Instant (Minute) Tapioca- HELP!

[Gourmet_Mom]

I am TRYING to make the fried pies in the most recent issue of Cuisine at Home, but I do not have this, nor do I anticipate finding it without SERIOUS difficulty. Cook's Thesaurus says this about substituting:

Quote:

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Substitutes: regular tapioca (Use twice as much. Puddings made with this will have larger gelatinous balls in it.) OR tapioca starch (This is also used to thicken pie fillings.) OR tapioca pearls (Pulverize these first with a blender, coffee grinder, or food processor) OR cornstarch (Use half as much. Cornstarch breaks down if it's mixed with acidic ingredients, cooked for a long time, or frozen and thawed.) OR arrowroot (more expensive) OR flour (Use a little more.)

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Now, I don't have to follow the filling recipe in the book, although I DO have all the ingredients, except this. The only possible substitutes I have on hand are cornstarch and flour. (I also bought some instant vanilla pudding, just in case this was a potential substitute.) Please advise.

I am also willing to try another pie filling for the fried pies if someone has a good recipe. I have fresh blueberries and fresh, frozen, dried, and canned peaches. HELP!

[Gourmet_Mom]

OH, and oddly enough, I have some agar agar powder and jelly powder.

[cjs]

why not try 1 T. of flour in place of the tapioca - or 1/2 T cornstarch? would probably work. Am I too late?

[Gourmet_Mom]

No! I'm busy stuffing my face with focaccia!!!! I just got my ribs in, so I'm now ready to make my filling. If I don't get to fry them until tomorrow, at least my filling is cooked and chilled. Actually this will probably work best anyway. THANKS!

[HomeCulinarian]

Instant Tapioca shouldn't be hard to find... I have some in my cupboard. I think it should be found near the cake mixes and pudding.

My grandma used to love tapioca pudding. She'd serve us orange flavored tapioca for dessert. We thought the tapioca pills were like fish eggs or eyeballs. Haven't had it in a loooong time. I'm sure a taste would bring a flood of memories back to me.

[Gourmet_Mom]

Trust me, this is a very limited area. I looked. They may have it at the store in town, and they probably have it in Wilmington. I just don't have the time to go there at this point. The flour thickened pretty good. I'll freeze the pies, at least partially, tomorrow when I go to fry them. Hopefully, I won't have any leaks. Unfortunately, I can't say any more...these are part of the review.

[firechef]

Hey Mom I have a couple of boxes of instant Topioca in the cupboard if you need them...

[Gourmet_Mom]

A few hours late for that...LOL! Thanks anyway. I'm hoping the flour worked. That's an old grandma thing, so I'm hoping. It thickened up like I expected....but I don't know what exactly to expect. I don't remember a lot of fresh fruit pies at my house. HMMMM? There's one...an apple thing in pastry in the oven...but that's another day.

I've not seen my family use corn starch often...don't even remember it in the house. I do have it in my pantry...but only for Asian stuff...UH I think.

I'm chilling overnight and will make the pastry early tomorrow and fill. Hopefully freezing/chilling will make a good dessert. I'm gonna experiment with part frozen and part chilled in the fridge. I'll let you know MONDAY!!!!!

Oh, BTW, it's dessert with either my review dinner or your chicken dish! Hopefully TWO good dishes in one night!

[esgunn]

Well, way late on this one. I would have subbed flour. Flour is what I use in apple pies, Instant tapioca in berry pies. Why, I really don't know. It has always just been done this way - and am happy with it.

One tip - if you do fine the instant tapioca for a later recipe...grind it in a coffee grinder. Just helps break it down a little more and will avoid any large gelatenous (sp?)clumps. Which I have never had in any of my pies - but have in pies others have made.