This is how much I love tapioca pudding: when I was a little girl, my mom told me that the tapioca balls were fish eggs. I didn't miss a beat and gobbled it up anyway.
Commercial puddings are always kind of gelatinous and gross to me. Homemade pudding is wonderful, especially when warm. I remembered that I had an unopened bag of Bob's Red Mill tapioca balls in the cupboard, so I made homemade tapioca pudding one afternoon as a treat. The method is similar to making a custard for ice cream - beaten egg yolks and sugar incorporated into warmed cream and thickened. Additionally, you whip egg whites and fold those in for an extra light texture.
I like to sprinkle mine with nutmeg - it gives it a flavor reminiscent of rice pudding.
I had a major kitchen disaster right after finishing the pudding - I knocked over the bag and tapioca balls went everywhere. This kind of thing is a cook's nightmare - nearly impossible to clean up (note, the vacuum has the opposite of the desired result), and you end up finding them in odd places for months afterwards.
By the way, pearl tapioca is a starch derived from the cassava root. I know that I could care less if it is fish eggs or not, but probably that's just me.
