Tapioca originates from the cassava plant of South America. Cassava is alternately known as manioc or yucca, although much of North America calls it tapioca. Tapioca is a vital food source in many parts of the world due to its ability to grow in poor-quality, arid soils. The tubers, or root portion, of the cassava plant are processed into tapioca, although the leaves are edible as well. Cassava tubers are rich in carbohydrates but lack protein, fat, and many vitamins and minerals.
Glucose
The carbohydrates in tapioca consist primarily of starch. Starch is a polysaccharide, meaning it comprises many monosaccharides linked together. The monosaccharides that make up a starch molecule are all glucose units. If the glucose molecules in starch are joined together in a branched configuration, the starch is called amylopectin. If the glucose units are unbranched, the starch is known as amylose. Glucose functions as a source of fuel in your body.
Tapioca Production
To manufacture tapioca from cassava tubers, processors peel and wash fresh cassava roots to remove any woody portions and to clean the tuber. After grating the cassava into pieces, workers then heat the tuber until it turns mushy. The application of heat causes the starch granules to gelatinize and swell. When they burst and stick together, they create small lumps called grits. The cassava grits undergo a milling and sifting process to create tapioca. The tapioca consists almost entirely of glucose-rich starch.
Tapioca Uses
In developing countries, including Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Central America and South America, tapioca serves as a dietary staple, typically cooked in water and served with milk or sugar. Tapioca is second only to sugar cane in terms of carbohydrate density in a food source. In developed countries, such as the U.S. and Canada, tapioca functions as a food additive, commonly as a thickening agent in puddings, pie fillings and beverages.
Tapioca Nutrition
Although tapioca's high glucose content makes it a rich source of energy, it is deficient in most other nutrients. A 4 oz. serving of tapioca pearls supplies 400 calories, almost all from carbohydrates. It contains no appreciable vitamins but provides nearly 2 mg of iron, more than 20 percent of your daily requirement for this mineral. This amount of tapioca also offers 6 percent of your daily manganese, 2 percent of calcium and 2 percent of selenium. The primary benefit tapioca supplies to your diet is its rich glucose content.
Cautions
Cassava tubers contain variable amounts of the toxin cyanide. Peeling and soaking the tuber greatly reduces the cyanide levels; however, prolonged exposure to even low levels of cyanide may result in chronic cyanide poisoning over time. Processed tapioca starch is nontoxic, according to Kansas State University's International Food Safety Network.
