Made from sugar, egg yolks, and water, fios de ovos (egg threads) is served as a garnish on cakes and puddings, as a filling for cakes, or simply by itself in small, sweet mounds. The strands are made with a special funnel by means of which egg yolks pass through tiny, narrow openings and drop carefully—without touching—into boiling sugar syrup. Fios de ovos is also found in Japan and Thailand, most likely brought there by Portuguese explorers during the sixteenth century. See portugal’s influence in asia.