Tapioca pudding is one of those classic comfort foods, so I guess it should be no surprise that Minute Tapioca has been around for a least a hundred years.
1923 Minute Tapioca Advertisement
Tapioca pudding is one of those classic comfort foods, so I guess it should be no surprise that Minute Tapioca has been around for a least a hundred years.
A Hundred Years Ago 
I grew up with it, and believe me: homemade tapioca bears little resemblance to that library paste-like concoction that’s sold in stores.
I agree!
I love it. My husband loathes it. And my mother most often used it as a thickener in raspberry pies!
And, my mother used tapioca as a thickener in cherry pies. I’d totally about that until I read your comment.
Yes, you either love it or hate it, but if made right, it is really a delicious treat!
I haven’t made tapioca in a long time – but this ad makes me want to make some.
Haven’t made it in a while either, but I’ve made rice pudding recently. Another one people either love or hate!
My Dad always said it had fish eyes in it. I guess it was good enough that I ate it anyway.
How funny. 🙂
My husband ate tapioca pudding for 80 years and loved it. I didn’t taste it until we married. We had it regularly, and how I wish I had served it more often before he died! There is probably a box of it still in the cabinet.
Food memories are so special.
I was thrilled when I discovered minute tapioca not long after I moved into my first apartment. I never ate “library paste” so I had nothing to compare it to, but I thought it delicious. I was not sophisticated enough to consider adding fruit or other flavors, but to this day, I still occasionally buy a package of tapioca pudding from the dairy case. I wonder what was in the Minute Tapioca Cook Book? I feel a surge of “research” coming on!
Fingers crossed that you find the Minute Tapioca Cook Book. 🙂
I did, and it looks like you would find it interesting, Sheryl. While there are many versions of it for sale on Etsy and EBay, I only found one on line. The introduction to the cookbook is a reflection of the times: 1922 when the version I read was published. It was published as early as 1915. Duke University has an online copy at https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/eaa/cookbooks/CK0052/CK0052-01-150dpi.html
It is nicely illustrated!
Thanks for researching and for the link. It’s amazing how many old publications can be found on Ebay or online.
You are welcome!
Tapioca? Nooooooo! When we had ‘frogs’ spawn’ for school dinners, it was a dreadful day indeed. You’ll never get tapioca down the gullet of an English person of a certain generation.
Yuck – your description convinces me that frogs’ spawn was awful!!
Always hated the texture so another no! I suspect if my mother had added fruit I would have thought differently, love fruit. I have used it as a thickener for fruit pies but never never never as a pudding.
My mother used it as a thickener in pies- but for some reason I’ve always used flour. Not sure why I don’t make pies the same way she did.
It is essential at my house! I use it in all my pies – tastes much better than flour and works better too. I make a dessert called “Sot Suppe” that is tapioca based. I use the instant tapioca instead of the regular soak overnight pearl tapioca…
Your comment about Sot Suppe intrigued me, so I googled it. It looks delicious.