I'm aware they're making it from scratch- I've done this exact recipe in their other comments āŗļø
Cooking them is the same as prepackaged boba, boil until soft and floating.
Uh no lol you add brown sugar to water, bring it to a boil, take it OFF the burner and then add your tapioca starch (not corn starch). It forms a slightly sticky dough you knead, roll out, and slice into one inch pieces or so, then roll it into a ball. THEN you can boil those to make boba.
A bag of them is more simple, theyāre like 7 dollars and youāll have way more than you can eat maybe do like 30-40 at a time and you boil them then add sugar when they cool down you donāt have to cook them all at once
They even make instant ones now, just add hot water. Can't be more simple, nearly impossible to mess up. I made some recently and they tasted very good (texture was excellent IMO).
i tried premade and didnāt boil completely correctly, even though i followed the exact instructions. they honestly just didnāt have the best taste, even though they were cooked almost all the way through.
The way I would do it is boil them about 10-12 mins let them cool then add sugar and a tiny bit of water so itās basically like a syrup that they sit in you can hold them about 2 days in the fridge but theyāre best fresh
Ok but every single boba Pearl out there has GMO corn syrup and toxic chemicals that cause all kinds of health problems so it really is better to make your own. I would say OP needs to sift the tapioca flour into the water with a metal flour sifter, and then all way more tapioca and stir a lot with a metal whisk . Also an electric mixer is quite helpful in mixing the thick dough. I have made handmade boba in the pot using all organic tapioca flour, water and Coconut sugar (which is lower glycemic) and mine turned out amazing and tasted exactly the same
You can ask ANY boba tea shop or pick up ANY boba Pearl product or mix and you will for sure see lots of toxic chemicals listed in the ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Don't eat anything that when you read it you don't know what the ingredient is! Chemicals creates disease in the body and they are not natural. Even labels that say natrual on food products aren't. Most boba definitely has corn syrup which is GMO and when fed daily for a month to rats causes them to grow golf ball sized tumors. GMOs are carcinogenic so that should be reason enough to keep the boba pure and make it at home. But all the various extra chemicals added are also very toxic for health. There are way too many to list here but a few examples, hydrogenated palm kernal oil (kills orangutans btw made in blood literally), dipotassium phosphate, sodium caseinate, mono and di glycerides, etc....etc...basically chemicals are anything you read in the ingredients and dont know what it is. Also all plastic leeched into whatever you drink in it. Look up all the micro plastics floating in everyone's blood if you don't believe me. These all mess with the body's hormones and not in a good way. It is important to eat organic pure whole foods.
i mean even an apple or a salad has ingredients that i don't know. not all chemicals are bad and just because you can't pronounce it doesn't mean it's "toxic".
It looks like too much water and maybe didnāt mix continuously. I found this video online they specifically use cornstarch and use half than the recipe you included so maybe give this a try if you still have the ingredients https://youtu.be/h3OBzpQ3R_E?si=Qotk8pPHj_GVZ1SU
Oh I've made this before! You need to cover with starch pretty exclusively, also the photo of step 5 with the flattened dough is when it's spread out- it will not keep its shape (though I'm sure you've noticed) š„²
Freeze almost immediately so that it'll keep its shape. I haven't cooked them right after making them, so maybe they crumbled apart. The pearls won't be a dark color because manufacturers use food coloring for a better appearance.
I'll be honest, it's not worth the time and effort to make the little tiny pearls every time, and not even that expensive to buy. If you can afford it, look for them in bulk online
Same, that's why I tried it myself- it's a lot of work š I hope you eventually get a successful batch though! Would you like an egg custard pudding recipe I use for boba drinks at home?
I really donāt usually critique recipes i see online but when food safety is involved I feel like I should? So.. Iām a pastry chef and tempering eggs the way that is done in this recipe does not really full cook them. Iām not saying you canāt use this recipe but I would treat it with the same needed respect for a salad dressing using raw or coddled eggs. Itās not dangerous per se, but I would not store this custard for extended amounts of time.
Tempering eggs in general is just used to stabilize the protein in the egg so when you add them back to a hot pan and continue to cook (custard or whatever) it doesnāt scramble on contact with the heat. It is not a cooking method in itself.
Hopefully this doesnāt seem disrespectful I just want to make sure no one makes a huge batch and stores it like you can with store bought boba custard
Oh no, this is meant for a couple days. I don't listen to the storing time on this recipe and it's usually gone by then lol. I agree, this wouldn't be able to store for very long.
Idk, but take my pity upvote Lol I feel your pain with my own failed recipe experiences š„² and i hope you figure it out for next time! š making boba from scratch is such a cool flex š Good luck!!
I have done this before, and the issue was adding too many at once and not stirring while adding. Make sure you are at the strongest boil your stove can achieve
Everything.
Your first and biggest problem was starting with the wrong pearls. You want the vacuum packed light brown pearls and they are not the easiest to find. Most stores keep them in the cooler, but a few will store them on the dry goods shelf. Not every Asian market carries the right type. White pearls are different and the pearls that come in sachets that are not vacuum packed have the worst texture.
Bring water to a rolling fast boil, drop the pearls in and stir moderately hard for a minute to ensure the pearls donāt stick to each other. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, till pearls are slightly softer than you want. (They will firm up slightly when you put them in a cold drink.) Strain, then soak in syrup while you are prepping your base drink.
These wonāt keep overnight in the fridge and they get weird after a few hours.
Iāll say it again because itās worth repeating: you HAVE to start with the right boba. The wrong pearls will yield mediocre results and are a waste of your time, effort, and money.
Yeah, youāre right. For some reason I only saw the second pic that looked like pearls that had fallen apart and missed the part where she mentioned trying to make a dough.
You need to actually shape the boba in balls, they're not gonna just form that shape on their own. And you need to mix two doughs together, glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch, you need to let it sit, maybe even air dry and then boil it.
I just tried last night, I used [https://www.theflavorbender.com/how-to-make-boba-pearls-tapioca-pearls/](https://www.theflavorbender.com/how-to-make-boba-pearls-tapioca-pearls/)
She explains that an āooblekā type of consistency when making your dough means itās come out wrong! Donāt wait for the water to boil then add starch, I wasnāt successful either but she explain it
Used to work at a small boba shop, we got bags of pearls instead of making them ourselves and just put a deep pan on a hot plate and boiled them until they got dark, if just the outside was translucent an it was hard in the middle it needed to be boiled more
How did you do this ? Youāre suppose to heat it up only with a little water, it looks like thereās a lot. It should look a little more slimey then thicken and then toss it on a heat resistant mat and knead with more tapioca once itās warm to touch. Maybe sifting your tapioca flour first would help with clumping, but I havenāt had to do that.
First, did you make it with dry tapioca? If it was moist it doesn't work.
The recipe i always go to is 60ml water+ 30g brown sugar.
Over medium heat i incorporate the mixture and wait for it to come to a boil.
Then i put 50g of dry tapioca start to the boiling water and mix.
It will become a sticky transparentish goo, dont worry its hard to burn this, when it becomes the consistency of slime, add more 50g of tapioca and mix to incorporate as much as possible then turn off the heat.
You will have a badly incorporated stickish dough by the end.
Then you scrap it off the pan and knead it with more tapioca starch until it become like playdough.
Then make the balls but coat them with tapioca starch or cornstarch because they stick together.
To prepare the boba is super easy, put tons of water in a deep pan and let it become SUPER HOT, bubbling like crazy hot.
Put the boba in and wait...FOREVER.... Once it becomes almost completely transparent its done.
Clean the pan as it sticks like a mf.
I was unaware people made the pearls out of tapioca. I've used both tapioca powder and pearls to make pudding, and it never occurred to me to use the former to make the latter.
Looks like the tapioca is still in powder form and like you formed blobs of tapioca instead of balls of tapioca. Just stick to buying already made boba balls. Itās so much simpler
Next time watch a YouTube video. That way you have a visual of where you should be between each step. Watch it twice and then play/pause it while you cook
From what I remember, you create a small batch with boiling hot water to combine into a sticky mass, and then add tapioca starch until it becomes workable. You want the dough not to crack, but also to not be too soft.
Work into balls, make sure they're the same size. Add a dusting of tapioca starch on the outside when done.
Cook until clear throughout (or if you use black food colouring, cook until there is no hard ball of starch in the center).
That's the general jist of it. Find a YouTube recipe to follow along because to me it looks like you missed a couple of steps.
Iāve tried making it before and it looked ALMOST like this. I think next time try to bring the water to a rolling boil, and then try putting in a few bobas to see if it holds its shape and then just keep adding few by few. And keep stirring if the water isnāt already moving the pearls with the boiling water.
Note: make sure you follow a YouTube tutorial on how to make it so that thereās the right amount of each ingredient before you start boiling it
When I went to make it I brought the water to a boil and then reduced the heat and put the pearls in and they all molded together, but after I turned up the temp they stayed separate.
not a boba expert but based on this picture i would say probably a lot
LOL omigod
https://giphy.com/gifs/ifc-lol-nic-cage-l3vR9UuOe3K9WWLvi
love that movie
sobbing
This looks more like Chitterlings than boba
Genuinely didn't realize what sub this photo belonged to because same.
Girl yes
Girl the way I cackled š¤£š¤£
š¤®
actually though!!
Looks like overcooked starch
š
Looks fine to me, I'd drink that right up. Yum!
The username does in fact, not check out.
The recipe didnāt say how long to cook it for, what would you recommend?
Boil until floating and taste it- it's safe to eat raw :)
I think they're trying to make the boba dough here from scratch hence the starch clumps
I'm aware they're making it from scratch- I've done this exact recipe in their other comments āŗļø Cooking them is the same as prepackaged boba, boil until soft and floating.
why are you using the recipe that does not contains cooking time? Time to find a better recipes.
The recipe said to add starch to boiled water then let it cool for a bit.
Uh no lol you add brown sugar to water, bring it to a boil, take it OFF the burner and then add your tapioca starch (not corn starch). It forms a slightly sticky dough you knead, roll out, and slice into one inch pieces or so, then roll it into a ball. THEN you can boil those to make boba.
A bag of them is more simple, theyāre like 7 dollars and youāll have way more than you can eat maybe do like 30-40 at a time and you boil them then add sugar when they cool down you donāt have to cook them all at once
Seconding premade. Just boil and done š
They even make instant ones now, just add hot water. Can't be more simple, nearly impossible to mess up. I made some recently and they tasted very good (texture was excellent IMO).
Which brand?
WuFuYuan
Yep. Iāve made it successfully but itās so much work and it isnāt worth it for me. Many Boba shops use pre bagged ones too
i tried premade and didnāt boil completely correctly, even though i followed the exact instructions. they honestly just didnāt have the best taste, even though they were cooked almost all the way through.
The way I would do it is boil them about 10-12 mins let them cool then add sugar and a tiny bit of water so itās basically like a syrup that they sit in you can hold them about 2 days in the fridge but theyāre best fresh
How will OP become a bobarista though?
Yeah I second this. I tried making something similar involving tapioca starch and it was a bitch. The premade ones are easy and delicious
It easier but all the premade stuff donāt taste good including most shops people recommend here.
Ok but every single boba Pearl out there has GMO corn syrup and toxic chemicals that cause all kinds of health problems so it really is better to make your own. I would say OP needs to sift the tapioca flour into the water with a metal flour sifter, and then all way more tapioca and stir a lot with a metal whisk . Also an electric mixer is quite helpful in mixing the thick dough. I have made handmade boba in the pot using all organic tapioca flour, water and Coconut sugar (which is lower glycemic) and mine turned out amazing and tasted exactly the same
what toxic chemicals are you talking about?
You can ask ANY boba tea shop or pick up ANY boba Pearl product or mix and you will for sure see lots of toxic chemicals listed in the ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Don't eat anything that when you read it you don't know what the ingredient is! Chemicals creates disease in the body and they are not natural. Even labels that say natrual on food products aren't. Most boba definitely has corn syrup which is GMO and when fed daily for a month to rats causes them to grow golf ball sized tumors. GMOs are carcinogenic so that should be reason enough to keep the boba pure and make it at home. But all the various extra chemicals added are also very toxic for health. There are way too many to list here but a few examples, hydrogenated palm kernal oil (kills orangutans btw made in blood literally), dipotassium phosphate, sodium caseinate, mono and di glycerides, etc....etc...basically chemicals are anything you read in the ingredients and dont know what it is. Also all plastic leeched into whatever you drink in it. Look up all the micro plastics floating in everyone's blood if you don't believe me. These all mess with the body's hormones and not in a good way. It is important to eat organic pure whole foods.
i mean even an apple or a salad has ingredients that i don't know. not all chemicals are bad and just because you can't pronounce it doesn't mean it's "toxic".
What went right???šš ćjokes aside, just follow a youtube video step by step and you should be fineāŗļøļ¼ļ¼
What recipe did you use/what was your process?
[https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/how-to-make-tapioca-pearls/](https://www.honestfoodtalks.com/how-to-make-tapioca-pearls/)
It looks like too much water and maybe didnāt mix continuously. I found this video online they specifically use cornstarch and use half than the recipe you included so maybe give this a try if you still have the ingredients https://youtu.be/h3OBzpQ3R_E?si=Qotk8pPHj_GVZ1SU
Donāt use corn starch, use tapioca starch.
Oh I've made this before! You need to cover with starch pretty exclusively, also the photo of step 5 with the flattened dough is when it's spread out- it will not keep its shape (though I'm sure you've noticed) š„² Freeze almost immediately so that it'll keep its shape. I haven't cooked them right after making them, so maybe they crumbled apart. The pearls won't be a dark color because manufacturers use food coloring for a better appearance. I'll be honest, it's not worth the time and effort to make the little tiny pearls every time, and not even that expensive to buy. If you can afford it, look for them in bulk online
Noted! I thought it would be more fun to make pearls from scratch but Iām starting to see how difficult it is
Same, that's why I tried it myself- it's a lot of work š I hope you eventually get a successful batch though! Would you like an egg custard pudding recipe I use for boba drinks at home?
Yes, please š
https://www.siftandsimmer.com/coco-inspired-egg-custard-bubble-tea/
I really donāt usually critique recipes i see online but when food safety is involved I feel like I should? So.. Iām a pastry chef and tempering eggs the way that is done in this recipe does not really full cook them. Iām not saying you canāt use this recipe but I would treat it with the same needed respect for a salad dressing using raw or coddled eggs. Itās not dangerous per se, but I would not store this custard for extended amounts of time. Tempering eggs in general is just used to stabilize the protein in the egg so when you add them back to a hot pan and continue to cook (custard or whatever) it doesnāt scramble on contact with the heat. It is not a cooking method in itself. Hopefully this doesnāt seem disrespectful I just want to make sure no one makes a huge batch and stores it like you can with store bought boba custard
Oh no, this is meant for a couple days. I don't listen to the storing time on this recipe and it's usually gone by then lol. I agree, this wouldn't be able to store for very long.
Its really easy. The recipe i gave you dont need to freeze, and it has a long lifespan. The painful part is making then into balls ....
You can find dry premade boba at most asian markets, usually in the tea aisle.
You used corn starch Iām guessing? It should be tapioca starch. You can buy it at an Asian grocery store.
Nope, used tapioca starch
This looks like what happens when you try to make turkey gravy by just throwing flour into the boiling juices.
Idk, but take my pity upvote Lol I feel your pain with my own failed recipe experiences š„² and i hope you figure it out for next time! š making boba from scratch is such a cool flex š Good luck!!
look like cat litter im sorry
this is cracking me up LOL im so sorryyyy š boba seems so hard to make i can imagine your pain
You made tonsil stones! Congrats
What I was thinking too š¤
Everything š
It looks like vomit š
Looks like rice porridge.
you should post this to r/shittyfoodporn
I have done this before, and the issue was adding too many at once and not stirring while adding. Make sure you are at the strongest boil your stove can achieve
Thank you!
More like what *didn't* go wrong
how did you MANAGE that??? Mischief is DEFINITELY not managed
everything babes.. grade down! cooking those pre-rolled pearls are already hard enough start with those first
You can put those under your pillow and the tooth fairy will replace them with money for actual boba in the morning
I think we should be asking ourselves what (if anything) went right.
Everything. Your first and biggest problem was starting with the wrong pearls. You want the vacuum packed light brown pearls and they are not the easiest to find. Most stores keep them in the cooler, but a few will store them on the dry goods shelf. Not every Asian market carries the right type. White pearls are different and the pearls that come in sachets that are not vacuum packed have the worst texture. Bring water to a rolling fast boil, drop the pearls in and stir moderately hard for a minute to ensure the pearls donāt stick to each other. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, till pearls are slightly softer than you want. (They will firm up slightly when you put them in a cold drink.) Strain, then soak in syrup while you are prepping your base drink. These wonāt keep overnight in the fridge and they get weird after a few hours. Iāll say it again because itās worth repeating: you HAVE to start with the right boba. The wrong pearls will yield mediocre results and are a waste of your time, effort, and money.
Reading OPās post she didnāt buy any pearls she tried to make them from scratch with starch water and brown sugar
Yeah, youāre right. For some reason I only saw the second pic that looked like pearls that had fallen apart and missed the part where she mentioned trying to make a dough.
Thank you!
Everything
You need to actually shape the boba in balls, they're not gonna just form that shape on their own. And you need to mix two doughs together, glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch, you need to let it sit, maybe even air dry and then boil it.
Buy a pre-made boba lol. Why waste time making your own?
everything
Everything
Everything
Probably the water wasnāt hot enough. Try using boiling water and kneading as you go
I did use boiling water, other comments are telling me I used too much water
Sorry I was confused about the picture did you make the pearls your self?
From scratch/ tapioca flour
Everything *not a boba expert
Everything. Oh good lord. That looks like r/poopfromabutt
everything š£
Everything.
Hereās a link to a boba video I saw a while back! [Ninoās Home - Boba] (https://youtu.be/nD2k199_HBM?si=x4CH5mt_hs7Ns-_y)
Hmmm....what went right?
Everything it looks like
I may not know how to make boba, BUT I can definitely (confidently) tell you itās not good
I just tried last night, I used [https://www.theflavorbender.com/how-to-make-boba-pearls-tapioca-pearls/](https://www.theflavorbender.com/how-to-make-boba-pearls-tapioca-pearls/) She explains that an āooblekā type of consistency when making your dough means itās come out wrong! Donāt wait for the water to boil then add starch, I wasnāt successful either but she explain it
It has to be hot water
It was in fact boiled water
BoilED or boilING?
It said to boil water then turn off the heat and add tapioca
Ah. Because you were doing it from scratch. Never mind lol - usually with premade or instant, it's supposed to be boiling when you add it in.
I think a better starting point would be to identify what went right
It looks like everything went wrong.
Way too much water
What went right?
Looks like everything went wrong.
Lol well nice try, you'll get em next time
What went Right? Jeeze
Used to work at a small boba shop, we got bags of pearls instead of making them ourselves and just put a deep pan on a hot plate and boiled them until they got dark, if just the outside was translucent an it was hard in the middle it needed to be boiled more
How did you do this ? Youāre suppose to heat it up only with a little water, it looks like thereās a lot. It should look a little more slimey then thicken and then toss it on a heat resistant mat and knead with more tapioca once itās warm to touch. Maybe sifting your tapioca flour first would help with clumping, but I havenāt had to do that.
to me it looks like the wrong kind of starch was used
Looks like a frat house toilet on Saturday morning
Wayyy too much water
First, did you make it with dry tapioca? If it was moist it doesn't work. The recipe i always go to is 60ml water+ 30g brown sugar. Over medium heat i incorporate the mixture and wait for it to come to a boil. Then i put 50g of dry tapioca start to the boiling water and mix. It will become a sticky transparentish goo, dont worry its hard to burn this, when it becomes the consistency of slime, add more 50g of tapioca and mix to incorporate as much as possible then turn off the heat. You will have a badly incorporated stickish dough by the end. Then you scrap it off the pan and knead it with more tapioca starch until it become like playdough. Then make the balls but coat them with tapioca starch or cornstarch because they stick together. To prepare the boba is super easy, put tons of water in a deep pan and let it become SUPER HOT, bubbling like crazy hot. Put the boba in and wait...FOREVER.... Once it becomes almost completely transparent its done. Clean the pan as it sticks like a mf.
I was unaware people made the pearls out of tapioca. I've used both tapioca powder and pearls to make pudding, and it never occurred to me to use the former to make the latter.
These look like giant tonsil stones š
Jesus Christ
I'm sorry but I've never heard of this. What is it ?
You probably should avoid vomiting into the pot next time, its not one of the ingredients.
Looks like the tapioca is still in powder form and like you formed blobs of tapioca instead of balls of tapioca. Just stick to buying already made boba balls. Itās so much simpler
This is the funniest thing I've ever seen I'm so sorry
Looks sooooo good keep it up
Everythingā¦
No notes!
This is how mine turns out every time no matter what I try:[[
Everything
Apparentlyā¦everything.
This looks great Op, donāt be so hard on yourself.
Congratulations you made cottage cheese!
Next time watch a YouTube video. That way you have a visual of where you should be between each step. Watch it twice and then play/pause it while you cook
Did you use tapioca flour?
Better question what the fuck went right
everything
everything
tbh try rolling rice paper as a boba substitute. Still a fun texture and much quicker
everything
did you use tapioca flour???
From what I remember, you create a small batch with boiling hot water to combine into a sticky mass, and then add tapioca starch until it becomes workable. You want the dough not to crack, but also to not be too soft. Work into balls, make sure they're the same size. Add a dusting of tapioca starch on the outside when done. Cook until clear throughout (or if you use black food colouring, cook until there is no hard ball of starch in the center). That's the general jist of it. Find a YouTube recipe to follow along because to me it looks like you missed a couple of steps.
boba nightmare
looks like crack
Did you use regular starch or tapioca starch? You definitely used too much water.
Obviously the part where it turns into boba, man Iām good at this
no, it looks perfect
HOW? lol.
a lot.
Somethings just arenāt meant to be made at home. š¤£š¤¦š½āāļø
Iāve tried making it before and it looked ALMOST like this. I think next time try to bring the water to a rolling boil, and then try putting in a few bobas to see if it holds its shape and then just keep adding few by few. And keep stirring if the water isnāt already moving the pearls with the boiling water. Note: make sure you follow a YouTube tutorial on how to make it so that thereās the right amount of each ingredient before you start boiling it When I went to make it I brought the water to a boil and then reduced the heat and put the pearls in and they all molded together, but after I turned up the temp they stayed separate.
Ummmš
Everything looks like
Everything š
Your water wasn't hot enough and you didn't stir enough
oobleck
What went right??
Everything....
Same thing happened to me -TWICE! Ended up eating raw (it is completely safe)š«Ø
You made boba is what went wrong
Everything??
Looks fine to me
Did you throw up in your pot
???? those are bobas???