Development of Commercial Tapioca Pearls used in Bubble Tea by Microwave Heat–Moisture Treatment in Cassava Starch Modification

Bubble tea is a trending food product around the globe and capture a high demand in the high-end market in Asian region as well. This product contains a chewy bubble in enhancing the palatability and the acceptability of the final bubble tea product, which is made with cassava starch. Cassava is an important high caloric tropical food crop, yet has a limited utilization due to its perishability and high cyanide content. Industrial processing of cassava into several food products is one of the most preferred solution for this and thus, tapioca pearl production is also one of the major food application of cassava starch. So the main objective of this study to develop a standardized and much preferred method of tapioca pearl production, and develop a tapioca pearl to be incorporated in bubble tea with higher sensory acceptance, and lower cost. A standard procedure was developed after several trials, and considering the economic benefit, cassava flour incorporated pearls were also tried. The made pearls were subjected to sensory evaluation, proximate composition and cyanide content analysis, as well as texture profile analysis, and finally, the microbiological stability of the product was also checked under refrigerated storage conditions. According to the obtained results, the final product was sensory accepted (p<0.05) over the commercially available product and had a laboratory proven shelf life of 30 days under refrigerated storage conditions.