I just baked a blueberry pie and used tapioca as the thickening agent per the recipe. I didn't set. It is runny and the tapioca is still hard little pellets. I have had that tapioca in the cupboard for a long time. Do you think the age of the tapioca was the problem?
Did you let the tapioca sit in the juices for 15 minutes so that it could soften up before baking? That's essential....
Nope. That would have been a helpful addition to the directions. Come to think of it tho, there wasn't any juice to speak of. The only liquid in the ingredients was 1 tbls of lemon juice.
You can crush some of the berries to get enough liquid to soften the tapioca...
I think soaking it was probably what was necessary. I just warmed a piece in the microwave and it was so much better. The tapioca softened and absorbed some of the juice and gelled a little. I think I will get some fresh tapioca though. I will look for quick cooking this time also.
Good idea. I love tapioca. There is very little that is more comforting. Proper cooking will make all the difference.
There are different kinds of tapioca, too. Pearl tapioca, unlike Minute Tapioca, requires a long soaking period (overnight). Plus there are several sizes of Pearl tapioca, small/large, so check package directions.
When it comes to storing dry beans, sometimes it will take much longer to cook beans that have been stored for a long time because they're very dry, which may also be the case with older Tapioca.
--CM
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