Do you know how Coxinha was invented?

Coxinha, is a snack available in many parties, bakeries, snack bars whose price is affordable today, however was once the nobility's dish.

Nadir Cavazin in her book “History of Recipes” tell us that Coxinha was invented in the country side of São Paulo, at Fazenda Morro Azul, where Princess Isabel’s son and Conde D’Eu lived, raised in isolation for being mentally handicapped. His favorite food was chicken drumstick.

One day there were not enough chickens to serve it, so the cook decided to turn all the different parts of the chicken into "thighs", which explains the shape of the snack. The dish became so famous that Empress Tereza Cristina tried it when visiting the farm and demanded the recipe to be taught to the master of the imperial kitchen.

Gastronomy historians claim that Coxinha appeared during the industrialization period in São Paulo, and was marketed as a more “affordable” substitute for the chicken thigh, which was widely sold at factory doors.

There are still those who say that it was the slaves who invented, due to the scarcity of food, by collecting pieces of chicken dispensed by the masters and involving them with cassava dough. Others say it is a Brazilian derivative of European kibble.

Today there are several types of coxinha such as catupiry cheese, beef jerky, sun-dried meat, cheese, etc.

Which one is your favorite? We would love to hear from you.