I was born and raised in Alaska where rhubarb grew wild and mom had a large strawberry patch. Now , I live in Florida and buy the frozen chopped rhubarb from Publix and use fresh strawberries. Mom never used tapioca in her pies just plain old flour. I made my first strawberry/rhubarb pie last year for Thanksgiving and used tapioca. The look was perfect but the texture was terrible. I think tapioca is an acquired taste and I'll take a runnier pie any day and cover it with vanilla ice cream. So, the next time I made the pies I used flour and was much happier. Also, yes let the fruit "marinade" for about 20 minutes and come to room temp before cooking. I think it really adds to the sweet/sour flavor. I miss you Alaska!

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