How is Sabudana (Sago) Made?

Sabudana is 100% plant-based. It does not grow on trees like a fruit or seed. Instead, it is manufactured from the starchy roots of the Cassava plant (also known as Tapioca or Yuca), which is a root vegetable similar to a sweet potato.

1. Harvesting and Cleaning: Large Tapioca roots are harvested, washed thoroughly, and peeled in factories.
2. Crushing and Extraction: The roots are crushed into a fine pulp. This pulp is mixed with water to extract a thick, milky white starch liquid.
3. Filtering and Settling: The liquid is filtered to remove all fibers. It is then left in large tanks for several days so the pure starch settles at the bottom. The water is drained away, leaving a solid, wet starch cake.
4. Making the Pearls: The wet starch cake is broken down into a coarse powder. This powder is passed through special sieving machines that roll the powder into the small, round, spherical pearls we recognize.
5. Roasting and Drying: Finally, the raw pearls are lightly roasted on large hot plates to gelatinize the surface (giving them a shiny, translucent look) and then dried in the sun or hot air blowers.