another small sized treat that is found in most bakeries called 'padarias' and luncheonettes around rio is the flavorful cheese bread called pão de queijo - the recipe originated in the brazilian state of minas gerais during portuguese colonization when masters were customarily served their daily bread and coffee.

african slaves prepared the pão de queijo with the a very specific cheese from the region called 'queijo minas', and tapioca, or cassava flour, instead of wheat flour because it did not yield well in the tropical heat of the region.

the cassava root, which is also called the manioc root, was a staple crop for the indigenous population of south america who had been processing it into an edible flour form for ages - the africans who were brought to the new world were also equally familiar with the cassava root and processing it into flour form because it was a staple food that grew in abundance in their own continent as well.