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…
Tuscan Food
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…
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…
Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Bistecca alla fiorentina is not a specific cut of meat but rather a method of cooking and serving steak in Tuscany, Italy.
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…
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?
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…
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…
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…
Dante Day
The 25th of March is National Dante Day in Italy. It celebrates Dante Alighieri, the Florentine author of The Divine Comedy. It could be a good day to cook some Florentine or Tuscan food in his honour.
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…
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…
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.
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.)…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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.
Palio of The Contrade
The 16th of August is the last day of the horse racing contests held in Siena, Italy. Neighbourhoods of the city compete against each other.
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,…
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)…