Your favorite things to eat in Tuscany
Aug 9th, 2011, 12:58 PM
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Your favorite things to eat in Tuscany
We'll be traveling in Tuscany this October and I'm looking forward to eating my way through it. I'll be seeking out small local restaurants that won't have menus in English.
The challenge will be understanding what a dish is comprised of. For example, I read about aquacotta which appears to be porcini mushroom soup. I'd never have guessed that from the name. Please share the name of your favorite dishes, en italiano per favore, and a brief description en inglese.
Grazie mille
The challenge will be understanding what a dish is comprised of. For example, I read about aquacotta which appears to be porcini mushroom soup. I'd never have guessed that from the name. Please share the name of your favorite dishes, en italiano per favore, and a brief description en inglese.
Grazie mille
Aug 9th, 2011, 01:24 PM
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I'm not sure how you arrived at believing "acquacotta" is mushroom soup. The ingredients in the soup will vary according to the season, the soup and what's in the house, but the typical mainstay is beans.
If you really are looking forward to eating your way through Tuscany, you should invest in some of the very best guides to authentic Italian cooking. My favorite is Fred Plotkin's Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, but he also co-authored a book specifically about classic Tuscan foods and recipes.
Other than on websites like Chowhound, if you ask non-Italians on the web who have traveled to Tuscany what were their favorite things to eat, they will often shout out to a whole lot foods that are now marketed as Tuscan in the tourist places they visited that have little to do with how Tuscans actually eat. It was their favorite thing to eat, however.
Also: what part of Tuscany are you going to? The Lucchese eat very differently from the Sienese, and in Pisa and Livorno they eat fish while over in Arezzo and Cortona they almost never do. In some parts of Tuscany the recipes have a Jewish history. Where are you going?
If you really are looking forward to eating your way through Tuscany, you should invest in some of the very best guides to authentic Italian cooking. My favorite is Fred Plotkin's Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, but he also co-authored a book specifically about classic Tuscan foods and recipes.
Other than on websites like Chowhound, if you ask non-Italians on the web who have traveled to Tuscany what were their favorite things to eat, they will often shout out to a whole lot foods that are now marketed as Tuscan in the tourist places they visited that have little to do with how Tuscans actually eat. It was their favorite thing to eat, however.
Also: what part of Tuscany are you going to? The Lucchese eat very differently from the Sienese, and in Pisa and Livorno they eat fish while over in Arezzo and Cortona they almost never do. In some parts of Tuscany the recipes have a Jewish history. Where are you going?
Aug 9th, 2011, 02:03 PM
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Good porcini mushrooms and artichokes are available in only some parts of Tuscany even when they are in season. You will of course see them on menus all the time in tourist restaurants, but is that what you want?
Up to you, but you might want to get a real education in this if food is a large part of your enjoyment of travel. Ask for help on Chowhound, but do specify where in Tuscany you are going.
The real reason I came back to post is that I realized I had inadvertantly posted that beans are the mainstay of an acquacotta soup -- which is best eaten in the Maremma region of Tuscany, where it is a local dish. I should have typed eggs instead -- but you will even find the dish with that, depending on the cook.
Up to you, but you might want to get a real education in this if food is a large part of your enjoyment of travel. Ask for help on Chowhound, but do specify where in Tuscany you are going.
The real reason I came back to post is that I realized I had inadvertantly posted that beans are the mainstay of an acquacotta soup -- which is best eaten in the Maremma region of Tuscany, where it is a local dish. I should have typed eggs instead -- but you will even find the dish with that, depending on the cook.
Aug 9th, 2011, 02:06 PM
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One other caution: Like truffles, restaurants in tourists areas will often create dishes around mushrooms because there are now a lot of traveling vegetarians. You would do better to learn which parts of Tuscany have good porcini mushrooms (not all do) and how they have been classically served rather than eat anything with porcini mushrooms.
Aug 9th, 2011, 02:21 PM
#10
For example, I read about aquacotta which appears to be porcini mushroom soup. I'd never have guessed that from the name>>
I had travelled quite widely in Tuscany before I ate acquacotta, and bizarrely i first read about it [in a book i bought that morning on cooking of the Maremma] on the very day that I first ate it! really there is no need to worry - most things are well explained by their name. for example acquacotta is not much more than cooked water - being water, whatever herbs or vegetables the the shepherd [whose dish this is, the idea being that they would cook whatever came to hand on the hillside] could russle up. then an egg poached in it, and there you are.
the essence of tuscan cooking is simplicity - so most things are exactly what they say they are - bistecca alla fiorentina for example is exactly what it sounds like. [ie a large steak cooked rare]. normally you order "contorni" ie accompaniments separately, so potatoes, salad, vegetables will all be shown separately on a menu.
invest in good dictionary, and have a great trip!
I had travelled quite widely in Tuscany before I ate acquacotta, and bizarrely i first read about it [in a book i bought that morning on cooking of the Maremma] on the very day that I first ate it! really there is no need to worry - most things are well explained by their name. for example acquacotta is not much more than cooked water - being water, whatever herbs or vegetables the the shepherd [whose dish this is, the idea being that they would cook whatever came to hand on the hillside] could russle up. then an egg poached in it, and there you are.
the essence of tuscan cooking is simplicity - so most things are exactly what they say they are - bistecca alla fiorentina for example is exactly what it sounds like. [ie a large steak cooked rare]. normally you order "contorni" ie accompaniments separately, so potatoes, salad, vegetables will all be shown separately on a menu.
invest in good dictionary, and have a great trip!
Aug 9th, 2011, 02:58 PM
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I would avoid restaurants that advertise "menu turistico", because you will get pretty bad food, not necessarily what Tuscans eat. You will find fewer pastas with tomato sauces in Tuscany, and more beans, like cranberry beans cooked with herbs and seasoned very simply with olive oil. Somehow it turns out to be quite delicious. Don't overlook lovely things like pears with fresh pecorino (pecorino Toscano Fresco). Sheep's milk cheeses can be found in many areas of Italy, but the flavors will be different in different regions. Grilled porcini mushrooms with garlic and olive oil on them are almost like steak. Don't pass up the chance to have some, even if some connoisseur would say they are not good in the area where you will be. If you are in a decent restaurant they will be good, or they will not be served.
Fred Plotkin's book on all of Italy is huge and heavy. It's good to know he has a separate one on Tuscany, Even then, I would tear out the pages that apply to the places where you are going, so you don't have to carry it all with you. (I don't think this is avaiable as an e-book, but perhaps it is.).
Fred Plotkin's book on all of Italy is huge and heavy. It's good to know he has a separate one on Tuscany, Even then, I would tear out the pages that apply to the places where you are going, so you don't have to carry it all with you. (I don't think this is avaiable as an e-book, but perhaps it is.).
Aug 9th, 2011, 03:27 PM
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Some of our favorites are pappa al pomodoro and ribollita. Plotkin's book is good, but I agree with charnees, its super heavy.
Amazon (or B&N or iTunes) has a great selection of Italian food guide ebooks -- I would check those out as research.
Amazon (or B&N or iTunes) has a great selection of Italian food guide ebooks -- I would check those out as research.
Aug 9th, 2011, 04:24 PM
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Tuscan cuisine tends to be more simple, generally, than other Italian cuisine. I like Plotkin's books for his descriptions of the cuisines more than for the restaurant recommendations. You could check it out from your local library and just read through it before your trip, rather than taking it with you.
These are what I like:
Roast potatoes, which are roasted with olive oil and salt.
Fagioli, which is white beans, cooked with olive oil, salt and garlic (though probably not always garlic).
Spinach, also cooked with olive oil, probably some salt too. If you like spinach, this is delicious.
Other than those, I guess I like a variety, and no other specific dishes come to mind.
About porcinis, if restaurant has porcinis, often they will display them in a basket near the front of the restaurant. They might not even be listed on the menu, but if you see them in front, and you like porcini, then ask!
These are what I like:
Roast potatoes, which are roasted with olive oil and salt.
Fagioli, which is white beans, cooked with olive oil, salt and garlic (though probably not always garlic).
Spinach, also cooked with olive oil, probably some salt too. If you like spinach, this is delicious.
Other than those, I guess I like a variety, and no other specific dishes come to mind.
About porcinis, if restaurant has porcinis, often they will display them in a basket near the front of the restaurant. They might not even be listed on the menu, but if you see them in front, and you like porcini, then ask!
Aug 10th, 2011, 07:23 AM
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Thanks for the information. I'll look into the books and Chowhound. Glad I mentioned acquacotta - read in a forum post that it was porcini mushroom soup. Now I find it might have eggs. If they placed that in front of me, I'd gag.
Aug 10th, 2011, 08:13 AM
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I'm going to surprise a lot of people by posting a defense of the 'menu turistico', which can be a much better way to understand how to have a satisfactory experience of a region's cuisine -- but you have to choose your restaurant wisely.
A lot of people to who travel in Italy really don't understand that certain antipasti are not eaten with certain primi, or certain primi are not eaten with certain secondi. An Italian meal is a progression of dishes that compliment each other, and are matched for their digestibility and nutrition -- and their enjoyability as a progression. When a newcomer to the regions order off the menu a hodegpodge what they think sounds good (of what they can decipher), they often up with a lousy meal and indigestion, even when the individual elements are tasty. I've watched many tourists at other tables in Italian restaurants groaning after ordering heavy antipasti, followed by a heavy pasta, and long before their last course arrives, they've lost their appetite.
The good restaurant that specializes in classical regional cooking that offers you a "menu turistico" is not insulting you or dumbing down its food to suit tourists' tastes. It is offering you the correct progression of dishes for a great Italian meal, made with foods in season.
When I read advice like "don't pass up the opportunity to eat something out of season, or in the wrong area, because people who actually understand italian cooking will advise against it", it really does bolster my constant complaint about Fodor's and its irresponsible attitude toward new posters. It is a pity that apparently even after people go to Italy they leave totally ignorant of the respect that Italians pay to seasonal cooking and local sourcing when they are not pressured by tourism to produce a uniform experience of a canned Italy, with foods out of season.
When someone specifically asks for help in avoiding a counterfeit experience of Tuscany and Tuscan food -- as this poster did -- to respond by passing along the counterfeit currency you picked up on your tourist travels isn't helpful. I understand that you enjoyed the experience. and because it was your experience, you therefore don't think it can be fairly termed counterfeit. since you picked it up in Tuscany. But it is. It is the fake Tuscany, often counterfeited with great skill, and when people are willing to do the work to find the real thing and help preserve the real thing, why won't you pocket your counterfeit bills and send them to some sources who know the real from the fake?
A lot of people to who travel in Italy really don't understand that certain antipasti are not eaten with certain primi, or certain primi are not eaten with certain secondi. An Italian meal is a progression of dishes that compliment each other, and are matched for their digestibility and nutrition -- and their enjoyability as a progression. When a newcomer to the regions order off the menu a hodegpodge what they think sounds good (of what they can decipher), they often up with a lousy meal and indigestion, even when the individual elements are tasty. I've watched many tourists at other tables in Italian restaurants groaning after ordering heavy antipasti, followed by a heavy pasta, and long before their last course arrives, they've lost their appetite.
The good restaurant that specializes in classical regional cooking that offers you a "menu turistico" is not insulting you or dumbing down its food to suit tourists' tastes. It is offering you the correct progression of dishes for a great Italian meal, made with foods in season.
When I read advice like "don't pass up the opportunity to eat something out of season, or in the wrong area, because people who actually understand italian cooking will advise against it", it really does bolster my constant complaint about Fodor's and its irresponsible attitude toward new posters. It is a pity that apparently even after people go to Italy they leave totally ignorant of the respect that Italians pay to seasonal cooking and local sourcing when they are not pressured by tourism to produce a uniform experience of a canned Italy, with foods out of season.
When someone specifically asks for help in avoiding a counterfeit experience of Tuscany and Tuscan food -- as this poster did -- to respond by passing along the counterfeit currency you picked up on your tourist travels isn't helpful. I understand that you enjoyed the experience. and because it was your experience, you therefore don't think it can be fairly termed counterfeit. since you picked it up in Tuscany. But it is. It is the fake Tuscany, often counterfeited with great skill, and when people are willing to do the work to find the real thing and help preserve the real thing, why won't you pocket your counterfeit bills and send them to some sources who know the real from the fake?
Aug 10th, 2011, 09:22 AM
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I don't mind offering a few suggestions of foods I like to eat in Tuscany, but I am sad to see your comment that you would "gag" at the sight of a few eggs cracked over a bowl of soup. That makes me wonder a bit about your desire to sample local cuisine.
Anyway, here are a few things I would seek out:
One item that even the squeamish can eat is schiacciata, a sort of flatbread with roasted grapes on top that is a traditional autumn delight.
Cantucci are Tuscany's form of biscotti and a treat after a meal, served with vin santo.
You should try the pastas made with pici noodles which are traditional in southern Tuscany.
Ribolita is a very good cool weather soup, made with black, or Tuscan, kale.
Lentil dishes from the Lucca area.
Do not miss chance to try the famous lardo, or lard, from the area near Colonnata. Sliced paper thin and eaten over bread, this is divine and all but impossible to find in the US.
What is the name of the Tuscan book that Plotkin co-authored? I'd not heard of that...
This book that will give a background on Tuscan foods:
http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Trave.../dp/1892145367
Also look for books by Faith Willinger, who lives in Florence.
Anyway, here are a few things I would seek out:
One item that even the squeamish can eat is schiacciata, a sort of flatbread with roasted grapes on top that is a traditional autumn delight.
Cantucci are Tuscany's form of biscotti and a treat after a meal, served with vin santo.
You should try the pastas made with pici noodles which are traditional in southern Tuscany.
Ribolita is a very good cool weather soup, made with black, or Tuscan, kale.
Lentil dishes from the Lucca area.
Do not miss chance to try the famous lardo, or lard, from the area near Colonnata. Sliced paper thin and eaten over bread, this is divine and all but impossible to find in the US.
What is the name of the Tuscan book that Plotkin co-authored? I'd not heard of that...
This book that will give a background on Tuscan foods:
http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Trave.../dp/1892145367
Also look for books by Faith Willinger, who lives in Florence.
Aug 10th, 2011, 01:42 PM
#17
Glad I mentioned acquacotta - read in a forum post that it was porcini mushroom soup. Now I find it might have eggs. If they placed that in front of me, I'd gag.>>
somewhere, I think that the OP may have misunderstood about the egg in acquacotta - for the avoidance of doubt, it is cooked in the soup.
if the OP just doesn't like eggs, the remark seems a little strong.
somewhere, I think that the OP may have misunderstood about the egg in acquacotta - for the avoidance of doubt, it is cooked in the soup.
if the OP just doesn't like eggs, the remark seems a little strong.
Aug 10th, 2011, 04:44 PM
#18
The OP asked what our favorite things to eat in Tuscany are and expressed the challenge of understanding the ingredients and avoiding items he/she doesn't like or perhaps can't eat. I don't know how we got to avoiding 'fake' Tuscan food and comments about the poster's food choices.
Aug 10th, 2011, 05:46 PM
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<<I don't know how we got to avoiding 'fake' Tuscan food and comments about the poster's food choices.>>
We got there because zeppole chimed in with her usual rants about uninformed American tourists, and her superior attitude, as though no one who has traveled in Italy could possibly possess the taste buds to put together a good meal, or know the history of the cuisine of a particular area....or anything else, really. It's just so tiresome. Bla bla bla....
We got there because zeppole chimed in with her usual rants about uninformed American tourists, and her superior attitude, as though no one who has traveled in Italy could possibly possess the taste buds to put together a good meal, or know the history of the cuisine of a particular area....or anything else, really. It's just so tiresome. Bla bla bla....
