On 1/12/2009 at 7:44 PM, jsmeeker said:how thick should a tapioca be after it's chilled in the fridge?
I made some tapioca pudding on Sunday. I've never made it before. I think I may have only ever had it once. Here is the recipe that I used as a guide.
1/3 cup tapioca (small pearls)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 small pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cp whipped cream
2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
Toasted coconut for garnish
Now, right off the bat, I'll say I made one change that may be the cause of the results I got. The store didn't have small pearl tapioca. Just the "Minute Tapioca". I knew it wasn't the right kind. I debated what to do. In the end, I bought and decided to go with it.
The recipe called for soaking the tapioca for 1 to 2 hours in the milk. I decided to go with about 30 minutes. And I also used a bit less than 1/3 cup.
After soaking, I dumped the milk soaked (along with milk) into a sauce pan. I added the coconut milk, molasses, and brown sugar. Put it to medium high heat. the recipe I had said to stir until it thickly coated the back of a spoon. The box of Minute tapioca suggested cooking until a full simmer. I did the full simmer thing. It certainly was coating the spoon by then.
the sauce pan went into an ice bath.. I stirred until it cooled down. Then, I folded in the whipped cream. At this point, It seemed to have a consistency/texture that looked right. It was still "fluid". But it was only 2 or 3 in the afternoon. This was for after dinner. so, I loaded it into a container and stashed it in the fridge. I knew it was gonna set up some more. And it did. It wasn't fluid it all. Pretty stiff. But not really heavy. I think that the whipped cream hep there.. the flavor is really great, though. But it's just really thick.
So, how thick SHOULD chilled tapioca pudding be? I assume if I made it with small pearl, the measure of tapioca would have been less over all since they are larger in volume than the Minute stuff, leading to less thickening power? Did I over cook it? It was coating the back of the spoon before it got to the full simmer. Maybe I should have stopped?
I'm perfectly willing to seek out small pearl tapioca and try again if I will get a looser final result after it's been in the fridge. That is, if that's the way it should be.
I have had the same soft results following the directions on the Minute Tapioca box. Made it last month for the first time in many years. Next time, I will let the pudding simmer on minimum flame for a good five minutes. And also may incorporate the egg whole rather than separated. Or maybe add an eggyolk to the pudding and add the whipped whites at the end. This was the first time I'd made it in years, and I'd never had problems with consistency before This last batch was delicious but thin.
Like most custards, the flavor depends totally on the quality vanilla you use.
