The advantage of using fine tapioca (the kind sold for making milk puddings) is that it has to sit with the fruit and sugar before you cook the pie. Check the box to see if there's a pie recipe tucked into a corner. Use 1 tablespoon tapioca per pound of cleaned frozen fruit to start. DO NOT DISCARD fruit juices as stated above. Mix tapioca in with the fruit and sugar and let sit 15 minutes. You will see that the tapioca has started to absorb the juice. If the fruit (usually raspberries/blackberries/loganberries) is releasing too much juice, it will look like a VERY wet puddle even with the tapioca. In that case you sprinkle another teaspoon of tapioca and let it sit another 5 minutes. There should be a small amount of liquid still visible before you bake this kind of filling, as the tapioca absorbs a good amount in cooking. Fruit like blueberries will look drier, but cooks up juicy as the berries burst in the oven. Cobblers can be served straight from the oven if you insist. Pie juice will bubble thickly at the end of cooking, so to cut slices you have to wait. You end up with with a clear filling without lumps. Ideally the tapioca bits dissolve completely and disappear into the cooked juice. Thanks, Irene, very helpful info. - PJH

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