Tapioca is a dried powder obtained from the root of the cassava plant after boiling or fermentation. Native to tropical regions, this plant has many names, including manioc and yucca. Cassava is one of the world's major food crops, providing 54 percent of the food calories consumed in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to Oregon State University. Americans primarily enjoy tapioca as a dessert, but commercial food producers frequently use this starchy vegetable as a binder, filler or flour.
Fructose Composition
Dry, pearled tapioca has 135 g of carbohydrates per 1-cup serving, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Of this amount, the sugar content is 5 g. In 2000, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations published research findings presented by N. Richana, et al. at a food industry conference in Indonesia. This study compared the starch content and sugar composition of cassava or tapioca, arrowroot and sago. The researchers concluded that the fructose content of cassava roots averages 8.74 percent. Using this ratio, the amount of fructose in a 1-cup serving of tapioca is 0.44 g.
Cassava Sugars
Tapioca sugars also include glucose, averaging 12 percent, and maltose, 9.5 percent, according to Richana's research. The remaining sugar in cassava is sucrose.
Additional Nutrients
Tapioca prepared from cassava provides 544 calories per 1-cup serving. It contains 1.4 g of fiber and less than 1 g of protein. The main mineral that tapioca contains is iron. It provides 2.4 g, or 13 percent of the daily value for a 2,000-calorie diet. It has trace amounts of other minerals and vitamins.
Features
Cassava contains a chemical -- hydrogen cyanide -- that makes it inedible directly after harvest. Depending on the species, the cyanogenic glycoside content ranges from 2 mg to 395 mg per 45 lb. of weight. In order to transform the cassava root into tapioca, it is necessary to boil, dry or ferment the flesh of the cassava to reduce the cyanide levels. Drying cassava and fermenting it result in the greatest decrease of the plant's toxins, according to Oregon State University.
References
- Oregon State University; Tapioca Root and Tapioca Flour-Consumption and Potential; Lorraine L. Niba, et al.; January 2011
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23 (2010) Tapioca, Pearl, Dry, NDB No: 20068
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Characterization of Starches Material (Tapioca, Arrowroot, Sago) and Their Utilization as Raw Material of Liquid Glucose; N. Richana, et al.; October 2000
- "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture"; Changes in the Carbohydrate Constituents of Cassava Root-Tuber (Manihot Utilissima Pohl) During Growth; A. O. Ketiku, et al., December 1972
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