Pao de queijo

Cookbook reference: Pão de queijo

Pão de queijo are savoury puffs that are prepared from cassava, also known as tapioca, a plant that derives from Minas Gerais in south-east Brazil. Long before the Portuguese invasion in 1500, the Indigenous Guaraní peoples of the region pounded the roots, soaked the starchy mass in water to remove toxins and finally baked into flour that became the basis of a nourishing bread. Recent research suggests that cassava was already cultivated in the Amazon region over 10,000 years ago.

Pão de queijo are still popular today in Brazil. However, these small, tasty spheres are closely linked with colonisation and enslavement. From the mid 16th century onwards, Portuguese colonists imported African slaves to Brazil, chiefly to labour on sugar cane plantations, but also as personal servants, tradespeople and wet nurses.  Cassava became a staple food for the enslaved, who were deprived on the wheat bread that their oppressors enjoyed. Enslaved women devised new recipes, peeling, grating, soaking and finally drying cassava tubers to remove the cyanide, creating a fine white starch.  They then shaped this white powder into balls and baked it, creating the precursor of the Brazilian cheese bread that is enjoyed as a snack today. The Portuguese considered cassava to be of little value, and rejected it as a food source, perhaps in part because the unprocessed roots contain toxic levels of cyanide.

After the abolition of slavery and with the advent of dairy production, cheese and milk were added to the balls. Like many iconic recipes invented by enslaved Africans, this dish subsequently became popular with the middle classes, and is served in city bars and cafes today. Yeast, garlic and olive oil carry the savoury flavours in the vegan adaptation of this dish in The flavour of freedom.

Image credit: Wikipedia, By Murilo manzini, https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jun/25/pao-de-queijo-is-the-history-of-brazil-in-a-moreish-cheese-snack

Links and references
Pão de queijo is the history of Brazil in a moreish cheese snack | Brazil holidays | The Guardian
The African Slave Trade and Slave Life | Brazil: Five Centuries of Change
History of Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread) – chebe
The Weekend Dish column: The story of Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de queijo) | PostIndependent.com
Cassava: A globally important plant with amazonian roots – Meli