1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Tapioca

TAPIOCA (a native Brazilian word), a farinaceous food substance prepared from cassava starch, the product of the large tuberous roots of the cassava or manioc plant (see Cassava). Cassava starch, separated from the fibrous and nitrogenous constituents of the roots, is spread, while in a moist condition, upon iron plates, and with constant stirring exposed to such heat as causes a partial rupture of the starch granules, which agglomerate into irregular pellets, becoming hard and translucent when cooled. In this condition the starch forms the tapioca of commerce, a light, pleasant and digestible food, much used in puddings and as a thickener for soups.