Mariano's had a mega peach sale the other day. Amidst patting myself on the back for finally mastering the art of "skinning" peaches (I did it, Paula! don't overdo the time in the boiling water and ice water REALLY means ice water), I was like, "Damn! I should really share this slippery peach moment. Eh, that's not really long enough to post about." But then I ran into more questions.
Tapioca pearls? What? I don't have those.
Also, the big ones are gross to me. Bubble tea is like sucking down giant fish eggs. But what are they?
1. It's the starch extracted from the cassava root. If you've ever read Things Fall Apart, you'll remember hearing about it, kinda like yucca (...pretty sure it's not the same). If you haven't read TFA, stop reading this crap and go do it now. Then come back and finish reading.
2. They may or may not cause cancer (Germany says yes, Taiwan says no... but also Taiwan makes it). This appears to be less about tapioca and more about sketchy manufacturing practices; apparently, chemicals we figured out in the 70's were no good are still hanging around and getting mixed in, albeit in small amounts. Not that tapioca is otherwise good for you... it's like 100% carbs. Eesh: "One cup of dried tapioca pearls (152 grams) contains roughly 544 calories, 135 grams of carbohydrates, one gram of dietary fiber, zero grams of fat, and zero grams of protein."
3. Also if you're allergic to latex, you might be allergic to cassava. Also, I feel bad for you. If you cook cassava wrong, it can produce cyanide, which is super deadly to eat. GREAT. But I think one cassava has been tapioca'd, it's past worrying about cyanide, so that's cool.
4. How to replace? Well, you can use 1/2 the amount corn starch instead. Or some ratio of flour. Bad news is that tapioca can handle being frozen and thawed, whilst corns starch apparently cannot. Great time to find this out as my frozen peach pie fillings are already IN THE FREEZER. Guess I'll add more before baking?
Great. Moving on. I also have all these peach pits, and if you read my "how to use the whole duck" post, you'll know I like to not waste. So what can I do with them? And what are those almond looking nuts inside? If this turns out to be where almonds come from, I'm going to feel like a real asshole.
>Okay, that little nut things is a "noyau" (thanks, French people) and is NOT an almond, only almond-flavored. I've definitely eaten one before, on a whim, which is always a great reason to eat things, so when YET ANOTHER CYANIDE reference came up, I was duly creeped out.
Wine break.
Back. Btw, that wasn't really because I was that creeped out, I just needed it. I pre-made TWO pies I don't get to eat today, okay people?! Here are recipe basics from Brave Tart (ahaha):
1 peach pit (or other stone fruit pit) per 2 oz. liquid (= 8 pits / pint)
Bring whatever liquid you want flavored to a simmer (yes, even alcohol), then shut it off and leave for 2 hours to overnight in the fridge depending on the depth of flavor you want.
*You can get the noyaux after all this, too. Roast the pits at 400f for a half hour to dry them out after a steep, then crack 'em. To avoid the "scary, scary cyanide" (it may be best not to get cheeky about poison...), roast the little nuts for another 15 on their own and you're good to go.
Apparently even up in Chicago we can grow peach trees. The winter is a weirdly good way to induce them... if you want to grow a peach tree, check this detailed post out. Thanks, Michigan Non-Profit Peach Sponsors! Okay, even I'm maxed out on this. Good luck with your cooking, people, and let's hope the cyanide doesn't get us!
Bonus facts I wish I didn't now know:
-Raspberry and strawberry flavorings are often enhanced (SuperTroopers!) by castoreum. Which comes from beaver glands. Since it's from an animal or plant, however, it can still be listed as "natural flavorings." :X
-Even if I'm eating all these nutrients, what if I'm also eating ANTI-nutrients that block my body's ability to uptake them?? What's the POINT?!?!
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