> > On "Survivor" several weeks ago (yes, I admit I watch it; please don't hurt me!), they were making a big deal about finding tapioca on the island. Here's my question: What form does tapioca come in in the wild? And do you have to cook it to make it edible or can you just eat it strait?
> >
> > Ali"I HATE tapioca pudding, but I guess it would be better than eating grubs or rats"son
>
> Tapioca? It's the pureed stomach and liver of the savage Pacific weasel. You have to hunt it down and rip it out with your bare hands and eat it raw. The stuff you buy in shops is all made of chemicals, it isn't authentic.
>
> Heh. Sorry. No, tapioca comes from the root of a plant called Manihot esculenta. The roots are starchy things like potatoes but they have sort of milky stuff in them too. I think you get the tapioca by drying and powdering the root. I'm not sure where the plant grows, but it sounds easy enough to obtain tapioca in the wild if you can find the plants.
>
> Brunnen-"never tried it, it doesn't look very nice"G

Strangely, I've never wondered where it came from, but I've eaten tapioca all my life. Usually it's pudding, but my father used to use it to thicken soup, stew or gravy. I think he got it in a box in a dry form. Just because he used it like that doesn't mean anybody else does. He was never one to be afraid to try something different. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I learned at a very early age that it was best to say "What is it?" before eating something new.
Howard