Taiada Silvania is a unique cheese made by a single producer in Sao Paulo’s Caçapava municipality, who thought mixing milk with native leafcutter ants would be a great idea.

Camila Almeida, the owner and founder of Estância Silvânia, came up with Taiada Silvania cheese while brainstorming ideas to attract tourists interested in rural attractions. She wanted something that really made her region stand out, and she remembered that the people of the area had long been eating Içá leafcutter ants as part of the local cuisine. Since her farm produced cheese, she decided that adding a few toasted Içá ants to one of their best cheeses would be interesting, and she was right. Today, Taiada Silvania is known all over the world and has won several international awards, including in France.