On Friday, April 18, 2014 2:26:23 AM UTC+10, Brooklyn1 wrote:
> Timo wrote:
> >Brooklyn1 wrote:
> >>
> >> However odds are what you
> >> have is likely sago palm, not tapioca... nowadays most tapioca is
> >> actually sago... check the package label.
> >
> >Other way around: most "sago" is made from tapioca.
>
> Not... each is its own product, neither pretends to be the other.


> Here you can see what
> I'm talking about: http://tinyurl.com/oz5anzw
> http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_3ofqzm3ym5_e

Congatulations! You found a bunch of products that are labelled "sago", but are made from cassava. (The Ajika makes a point out of being made from sago, not tapioca, but the ingedients list on the Ajika website says "tapioca".)

> Also tapioca
> costs more to process, the root of the cassava plant is toxic, ergo
> tapioca pearls cost a bit more than sago pearls.

Some varieties. There are non-toxic varieties ("sweet cassava").

Tapioca starch prices fluctuate, mostly depending on the cassava crop. Sago cultivation has increased a lot in recent years, and depending on tapioca starch prices, either sago or tapioca starch can be cheaper.