Tuscan Food

Alchermes

Alchermes is a dark, bright red coloured liqueur that is somewhat syrupy. It has a sweet, spicy flavour that comes from a blend of anise flowers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, jasmine, mace, nutmeg, orange peel, sugar, and vanilla. These ingredients are steeped in alcohol, which is then flavoured with rose water. The alcohol content, depending on…

Amaro Nardini

Amaro Nardini is a herby-tasting bitters based on grappa, whose ingredients include bitter orange, gentian, and peppermint. Its aroma contains scents of mocha, toffee and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Its taste is mostly experienced in the centre of your tongue. Though milder than many other Italian bitters, some find it too medicinal. It…

Tagged With: Bitters, Tuscan, Tuscan Food

Biroldo

Biroldo is a very dark, brownish-red, soft-textured Tuscan blood sausage about 4 inches (20 cm) wide, with lighter-coloured chunks of meat and fat in it. It was traditionally made from parts of the pig, offal such as heart, lungs and tongue, that wouldn’t be used for other sausages. Because offal was used, the sausage would…

Tagged With: Italian Sausages, Tuscan Food

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Bistecca alla fiorentina is not a specific cut of meat but rather a method of preparing and serving steak in Tuscany, Italy. In the authentic version, the beef used comes from Chianina cattle; some people allow “Maremmana” cattle. The steak used should be 4 to 5 cm thick (1 3/4 to 2 inches). The thickness…

Tagged With: Beef Steaks, Steak, Tuscan Food

Bistecca alla Panzanese

Bistecca alla panzanese is an Italian cut of beef. Italians describe it as a steak cut from the heart of the thigh of a cow. In English, we’d describe this area of the cow as being the beef round. It’s not exactly like a round steak, however, because it’s a boneless cut. It can be…

Tagged With: Beef Steaks, Steak, Tuscan Food

Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici is credited with being France’s first Foodie Queen, and introducing many food innovations to France. It’s a great story, but how much is true?

Tagged With: French Food, Tuscan Food

Cavolo Nero Cabbage

Cavolo Nero has a thick leaf somewhat like Savoy Cabbage, but it has sword-shaped leaves that range from very dark green to almost black. Though a member of the broader cabbage family, it is, like kale, from the part of the cabbage family which produces loose leaves instead of a round, compact head. Some people…

Tagged With: Italian Food, Tuscan Food

Chianina Beef

Chianina beef comes from a breed of cattle from the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in the region of Tuscany, Italy. These cattle have short hair on them which is usually white, but can be steel grey. The size of the cows varies from area to area. They are very stocky, and have almost no…

Tagged With: Beef, Tuscan Food

Crescentine

Crescentine are small bread rolls made in Tuscany, Italy. The dough is made from flour, water, salt and yeast. Some recipes enrich it with milk and / or eggs. The dough is rolled out 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick. Classically, in Florence, the dough is cut into diamond shapes, then deep fried. It comes out…

Tagged With: Fried Breads, Tuscan, Tuscan Food

Finocchiona Salami

Finocchiona is a salami marbled with fat, and flavoured with wild fennel seeds (which are slightly stronger tasting than seeds from domesticated fennel.) It is made in Tuscany, Italy. Though Finocchiona Salami is made by most people from all pork, a small amount of beef can be mixed in. It should be a mixture of…

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Frantoio Olives

Frantoio Olives have an oil content between 21 and 23% and are grown for their oil, which is fragrant, and spicy and savoury tasting. The Frantoio tree is a cultivar. It can not only pollinate itself; it is also a good pollinator for many other types of olive trees. The tree branch growth can be…

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food

Gigli Pasta

Gigli Pasta is a dried pasta made in Florence, Italy, in the shape of a lily, which is the symbol of Florence. It is cone shaped, with a curled, ruffled top. Good with thick sauces. Cooking Tips Boil 7 to 10 minutes. Substitutes Another shaped pasta such as farfalle or penne.

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Lardo di Colonnata

Lardo di Colonnata is cured pork lard prepared as a deli meat. It is served in thin, raw slices as an antipasto. It is made in the town of Colonnata in Tuscany, Italy. Colonnata is outside Carrara, on a ridge between two marble quarries. The town is small, with a population around 300 people (2003.)…

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Maurino Lucchese Olives

Maurino Lucchese is a cultivar of olive tree grown in the area of Lucca, which is in Tuscany, Italy. Its olives are grown for oil. They have an oil content of 14 to 20%, and yield a mild, delicately-flavoured oil. The tree needs another olive tree to cross-pollinate with. History Notes Native to Tuscany Italy,…

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food, Tuscan Olives

Moraiolo Olives

The Moraiolo Olive tree is grown in Tuscany, Italy. The tree stands up well to colder weather, but it can’t pollinate itself. It must be cross-pollinated with another type of olive tree. The branches of the Moraiolo grow pointing upwards a bit. Its round olives have an oil yield of 18 to 24%. They ripen…

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food, Tuscan Olives

Mortadella delle Apuane

Mortadella delle Apuane is a version of Mortadella made throughout the province of Massa-Carrara (the northern-most province of Tuscany), but particularly in the town of Montignoso (just south of Massa.) It is cylinder-shaped, 2 3/4 to 3 inches (7 to 8 cm) wide. The surface colour changes from dark red to greyish, as mould colonizes…

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Mortadella di Prato

Mortadella di Prato is a version of Mortadella made in Tuscany, in the Comune di Prato and the Comune di Agliana. It is a spicy sausage, with rose-coloured with white blobs of fat in it. Some are made very small, some are made very large. The weight can range from 4 1/2 to 11 pounds…

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Mortadella Nostrale di Cardoso

Mortadella Nostrale di Cardoso is a version of mortadella made in the Lucca area of Tuscany, Italy. It is made in a long, thick tube shape covered with white mould. Inside, it is soft, and dark red. It is made from meat from a pig, using the neck meat, lean meat from the shoulder, trimmings…

Tagged With: Tuscan Food

Nostraline Olives

Nostraline Olives are table olives from Tuscany, Italy. They are small but have a real piquant zip to them. Use in fresh dishes, such as hors d’oeuvres, salads, etc.

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food, Tuscan Olives

Olivastra Saggianese Olives

Olivastra Saggianese are round olives with a high oil yield. The tree can pollinate itself and is a very abundant producer of olives. First grown near Mount Amiata near Seggiano in Grosseto province. Now grown in Tuscany.

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food, Tuscan Olives

Panino con il Lampredotto

“Panino con il Lampredotto” is a sandwich made in Florence and sold as a street food. It’s considered a fundamental part of the city’s food identity. In other areas of Italy, however, it’s looked on with something approaching horror, because the “lampredotto” part of the name means beef tripe, as in, cow’s stomach. More precisely,…

Tagged With: Tripe, Tuscan Food

Pecorino Toscano Cheese

Pecorino Toscano is made from sheep’s milk that is heated but not pasteurized. It is then curdled with rennet, put in moulds and pressed. The cheese is then removed from the moulds, and salted or soaked in brine (sometimes they are also steamed.) It’s made in smaller wheels (about 7 inches / 18 cm round)…

Tagged With: Extra-Hard Cheeses, Italian Cheeses, Italian Food, Tuscan Food

Pendolino Olives

Pendolino Olives are small to medium-sized olives grown for oil with a 20 to 20% oil content. The oil is considered good quality. The oil is light green with a light purple blush. The tree, which is a cultivar, is a good pollinator for other olive trees, but cannot pollinate itself. It tolerates lower temperatures….

Tagged With: Italian Olives, Tuscan Food, Tuscan Olives, Umbrian Food, Umbrian Olives

Prosciutto Toscano

Prosciutto Toscano is a version of prosciutto ham made in Tuscany. It is raw, but it is able to be eaten uncooked because of the aging process.A whole one consists of the ham of the pig, its upper thigh and will weigh 8 to 9 kg (17 1/2 to 20 pounds.) The meat will be…

Tagged With: Protected Designation of Origin, Tuscan Food

Tuscan Food

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