Unless you live in Amish country, I’m guessing you’ve never tasted baby pearl tapioca. It’s nothing like the Minute tapioca that comes in the red box. Baby pearl tapioca looks just like the name. Baby pearls. And trust me when I tell you not to let any of those little white beauties spill on your kitchen floor or you’ll be chasing them all over the house for weeks! (I may or may not be speaking from experience.)
The ingredients are quite simple, but you may have to find an Amish country store to buy that tapioca. I got mine at Stringtown Grocery near Kalona, Iowa. (Check out that store right HERE.)
Simply measure water into a sauce pan and stir in the tapioca pearls.
Add a pinch of salt and bring the mixture to a boil.
When the mixture is boiling, remove it from the heat and stir. Then cover with a lid and allow to sit for an hour.
Then stir in the dry Jell-O of your choice. (I used Black Raspberry.)
And I added the cup of white sugar and stirred well until completely dissolved.
Make sure to stir until the gelatin and the sugar are completely dissolved. The COOL the mixture COMPLETELY in the refrigerator.
When the mixture was completely cold I folded in a carton of thawed whipped topping.
A typical Amish dish would also include some type of fruit, but I simply served it just like this.
And I must say this old fashioned dish was just as delicious as I remembered.
Ingredients
- 6 Cups Water
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Cup Baby Pearl Tapioca
- 1/3 Cup Granular Flavored Gelatin (Jell-O, etc.)
- 3/4 to 1 Cup White Sugar Sweeten to your taste
- 1 Carton Whipped Topping, Thawed
- ----- ----- Fresh Fruit Of Your Choice, Chopped
Instructions
-
Bring water and salt to a boil. Stir in the baby pearl tapioca and return to a boil. Put the lid on and remove from the heat. Allow to sit, covered, for an hour. Then stir in the gelatin and the sugar and stir very well to completely dissolve. Then refrigerate until completely cool. Stir again and fold in the thawed whipped topping and any fruit you wish to add, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve and stir again before serving.
I often cut the sugar to 1/2 -3/4 cup. My own taste.
Thanks Jan! I think the sweetness may depend on the type of gelatin used. The gelatin from Stringtown Grocery was not very sweet, so this turned out fine. But as you said, to each his own!
XOXO
Meemaw
As you well know, when the tour season starts we used to say we were hitting the tapioca trail!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL! That’s a GOOD one Jan! And for those of you who don’t know…I used to be a tour guide through the Kalona Historical Society. Part of that tour included lunch in an Amish or Mennonite home. and this tapioca was almost ALWAYS on the menu. It was so unique the visitors always made a beeline to one of the Kalona stores where the tapioca could be purchased. I always wondered how successful those visitors were with preparing their newfound dessert treat!
XOXO
Meemaw
Thank you for this recipe! I took your tour approximately 25 years ago…..wonderfull home cooked (served family style) meal and we DID have this tapioca dish. I’ve been trying to find this recipe for years. Also enjoyed the horse drawn buggy ride and tour of old beautiful barns held together with peg joining!. Great memory!
Thanks Pam! Many years ago I was a tour guide for the Kalona Historical Society and I know how much fun and how educational those tours can be. Thanks for sharing your memory!
XOXO
Meemaw
my father was a logger in northwestern montana years ago and sometimes i went with him to the lumber camp(s) for a week or two at a time…and that is where i met tapioca. the women cooks made peach pie that was thickened with tapioca- i was fascinated with those little, somewhat chewy ‘baby pearls’. from there i went to the real thing but never this amish twist. thank you. i live in mexico now and several larger stores carry pearl tapioca so i will try this recipe.
Good Morning Robert…and THANKS for sharing your story with me! I hope you’ll like the Amish version of those little chewy pearls. And be sure to let me know how it turns out for you!
XOXO
Meemaw
Thank you for posting! My brother’s wifes family is menonite from Kalona and they go every year and bring me back goodies! Grandma Barb makes this for every family gathering , and i usually host so she leaves me a tub, score!
Im experimenting tonight with sugar free jello amd sugar free cool whip, hope it works!!
Thanks for your comment Amy! I hope your dessert turned out just the way you like it!
XOXO
Meemaw
My great aunt used to make a baked version. It had a lot of brown sugar in it. In the end you added cool whip. Does anyone have the recipe or something similar?
Great question Sherrie! I just Googled Baked Tapioca Pudding and lots of recipes popped up. Good luck and let us know which one you try!
XOXO
Meemaw
I actually grew up Amish in the Kalona area, and this is a traditional dish from my young married life. Don’t remember Mom making it, but it may not have been around in the 50’s? I just made it again last week, and for an extra good touch, stir in some ice cream before the whipped cream [maybe a cup or so] I cut back the water by a half cup or so.
Hello Barbara! Thank you for your comment and for your suggestion! And welcome back to your roots here in Iowa! Recipes always take us home…no matter where home may be!
XOXO
Meemaw
Thanks for sharing this recipe MeeMaw…….one thing needs to be edited in your recipe above. I believe you you omitted the sugar in the ingredient list. I picked up on how much sugar should be added by reading the comments. I used 3/4 cup sugar in mine and used red raspberry jello, and fresh red raspberries at the final stage…..yummy
Thanks again.
Thank you again Pam! Sorry it took e so ling to make the adjustment but it’s finally corrected! Thanks again and Happy Cooking!
XOXO
Meemaw
Ingredients should list white granulated sugar 3/4 cup to 1 cup. It is in written directions above but not listed in ingredients list. Thanks for the recipe Meemaw .
Thanks so much for catching that error Pam!! I have corrected it in the recipe ingredients!
XOXO
Meemaw
Yeah the kalona bakery used to make this tapioca for years.i started working there in 2006 making the noodles. Carolyn geigley
That’s so interesting! I can’t believe that bakery has never been rebuilt and reopened.
XOXO
Meemaw
Thanks Kevin! I just made a batch for our Indy grandkids. (They’ve never had this kind of tapioca before.) And this time I added fresh strawberries to the dish. YUM!
XOXO
Meemaw