tapioca: improved

You'll recall the previous batch of tapioca pudding, which came out looking like a thousand-eyed horror erupting out of Satan's pants. This time around, I soaked the tapioca pearls for thirty minutes in warm water, per the instructions listed on the bag of tapioca. Last time around, I didn't do any soaking because the recipe called for "quick cooking" tapioca. I assumed the pearls—which weren't of the quick-cooking variety—would soften during the regular cooking time. They did, but only sort of, and the result was a mass of whiteheads.

This time was different. Behold:

No whiteheads. Nothing but blessed translucence.

Pre-soaking made all the difference in the world, and the resulting pudding actually tasted better, along with having a better, perfectly non-gritty texture. I've learned my lesson.

I made this second batch of tapioca because I had wanted to make chocolate tapioca. I did make the dessert, but not according to any recipe: instead, I simply used the Force and dumped in some Nutella and a whole 74% cacao bar of dark chocolate. (I had wanted to use Lindt truffles, but I couldn't find them in time.) The combination proved marvelous, and it was a hit at the office. I'll provide you with a pic of the chocolate tapioca soon.