No destination evokes the romance, beauty, and allure of the authentic Italian experience quite like Tuscany. Ochre-tinted hills heavy with grapevines and fields of yellow sunflowers stretching as far as the eye can see are not figments of the imagination, but rather part of the familiar fabric of Tuscan life. The same is true of old storied homes with as much personality as the families who inhabit them, and cobblestone streets leading to charming piazzas where Tuscans gather to shop, eat, gossip, and celebrate communal holidays. Of course, Tuscany is about food. Families share hearty, homemade meals notable for their use of traditional Tuscan recipes and seasonal ingredients.

Tuscan cuisine stirs the soul and enters the consciousness, weaving a narrative of country life most easily expressed in the kitchen. But Tuscan food is not fussy. Any given day’s dinner is determined by a combination of gastronomic whim and what is fresh at the vendor’s stalls. From grapes, olives and porcini mushrooms to game, herbs, cheeses, and pasta, its plentiful bounty is on display at markets all around the fertile countryside. Ribollita, panzanella, pappa col pomodoro – these dishes summon up the natural-ness of Tuscany. Simplicity and the freshest ingredients come together to embody the Tuscan concept of genuine – that all things should be fresh, elemental, rooted in the region, and exceptional in their simplicity.

Specialty Foods of Toscana

Olives have been cultivated on the rolling Tuscan hills since the seventh century B.C., so it’s no wonder that extra virgin Tuscan olive oil is an emblem of the culture of this area in the heart of Italy. With its intense green-to-gold color and fruity aroma of almonds, artichokes and mature fruit, this olive oil is one of the finest and most valued in Italy. To fully appreciate the sweet, rounded flavor of Tuscan oil, pour it onto a slice of Tuscan bread that has been lightly toasted and rubbed with garlic (the classic bruschetta).

To the beef connoisseur, few cuts of meat are as exceptional as those from the cattle raised in Tuscany’s Chianna valley.  These white-hided cattle produce large cuts of meat (including the huge T-bone steaks known as bistecca alla fiorentina), which is low in fat, remarkably flavorful, and so tender that, traditionally, it requires only a short cooking time over a glowing red-hot charcoal fire, with just a sprinkling of salt.

It literally means “strong bread,” but Italian lovers of sweets know panforte as the famous confectionery of the colorful city of Siena, home to the annual Palio horse races. Legend has it that this delightful concoction of nuts, candied lemon and orange peel, flour, sugar, honey, and spices, originated in the 13th century and was once believed to be an aphrodisiac. Today, panforte is enjoyed all over Italy, especially during the Christmas season. 

Vin Santo (“holy wine”) is a soft, medium-dry-to-sweet dessert wine, made from grapes that have been hung up to dry and pressed only when they are almost completely transformed into raisins.  It takes two to six years for the resulting wine to mature, during which time it takes on rich flavors of nuts, apricots, honey, and spices. After a meal, Tuscans like to dip the local hard almond cookies, biscotti di Prato or cantuccini , in small glasses of Vin Santo.


Food Festivals of Tuscany

Neccio and Ricotta Festival
San Quirico (March); Coreglia (May)
A neccio is a fritter made with chestnut flour, cooked on special stone baking trays or tins and eaten with fresh ricotta cheese.

Ciaffagnone Festival
San Casiano dei Bagni  (end of June)
Ciaffognone is a type of fried cake made with water and flour and is either filled with pecorino cheese or is topped with sugar.

Bigliolo Beans Festival
Bigliolo (end of October)
The skin on bigliolo beans is very thin, almost invisible, and the beans themselves are very sweet and tender. This festival, which has attracted the attention of gourmets, helped encourage farmers to continue growing this bean.