One thing I have noticed about Brazilians is that they are extremely clean and very concerned about all forms of hygiene. It is a long time since I have lived in the tropics and I have forgotten how important it is to be very fastidious, even in the Brazilian winter. Mould appears very quickly and food rots much faster – even than in Andaucía in August.

For instance most Brazilians will not touch the food they eat. A sandwich is held in a paper napkin and a sweet is partially unwrapped and taken off the paper with the lips. If they are eating something like nuts they will wash their hands first and probably again afterwards. I love to eat chips (french fries) with my fingers but that is not allowed here Dirty dishes are washed very throughly and rinsed carefully. The food shops and restaurants are extremely clean indeed and as little as possible is touched by employees.

Vegetables can have insecticides and fertilisers on them so anything that is not peeled has to be scrubbed with soap and water and then rinsed. This does make something like a salad quite time consuming to prepare.

I am not suggesting that none of the above applies to Europe. Nowadays food hygiene in European shops and restaurants is pretty good. My guess is that home hygiene here is of a much higher standard. Certainly higher than in my home. Flavia is giving me an intensive course in how to keep the kitchen clean