmlspartner=wlpa&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=18153563230&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem
You must buy the Tapioca online as Walmart stores do not carry it on the shelf.......at least not here in our area in Florida! When I lived in Seattle we had Larry's Market which was a gourmet grocery store and you could find any and everything.....we miss it a lot!!! We only have Fresh Market which is just a want-a-be gourmet grocer with high prices and no where even close to carrying what Larry's market did!

Bob's Red mill markets it....you can find it here.

Here is a link that might be useful: pearl tapioca

Shuckapeafarms, thank you for the post.

I can only find large pearls in Chinese stores. The Walmart link says imported, do you know where it is imported from?

My trick, as I just posted in the other tapioca thread, to soak tapioca without having them fall apart, is to pour boiling water over them. They never fall apart.

dcarch

Like Dcarch I've never had a problem with the Asian imported large pearls. A few years back I asked at the Bubble Tea shop where they got the large pearls. They get them from United Noodle Company which is the largest Asian grocery store in the upper midwest. They are both wholesale and retail. That's where I get either large or small pearl and I've never had either type get mushy. They both have the same "mouth feel."

My mother, way back in the 30's and 40's would use small pearl tapioca as the thickening agent in her fruit pies. She said it left a much better fruit flavor than other thickeners. The pearls did completely dissolve.

So glad my earlier post has been revived!! Seems the old pearl tapioca is a thing of the past but as I use the different kinds of Red Mill grains,'lindac'... I shall try looking where I buy those. Never thought to look there for the large pearl tapioca! I like the term' fish eyes'!! As kids we never learned that term for them .. but so appropriate! Yes, the asian market tapioca just turns to mush when cooked ... the 'real stuff' didn't... stayed kinda 'chewy'! I do use the small grain tapioca as a thickening agent too.

What Linda linked is small pearl. That's all I saw when I just went shopping, that and instant.

I don't know about pearl size, but I got some organic small pearl tapioca in the health food store and I couldn't get the stuff to set up and it stayed "chewy" which I actually didn't like. The brand was "Let's Do Organic" which says, "Dist. by Edward & Sons Trading Co., Inc., Carpinteria, CA. Product of Thailand. www.edwardandsons.com"

I checked out the Bob's Red Mill tapioca. The package does call it "small," but the picture shows pearls that are larger than the instant tapioca available in most grocery stores. I also read the reviews. Here's a quote from one happy customer:

"The "red box's" tapioca pearls are these little bitty things. Bob's a nice a big, twice as big, actually."

It sounds like the Bob's might be a good choice for anyone looking for a larger pearl size but who is wary of the Chinese version.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bob's Red Mill Small Pearl Tapioca

Also, if you make tapioca the traditional way and soak it, the pearls swell up and get considerably larger.

Shambo, the large perals are much larger than Bob's Red Mill.

In reading some of the reviews, it is funny how people blame the product when they were doing it wrong. There are different types of pearls for different uses.

No, they don't fall apart if prepared correctly.

dcarch

some savory large tapioca pearl uses. (The white center, fish eye, does not mean it is not cooked)

So went on food.com and the recipe I happened to look at called for constant stirring for an hour. I guess I need a TV in the kitchen before I do that! I'm sure there are less labor intensive methods to be found.

Shuck - Amazon sells Reese in single bags. Although at $10 a bag, I'd rather spend $16 at Walmart and throw out what remains when I deem it too old.

dcarch - Amazon says imported from Brazil. I remember those pictures - I like the razor clam one - but didn't have an interest in tapioca until now. If it's just starch, does it have any real flavor? Or does it take on flavors? Or is it really just there for texture? I've never so much as had tapioca pudding that I know of.

You can learn something new everytime you come to a forum like this.

I learned last week that there is no reason why you can't grill in the winter.

All this years of using tapioca, I had no idea what was tapioca. Is it from a tree? fruit? grass? nuts ---- until this thread.

FOAS, No you don't have to stir for an hour. At very low heat, once in a while. You can even do it for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker.

For savory dishes, I soak the pearls in concentrated chicken stock. Very tasty and very interesting textural and visual effects.

There are also Large tapioca pearls for making a very popular cold tapioca tea, which require different cooking methods.

I would not use small tapioca pearls for thicking sauce, too expensive and inconvenient. Much better to buy tapioca flour.

dcarch

DC, I realized the Bob's Red Mill pearls weren't going to be as large as the truly large pearls. But I thought that product would be an alternative to those who seemed to be having problems locating any larger pearls in the first place and also having problems preparing the imported ones correctly. Since Bob's claims their "Small Pearl Tapioca is used to make traditional old-fashioned tapioca pudding, an all-American favorite dessert.", I thought perhaps the preparation would be closer to what some people were remembering.

I use instant tapioca about once a year when I make rhubarb sauce, and that's it. I know it's terrible to confess, but if I ever get the hankering for tapioca pudding, I just pick up some Kozy Shack from the grocery store -- usually a couple of times a year, especially when I'm sick.

Your savory versions sound intriguing, though.

I e-mailed 'Red Mill' about whether they sell the 'large' pearl tapioca but... no response yet! I may buy a bag of their smaller 'pearl' tapioca to see if it holds the pearl shape when cooked. If it does, I may have to settle for this as the large pearl' evidently is 'history' now!

'Red Mill' only sells the small pearl tapioca they say but they mentioned this site: 'NUTS.com'. I contacted them & they do seem to sell the old fashioned LARGE pearl tapioca so I ordered a small amount to see if it is what I remember & if so, I sure will be ordering more! Believe the old fashioned recipe was listed also. Thanks 'Red Mill'!

Got my first order of the large pearl tapioca from NUTS.com today ...$2.99/lb. plus some $$ shipping I believe but would be cheaper if a bigger amount was sent at one time I'd think; they sure look like the old large 'pearls'! I am going to try the recipe using the boxes of Jello tapioca pudding recipe plus the soaked large pearls someone here on this site mentioned previously as a start. I think my grandmother also added some vanilla & lemon flavoring ... do tyou think a few drops of lemon flavoring at the end would curdle the pudding? I don't want to 'mess up/waste' these precious 'pearls' I just got in the mail!!

I really appreciate all the helpful suggestions from everyone & hope I revived some memories of this favorite pudding of mine for others also!

Put large pearl tapioca for sale in google.

It is out there I have found it.

We love a risotto of sorts with tapioca pearls that is popular in western india. It has become harder and harder to get good quality tapioca.

Around here I get my tapioca from the Amish/Mennonite store at the Columbus Farmers Market. They have the large pearl and a smaller pearl. They bag it themselves in 1# bags so not sure where it comes from, but it's very much the old fashioned type. The Asian store carries the softer pearl that I usually see in bubble tea.

After 8 years I am not sure anyone is still interested.

I found some at an Amish store in ne missouri recently. not large, but small pearl. No one else in the family likes it, except me. And yeah, i'd use it in a fruit pie ...