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Tuscan cuisine refers to the culinary traditions of the Tuscan region in Italy celebrated for its simplicity and focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients like olive oil, legumes, and meats. Rooted in "cucina povera" (Italian for "peasant cooking"), it emphasizes seasonal ingredients and straightforward flavors over complex sauces and spices. [1]
Tuscany is also home to some of the most famous wines in the world such as Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. [2]
Bread plays a very important role in Tuscan cuisine. One specialty of Tuscan cuisine is a white, plain, unsalted bread. This bread accompanies all foods. This bread has its origin in the 16th century when salt was heavily taxed. [3]
Tuscan cuisine is a blend of Etruscan and Roman cooking traditions. The Etruscans, who inhabited the region before the rise of Rome, were skilled in viticulture, cultivating grapes and producing their own wines. They also foraged for truffles, an ingredient that became a prized element in their cooking. [4] [5]
The foundations of Tuscan cuisine began to take shape during the Renaissance, particularly under the influence of the Medici family. The Medici not only elevated the quality and sophistication of Tuscan food but also impacted French cuisine through Catherine de' Medici, who brought Tuscan culinary techniques and ingredients to France when she married King Henry II. [6]
In Tuscany's countryside, the tradition of "riuso" developed, driven by the philosophy of "not throwing anything away." This approach led to a resourceful use of ingredients, inspiring iconic dishes like ribollita and panzanella, which transform simple, leftover ingredients into hearty meals. [7]
Chianti is an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from the Sangiovese grape. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. However, the fiasco is now only used by a few makers of the wine; most Chianti is bottled in more standard-shaped wine bottles. In the latter nineteenth century, Baron Bettino Ricasoli helped establish Sangiovese as the blend's dominant grape variety, creating the blueprint for today's Chianti wines.
Minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables and beans, and sometimes pasta or rice. It typically includes onions, celery, carrots, leaf vegetables, stock, Parmesan cheese, and tomatoes. Minestrone traditionally is made without meat, but it has no precise recipe and can be made with many different ingredients.
Montalcino is a hill town and comune in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy.
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "blood of Jupiter".
Brunello di Montalcino is a red DOCG Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, located about 80 km south of Florence, in the Tuscan wine region. Brunello, a diminutive of bruno, is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879 the province of Siena's Amphelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese.
Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of 702,000 hectares under vineyard cultivation, as well as the world's second largest wine producer and the largest exporter as of 2023. Contributing 49.8 million hl of wine in 2022, Italy accounted for over 19.3% of global production, ahead of France (17.7%) and Spain (13.8%); the following year, production decreased by 11.5 million hl, and Italy was surpassed by France. Italian wine is also popular domestically among Italians, who consume a yearly average of 46.8 litres per capita, ranking third in world wine consumption.
Morellino di Scansano DOCG is an Italian red wine made in the hilly environs of the village of Scansano, GR, in the Maremma region of coastal Tuscany, which has an ancient but obscure tradition of winemaking. Morellino is the local name for the Sangiovese grape variety. The wine, which was granted DOC status in 1978, then upgraded to DOCG status beginning with the 2007 vintage, is made from at least 85% Sangiovese, which is also the basis of the Tuscan wines Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The remaining 15% can comprise any non-aromatic black grape varieties included in a list made and periodically updated by Tuscan wine authorities.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize, and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most widely appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Bistecca alla fiorentina is an Italian steak dish made of young steer (vitellone) or heifer (scottona) that is one of the most famous dishes in Tuscan cuisine. It is loin steak on the bone cooked on a grill until rare (50 °C).
Marchesi Antinori Srl is an Italian wine company, based in Florence, Tuscany, that can trace its history back to 1385. They are one of the biggest wine companies in Italy, and their innovations played a large part in the "Super-Tuscan" revolution of the 1970s.
Tuscan wine is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region's grapes. Tuscany has forty-one Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and eleven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as "Super Tuscans" emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana. Tuscany has six sub-categories of IGT wines today.
Ribollita is a Tuscan bread soup, panade, porridge or potage made with bread and vegetables, often from leftovers. There are many variations, but the usual ingredients include leftover bread, cannellini beans, lacinato kale, cabbage and inexpensive vegetables such as carrot, beans, chard, celery, potatoes and onion. It is often baked in a clay pot.
Abrusco is a red Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Tuscany region where it is a minor blending component permitted in the wines of Chianti. The grape has long history in the region and was mentioned in 1600, under its synonyms Abrostino and Colore, in the posthumously published work by Italian agronomist Giovan Vettorio Soderini Trattato della coltivazione delle viti, e del frutto che se ne può cavare. There Soderini notes that the grape was often used to add deeper, more red color to Tuscan wines.
Acquacotta is a hot broth-based bread soup in Italian cuisine that was originally a peasant food. Its preparation and consumption dates back to ancient history, and it originated in the coastal area known as the Maremma, in southern Tuscany and northern Lazio. The dish was invented in part as a means to make hardened, stale bread edible. In contemporary times, ingredients can vary, and additional ingredients are sometimes used. Variations of the dish include acquacotta con funghi and acquacotta con peperoni.
Garmugia, also referred to as gramugia, is an Italian soup originally from the town of Lucca, Tuscany. The soup's use in the cuisine of Lucca dates back to the 17th century. Garmugia has been described as "a hearty soup" that is "unknown outside of the province" in Italy.
Apulian cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices of the region of Apulia in Italy. Starting from the Middle Ages the permanent residence of the nobility in the region gradually declined, which caused the disappearance of their noble cuisine over time. As the common people suffered from poverty, their culinary tradition adapted to use cheap and simple foods. Bread, vegetables and pasta have the leading role in the cuisine. Fruits, fish and wine are consumed frequently as well, but meat plays a minor role. The food of Apulia is known as a prime example of cucina povera or 'cuisine of the poor', characterizing its simplicity rather than its quality. Moreover, the simple dishes allow the quality of their local and seasonal ingredients to take center stage.
Bardiccio, also known as bardiccio fiorentino or salsiccia matta, is a typical Tuscan cold cut, similar to burischio, whose preparation is based on the use of the less valuable and rich in blood parts of pork. Its typical dark red color depends on the quantity of heart—generally bovine—used in the mixture. Bardiccio has the characteristic shape of a sausage, but it is longer and is stuffed into a pork casing, tied with string. It is produced from September to May and is eaten unaged.
The cuisine of Basilicata, or Lucanian cuisine, is the cuisine of the Basilicata region of Italy. It is mainly based on the use of pork and sheep meat, legumes, cereals and vegetables, with the addition of aromas such as hot peppers, powdered raw peppers and horseradish. The local gastronomy is, for historical-cultural reasons, typically peasant, based on simple recipes and on the culture of reuse, in particular of meat and bread.
Pancotto is a soup prepared with pieces of stale bread boiled in broth or water and seasoned.