O sabor do mamão com mel é bom, mas eu ainda prefiro pera com iogurte.

Do is the contraction of de + o.

So:

de + o = do
de + a = da
de + os = dos
de + as = das

In o sabor do mamão, do mamão literally comes from de o mamão, but Portuguese normally contracts it.

Both patterns can exist, but they suggest slightly different things.

sabor de mamão com mel often sounds more like an abstract flavor label, such as the flavor of a juice, candy, or yogurt.

sabor do mamão com mel sounds more like the taste of the actual food combination: the papaya with honey.

So in this sentence, do mamão com mel points to the taste of that dish or combination, not just a flavor category.

Com mel goes with mamão.

So mamão com mel means papaya with honey.

Likewise, later in the sentence, pera com iogurte means pear with yogurt.

A learner might briefly wonder whether com mel could attach to sabor, but in natural reading it clearly describes the food combination, not the noun sabor.

Because bom agrees with sabor, and sabor is masculine singular.

• o sabor → masculine singular
• therefore bom

If the adjective were describing pera, then it would be feminine:

• a pera é boa

But that is not what happens here. The sentence says that the taste is good, so the adjective agrees with sabor.

Here ainda means something like still or even so.

So mas eu ainda prefiro... means:

but I still prefer...

The idea is: the first thing is good, but despite that, the speaker prefers something else.

That is true: Portuguese often allows the subject pronoun to be omitted.

So this would also be natural:

O sabor do mamão com mel é bom, mas ainda prefiro pera com iogurte.

Including eu adds a little emphasis or contrast. After mas, it can help highlight the speaker’s personal opinion:

..., but I still prefer...

So eu is not required, but it sounds perfectly natural.

Preferir usually takes a direct object:

• Prefiro pera com iogurte. = I prefer pear with yogurt.

If you want to mention both options, standard grammar usually uses a:

• Prefiro pera com iogurte a mamão com mel.

So unlike English, you do not need a word exactly like to in the one-object version.

Also, you should not use de after prefiro in this meaning.

In Portuguese, food items are often used without articles when talking about them in a general or ingredient-like way.

So prefiro pera com iogurte sounds natural as a general preference: I prefer pear with yogurt.

If you add articles, it can sound more specific:

• prefiro a pera com o iogurte

That can suggest a more definite situation, depending on context.

In short, the version without articles sounds broad and natural for a preference about foods or combinations.

Both can relate to taste, but they are not always interchangeable.

Sabor usually refers to the flavor of food itself.

Gosto can mean taste too, but it can also mean liking or preference:

• O sabor é bom. = The flavor is good.
• Meu gosto é diferente. = My taste / preference is different.

In this sentence, sabor is the best choice because the speaker is talking about the flavor of the food.

No.

• mas = but
• mais = more

In this sentence, mas introduces a contrast:

The taste is good, but I still prefer...

This is a very common confusion for learners because the words look similar.

A rough Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation is:

• mamão: ma-MOWN, with the last syllable stressed and the ão nasal
• pera: PEH-ra
• iogurte: ee-o-GUR-chee in much of Brazil, though some accents pronounce the last part more like tee

A few helpful notes:

mamão is the trickiest one because of ão, which is a nasal sound that English does not really have.

iogurte is stressed on gur.

pera is straightforward, with stress on the first syllable.

More or less, yes:

• O sabor = the taste / flavor
• do mamão com mel = of the papaya with honey
• é bom = is good
• mas = but
• eu ainda prefiro = I still prefer
• pera com iogurte = pear with yogurt

A very literal version would be:

The taste of papaya with honey is good, but I still prefer pear with yogurt.

Even when the meaning is already known, it is useful to see how Portuguese builds the sentence: noun phrase first, then description, then contrast, then preference.