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.

大部分吃过木薯粉的人都知道木薯粉可以用来做布丁里有嚼头的小珍珠、或者是现已风靡全球的亚洲珍珠奶茶里的大珍珠。但是并没多少人真正知道这些珍珠是什么——它们是用什么做的、是从哪里来的？我们现在就来揭晓答案。

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们喜爱的甜味之前是这个样子的。

And this is what tapioca looks like before it's been made into cute little pearls.

木薯在加工成可爱的小珍珠之前是长这样的。

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 versatility¹. Cassava can be mashed², 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.

上面这张照片里的是木薯根（在世界上某些地方也被称为yuca），主要在热带地区种植食用。木薯原产于巴西北部，后来被广泛引进南美的其他地区以及非洲和亚洲，因其能在贫瘠的土壤里生长并快速收成而备受青睐。另外，木薯也因在烹饪中用途广泛而广受欢迎。木薯可以切碎、用来煮汤或者炸成薯条，也可以用来加工成木薯粉。木薯粉加工成面粉状的时候是这样子的。

Tapioca is a starch³ 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 texture⁴ 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.

木薯粉是从木薯根提取出来的一种淀粉，在很多食物中被用作增稠剂。木薯粉可以加工成面粉，跟玉米淀粉有相似的口感，经常被用来做不含麸质蛋白的面包。木薯粉也可以做成不同大小的珍珠。对我们来说，我们最喜欢的还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还没有流行起来，那你更加要尝一下了。超大的木薯珍珠（或者方块）和其他所有的东西你都可以在家里自己做。