Do not bring your evil here

"Throwing a luncheon for the threewheeler set?" chirps this October 1950 ad from Good Housekeeping. Nothing will delight them more, we are assured, than a dish off tapioca laced with peppermint shards and dribbled with chocolate sauce.

Personally, I love chocolate and peppermint, and I'm willing to admit there are people out there who enjoy tapioca. Sunset magazine tells us that "tapioca recalls visions of warm pudding swarming with tender, clear beads that seemed to resemble fish eggs." Mmm, fish eggs.

In the 50's probably more people enjoyed tapioca, since previously it had been one of the relatively quick (partially pre-cooked) pudding options. But this, this . . . I guess I just think a lot of recipe creators should quit while there ahead. There are not that many ways to make people like tapioca if they don't already, and this certainly isn't one of them. It reeks of desperation. Jello and My-T-Fine were gobbling up market share with there quicker, more varied, smoother (except with the coconut) recipes, and you could make pie out of them. You can put tapioca in pies (to thicken fruit fillings, usually) but I sincerely hope there are no tapioca pie recipes out there.

Luckily for the tapioca growers, someone eventually came up with bubble tea. I still don't like it, personally (fish eggs in tea, mmm), but you sure can't make it with Jello.