A Wonderful Tuber

After rice and wheat, the most important human carbohydrate source is not what you might guess?

It’s not the starchy potato, or any of the major sweetener-producing crops (sugar cane, sugar beet or corn).

Remember those delicious tapioca chips.. It’s a tropical tuber known by the names cassava, manioc and yuca (in Spanish), and it’s the main ingredient in tapioca pudding. Tapioca predominantly consists of carbohydrates, with each cup containing 23.9 grams for a total of 105 calories.

The plant was carried by Portuguese and Spanish explorers to most of the West Indies, and the continents of Africa and Asia, including the Philippines and Taiwan. It is now cultivated worldwide.

Did you know?

Tapioca starch, used commonly for starching shirts and garments before ironing.