History

Pao de Queijo originated in Brazil, dating back to the colonial period of 1500-1800s when the Portuguese colonizers imported African slaves to work in the production of sugar and coffee.  The slaves also cultivated manioc or cassava, a root known in the US as yuca or tapioca.

The slaves soaked and dried the root which was used in several dishes at the time. The slaves ground the spills of this root to form a sort of flour which they made into balls like dumplings and baked them.

With the independence of Brazil in the early 1800s other ingredients became available. In the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil’s center for dairy products, a variety of cheeses, milk, eggs and vegetable oil were added, and Pao de Queijo as we know it today was born.