Most of us who've ever had tapioca know it to be the chewy, small pearls found in a bowl of pudding. Or maybe the bigger, still chewy balls floating around in the now-globally-popular sweet Asian bubble teas. But not many of us actually know what these little pearls are -- what they're made of or where they come from. We're going to fix that.
大部分吃過木薯粉的人都知道木薯粉可以用來做布丁里有嚼頭的小珍珠、或者是現(xiàn)已風靡全球的亞洲珍珠奶茶里的大珍珠。但是并沒多少人真正知道這些珍珠是什么——它們是用什么做的、是從哪里來的？我們現(xiàn)在就來揭曉答案。

This is what tapioca pearls look like before they're added to some of our favorite sweets.
木薯粉做的珍珠在加入我們喜愛的甜味之前是這個樣子的。

And this is what tapioca looks like before it's been made into cute little pearls.
木薯在加工成可愛的小珍珠之前是長這樣的。

The photo above is of cassava root (also known as yuca in some parts of the world). It's mainly cultivated and eaten in tropical regions; it started off in Northern Brazil, but eventually made its way across the South American continent and over to Africa and Asia. It's prized for its ability to grow in low-nutrient soils and harvest quickly. It's also loved for its culinary versatility. Cassava can be mashed, cooked into soups or fried into, well, fries. And it's also used to make tapioca. This is what tapioca looks like in flour form.
上面這張照片里的是木薯根（在世界上某些地方也被稱為yuca），主要在熱帶地區(qū)種植食用。木薯原產(chǎn)于巴西北部，后來被廣泛引進南美的其他地區(qū)以及非洲和亞洲，因其能在貧瘠的土壤里生長并快速收成而備受青睞。另外，木薯也因在烹飪中用途廣泛而廣受歡迎。木薯可以切碎、用來煮湯或者炸成薯條，也可以用來加工成木薯粉。木薯粉加工成面粉狀的時候是這樣子的。

Tapioca is a starch extracted from the cassava root. It is used as a thickening agent in many foods. It can be made into flour -- it has a similar texture to cornstarch -- which is often times used in gluten-free breads. It can also be made into pearls in varying sizes. Personally, we like it best when it's floating in a tall glass of bubble tea.
木薯粉是從木薯根提取出來的一種淀粉，在很多食物中被用作增稠劑。木薯粉可以加工成面粉，跟玉米淀粉有相似的口感，經(jīng)常被用來做不含麩質(zhì)蛋白的面包。木薯粉也可以做成不同大小的珍珠。對我們來說，我們最喜歡的還是那一大杯奶茶里的珍珠。

If you don't live in a place where the bubble tea craze has hit yet, you should try it. You can make it yourself at home, giant tapioca pearls (or cubes) and all.?
如果你住的地方珍珠奶茶還沒有流行起來，那你更加要嘗一下了。超大的木薯珍珠（或者方塊）和其他所有的東西你都可以在家里自己做。

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