This article will cover what those chewy bobas are called, why they are chewy, and if they are supposed to even be that way in the first place. All the information will be related around chewy boba and chewing boba. It will also cover the perfect amount of chewy texture for the boba pearls, and how to keep them chewy for the longest amount of time.
What is Chewy boba called?
Chewy boba is known as tapioca pearls, but is often called boba. Boba is a generic name that can be a bit confusing for beginners, as it relates to any topping that is placed in bubble tea drinks besides tapioca pearls.
The type of boba described is often called by a characteristic that the boba has, which in this case is, “chewy boba”. This would be tapioca pearls, as they are the only type of boba that fits those characteristics after it has been fully cooked. Other names for tapioca pearls is boba and boba pearls.
The jelly boba for example, refers to a different type of boba, which is a substitute for tapioca pearls in bubble tea drinks and snacks that resembles jelly. Another boba type is popping pearls, which isn’t chewy at all, but instead pops or bursts with fruit flavors on the roof of the mouth.
The tapioca pearls look like black spheres after they have been fully cooked, with some brands having a dark brown color instead of black. After being cooked, they look really shiny, resembling pearls from a necklace.
Is boba supposed to be soft or chewy?
Boba is supposed to be both soft and chewy. Tapioca pearls start out as brown powdery spheres that are easily crumbled if handled too roughly. As they cook, they lose the powdered feeling and become smooth and darker in color. Over time the boba will become softer first on the outside of the pearls, and slowly become chewy in the middle over time.
The boba pearls texture that is desired by most individuals is both soft and chewy, which some refer to as bouncy. The chewy texture in the middle of the boba is less soft than that of a gummy bear candy when it is finished cooking. They will be soft with a very slight chewiness in the middle.
Why are my bobas chewy?
Make sure that you aren’t using instant tapioca pearls if you want boba pearls to not have a weird chewy texture if this is the problem. Good boba shops do not use instant 5 to 10 minute cooking pearls. The texture isn’t as good as the original tapioca pearls no matter how long they are cooked.
Some instant boba brands also develops a bad chewy texture when it is placed in cold drinks.
There are also bubble tea drinks that come in cans like soda pop does. If you are drinking those, then they might be good to you, but the texture of the boba, once again, will not be as good as home cooked original boba.
Chewy boba is the result of tapioca pearls that have been cooked to perfection. This is what most people desire when they eat their boba. However, it shouldn’t be a hard chewy, but a soft chewy instead. This type of boba when it is cooked, takes really only a little effort to chew. It isn’t gummy. However, it is understandable that when everyone else may like their boba a certain way, some people don’t.
Most people have described other textures of the boba that can be on either side of being too hard or too soft. For tapioca pearls, the soft chewy texture is as good as it generally gets.
Not cooking the boba pearls for long enough will also result in a bad chewy texture. Regardless of what the instructions might say on the boba bag that your tapioca pearls came in, they might need to be cooked a little longer than instructed for better results. They should be cooked in a pot of water at high heat starting off. Try cooking your tapioca pearls this way.
Do you need to chew boba?
Yes. It is very important that you chew your food. Avoid swallowing it whole. The fun part of boba is chewing it, because all the sugar flavors are actually hidden in the tapioca pearls (considering that they were soaked in sugars).
You are missing out on the experience if you are swallowing cooked tapioca pearls whole. It is also a bad thing to swallow them whole over and over in one session. It can upset the stomach and cause stomach pain from excessive amounts of boba sitting in the stomach, waiting to digest.
Help your stomach out by using the tools in your mouth (your teeth) to break down the tapioca pearls a little faster. Your stomach and your taste buds will thank you.
How to make boba less chewy?
If for some reason you are not a fan of the traditional bouncy chewy texture of the tapioca pearls, try using instant tapioca pearls when you are cooking boba. The texture is a little different. A lot of the brands are naturally less chewy than the original tapioca pearls that take longer than 40 minutes to cook.
If you are already using them, or you want to stick with the originals instead of the instant, make sure that you are running cold water on the boba pearls when straining them immediately after they are cooked. Rinse them with cold water for 1 minute before resting them in a sugar mixture to sweeten.
Some individuals place the cooked boba into an ice bath after rinsing them with cold water. This is what some do to make the boba bouncy chewy. The cooked boba will be really soft after it is cooked properly. Doing these things will make the boba less chewy and more firm.
Another thing that can be done is placing the cooked boba pearls in a cold bubble tea drink instead of a warm or hot one. The texture of the boba will become less chewy when the drink is cold and the boba is cold.
How to make boba more chewy?
Make sure that the boba pearls are cooked long enough to ensure that the boba is chewy when it is done. If the boba is hard in the middle, then this is the solution. Making the boba cold, or not keeping them cold will remove the some of the chewy texture from the tapioca pearls.
How do you make boba chewy again?
To make boba that has already been cooked chewy again, you will have to add moisture and heat to the boba pearls. After tapioca pearls have lost their chewy texture, it cannot be restored again to full, but it will be a lot better and no longer hard in the middle if done this way.
The best way to make boba chewy again is by placing the pearls in a sugar mixture again and reheating them in the microwave or oven. The sugar mixture needs to comprise of both sugar and water, and all of the tapioca pearls need to be moisturized while they are being reheated for the best results.
How do you keep boba chewy?
To keep boba chewy for hours you will need to keep them heated in the sugar mixture after they are cooked. The sugar mixed with the tapioca pearls will form a sugar liquid around the tapioca pearls after they are cooked. Let the boba sit in this with some water. All of the pearls need to be in the sugar water to retain their chewy texture.
The tapioca pearls will need to be set at a warm temperature in order to stay chewy. They need a warm temperature, but not hot enough that they continuously cook. They can be kept like this for up to 4 hours until they begin to degrade in quality.
