Traditional food of Tuscan cuisine

Are you on holiday in Tuscany and want to take a look at the typical local cuisine? You can not lose these food:

Traditional appetizers of Tuscan cuisine

Prosciutto Toscano – Tuscan ham

The seasoning of Tuscan ham lasts at least 12 months and has a rich rind with spices and peppery.

Its weight ranges between 7.5 and 10 kg; inside the meat there are different shades of red and has a delicate but strong taste at the same time.
This particular flavor is mostly the result of the particular seasoning technique used.

Salame Toscano Finocchiona – Tuscan Sausage Finocchiona

The finocchiona is a typical Tuscan sausage that was born towards the end of the Middle Ages. It is prepared with pork meat mill flavored with fennel seeds (that replaced the pepper as too expensive in the ancient time) and wet with red wine. Its maturation times are rather long.

Of the pork with which the sausage is prepared, the parts of the shoulder and the belly are preferred and its particularity is precisely the presence of fennel seeds inside.

Capocollo

Capocollo, also known as “Coppa” or “Finocchiata” in the areas of Siena, is used in all the Italy, each region uses its own spices and its typical local aromas.

Traditional first and second dishes of Tuscan cuisine

Pappa al pomodoro

One of the poorest dishes of the Tuscany region, more precisely of Florence and its prepared with: traditional Tuscan unsalted bread, tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina – Florentine steak

The Florentine steak, probably one of the most famous dishes of the Tuscan tradition, and certainly one of the first food you will try during your holiday in Tuscany, is obtained by chopping the Chianina beef veal and has a T-shaped bone in the middle with the fillet on one side and the sirloin on the other, it is no coincidence that in English it is called T-bone steak.

Cacciucco

The cacciucco, a typical food more than anything else in Livornese, is based on fish.

It consists of a hot soup with various types of fish, including octopus, cuttlefish, scorpion fish, and cicadas. All covered with a tomato sauce and placed on slices of toasted bread and flavored.

Lampredotto

Lampredotto, typical above all in the Florentine area, is a poor dish represented by the stomach of the bovine, in particular the one called “abomaso”.

Today it continues to be famous and requested thanks above all to the many kiosks scattered in the different areas of the city and its undisputed title of “Florentine street food.”

Its long preparation consists in cooking in water with tomato, onion, celery and parsley. It is served in different types depending on the preference; the Florentines love it as the internal padding of a salty sandwich whose top is slightly soaked in the lampredotto cooking broth.

Ribollita

Ribollita, is a stale bread soup and vegetables, a very poor dish of peasant origins.

Its origins derive from the fact that in times of poverty, the peasants cooked a large amount of soup and then heated it in the pan the following days. From here the name “ribollita”, just for its reuse in the days following the preparation.

Rosticciana

The rosticciana, is a typical Tuscan dish represented by pork chops cooked on the grill, and flavored with various spices distributed on the meat both before cooking and after.

Tortelli di patate – Potato tortelli

The potato tortelli of Tuscany, are distinguished from other types of tortelli and tortellini both for the shape, commonly they are square and rather large, and for the filling, consisting of boiled potatoes, Parmesan, salt and spices.

There is also a revisited form of the stuffing of the potato tortelli that wants boiled potatoes along with aromatic herbs or tomato paste with garlic and parsley or dried meat.

Trippa alla fiorentina – Florentine tripe

Florentine tripe, typical of Florence cuisine, is a dish made of very poor ingredients but nevertheless very tasty.

It consists of tripe cut into strips, fried onions, carrots, parsley and celery, chopped garlic, peeled tomatoes, spices and a phylum of olive oil to complete.

Pappardelle al cinghiale – pappardelle with boar

Pappardelle with boar is a excellent first course consisting of homemade tagliatelle and meat boar marinated in red wine with onion, carrots, laurel and celery for at least 12 hours.

Traditional desserts of Tuscan cuisine

If you love sweets, moreover, these are the Tuscan specialties that you can not absolutely miss:

Panforte

Panforte is a typical cake of Christmas holidays that has very ancient origins, we even speak of the beginning of the year 1000 and exclusively used by the nobles of the time.

The dessert is composed of: almonds, candied citrus peel, flour, honey and spices.

Ricciarelli

Ricciarelli are the first Italian cake to have European protection. “Ricciarelli of Siena” is recognized as a protected geographical indication (PGI).

The dessert is typical of Siena and is made with almonds, sugar and egg white; the mixture is of marzipan type enriched with candied fruit and vanilla. Their shape is oval and its typically cracked surface is covered with icing sugar.

Castagnaccio

The castagnaccio is a typical autumn dessert made simply from chestnut flour, water, olive oil, pine nuts and raisins, with a veiled icing sugar before being served.

Torta co’bischeri – Co’bicheri cake

The co’bischeri cake has the typical shape of a pastry pie filled with a mixture of chocolate and rice.

The “bischeri” to which the cake refers are the folds of pastry external the pie. Folds can have different shapes.

Schiacciata alla fiorentina

There are 2 types of “schiacciate” in Tuscany, the sweet one and the salty one, are therefore two completely different products (even if the salted schiacciata with cols cuts filled, I strongly recommend it, especially if you buy it in the hamlet, rather than in the cities). Here, in this context, we will talk about the schiacciata intended like dessert.

The “schiacciata alla fiorentina”, a typical Florentine dessert, is prepared, as usual, during the carnival period, it is a very simple sweet, homemade and soft, it must not exceed 3 cm in height.

Over time some variations of the dessert were born, with fillings with cream or whipped cream.