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Tapioca is a starch that comes from the root of a shrub-like plant called Cassava native to South America. It is most commonly used as a food thickener, and is perhaps best known as an ingredient in tapioca pudding. By itself, tapioca is nearly flavorless and contributes little nutritional value.

Etyomology
The word tapioca comes from the Brazilian Tupi word "tipi'oca." Ty means "juice," pya, means "heart," and oca, means "remove." Removing the heart and juice of the root is how tapioca is extracted.
Production
The root is harvested and the pulp inside is boiled down to release a cyanide based toxin. From here, it can take many different forms.
Types
Tapioca can be found in pearl, flake, powder or stick form. The pearls are found in tapioca pudding, while the flakes and powders dissolve completely when used as thickening agents, so they are not noticeable in the way that the pearl form is. In most forms they are colorless, but some are found dyed different colors to denote the type of Cassava plant or producer the tapioca comes from.
Common Uses
Tapioca is commonly used to thicken puddings, jellies and soups. It is also used as a binder in pharmaceutical tablets and as a thickener in natural paints. When processed as sticks or strips, tapioca can be fried or garnished and eaten, or put through a fermenting process to create a slightly alcoholic beverage. Tapioca takes the form of dessert in many South American and African countries.
Nutrition
It is gluten and protein free and has little nutritional value. Because it is a starch, it is mainly made up of carbohydrates. The nutritional value of tapioca is usually determined by what recipe it is used in. One serving of dry tapioca is 153 calories, 0.4 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbohydrates and 0.2 grams of protein. When it is fried and takes the form of tapioca chips, these figures increase to 490 calories, 24 grams of fat, 66 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein.
Considerations
Tapioca can be made to have a high nutritional value depending on what it is added to. Alone, it has little value, but when it is combined with fruit to thicken jelly or to a low calorie soup, the nutritional value increases dramatically. Tapioca is versatile and can be used in many ways.
Warnings
Konzo, or Matakassa, is a paralytic disease that is caused by the toxins that should be released during the process of extracting tapioca. In order to contract this disease, you would have to exclusively eat a large amount of tapioca containing the cyanide based toxin for an extended period of time. Because tapioca is a starch, it can raise blood sugar dramatically in individuals with diabetes.





Tapioca is a root vegetable like potato. In some developing countries such as Brazil, tapioca is provided as a nutritional supplement. It is also considered as an indispensable part of their daily diet. No doubt, tapioca is a brilliant source of starch and thereby supplies energy.

But, health experts often prefer potato to tapioca as apart from starch, potato provides the body with certain other nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, dietary fiber etc. Unlike tapioca, it also supplies minerals such as iron, potassium, manganese and copper. But, the contribution of calorie is lower in case of tapioca.

Tapioca is low in saturated fat. Harmful presence of sodium is also low. Tapioca is also health-friendly in the sense it does not add bad cholesterol level in the body. People who are keen to increase their body weight are often advised by health experts to include tapioca in their diet.

It is estimated that every hundred grams of this root vegetable provides three hundred and sixty calories of energy. Tapioca is found to be low in nutritional value as the presence of essential vitamins and minerals are minimal. But, tapioca is a stomach-friendly victual as it is easily digestible. Since, tapioca is mainly starch, it is often used to thicken liquids just like authentic arrowroot. It is also found to be great for sauces due to its thickening nature.

Tapioca is also employed extensively for washing and other cloth processing works. The starch content present in tapioca makes it ideal for stiffening the cloth materials. It is often made available in the form of uneven hard white grains that are partially water-soluble. The rhizome from which it comes contains a very dangerous juice. The poisonous content is generally eliminated through natural methods during the washing and drying process. It is then sold in the form of small, medium and large grains.