Food and wine

The famous Tuscan cuisine known the world over is prepared with simple, genuine ingredients such as unsalted bread that, combined with other ingredients, is the base for numerous dishes, together with extra virgin olive oil. Typical first courses include various kinds of soups, acquacotta, typical of the Maremmana cuisine and tortelli (ravioli) with a potato stuffing from the Mugello valley. Tuscan beef is very high quality with breeds such as the Chianina from Val di Chiana which is particularly suited for the traditional Tuscan steak, and the Maremmana which is more used for stews and braised dishes. While in the coastal areas fish dishes such as Cacciucco, a typical fish soup from Leghorn, are abundant.
Other meats used in Tuscan dishes are wild boar and game: famous first courses include pappardelle (long, flat ribbons of pasta) with hare sauce and cold meats and lard produced from Cinta Senese pigs.

Typical products include a variety of cold meats, ham preserved in salt, la Finocchiona, a cold meat produced with minced pork flavoured with fennel seeds and soaked in red wine, il rigatino (a kind of salt-cured bacon), a variety of cheeses such as Pienza sheep’s cheese and Maremmano sheep’s cheese, ricotta and raveggiolo (sheep’s cheese). Tuscan sweets include Cantucci or Cantuccini, dry biscuits from the town of Prato usually eaten with a glass of Vinsanto and Sienese specialities such as Panforte (a rich fruit cake), Ricciarelli (oval-shaped biscuits made with almonds and honey) and Brigidini (thin, crispy aniseed biscuits) produced in the Pistoia area.
Tuscan’s array of food and wine is an excellent key to get to know the land: a well-presented dish enjoyed over a glass of good wine says a lot about the local history and culture. Hundreds of Docg and Doc labels are produced in Tuscany. It is impossible to list them all but the most famous include Brunello di Montalcino, Montepulciano wine and the many products in the Chianti Classico area.