Archive for 'Recipes'

If you're thinking of a Tuscan holiday by the sea but can't seem to quite make up your mind, there is one thing that is sure to sway most people – their stomach! A holiday in Italy has to consider food and any visitors will want to try the local cuisine. Viareggio is not only a famous seaside resort town, bustling with things to do and home to a renowned annual carnival, it is also the birthplace of a seafood soup that needs to be tasted. Eaten in Viareggio, you'll be getting the freshest, best ingredients. Find a villa near a town in the Viareggio area and try it out for yourself.

Check out these fabulous Tuscan treasures on your next holiday to Tuscany! Why not stay in a fabulous old Tuscan farmhouse rental where you can relax after long days of tasty culinary explorations!

Be sure to order an antipasti (first course) dish of crostini di fegato when you next arrive here. This is a richly flavoured pate made by blending chicken liver, onion, broth, capers, anchovies and butter. It’s spread thickly across freshly baked Tuscan bread and is truly a little taste of heaven!

A favourite first course dish in Tuscany (which follows the antipasti) is a dish using pappardelle pasta.

Tourists might be amazed to learn that Italy produces over a quarter of the world’s wine! Its ideal geographical layout of sun kissed hills and a warm all year climate means that over sixty percent of Italian vineyards are located on hillsides. Tuscany is most famous for its red wines and has a great reputation of wine production as seven DOCG and thirty five DOC wines are produced here. Read our fascinating article on Italian wine classification awards to learn more about the high standards required to earn these prestigious awards.

The best way to begin harvesting grapes is by hand, gently so that the skin isn't broken and exposed to oxygen. They are quickly brought to be washed and have any stems or leaves removed.

The first process is called the pressing stage and the objective is to gently press the grapes so that the juices can start to flow and mix with the yeast naturally found in the grape skins. This marks the beginning of the fermentation process.

To experience some of the most exquisite Italian food in the country, a booking a stay in the stunning Tuscany region would be ideal. A highly advance civilisation thrived here between 800BC and 390bc called the Etruscans. They were particularly talented in culinary knowledge. The ancient art of Etruscan cuisine is still very much alive in this region, faithfully passed down through the millennia.

Disregarded by the Military Romans as heavy drinkers obsessed with feasting and having a good time, the Etruscans were the party people of Italy; and they had every right to be! The rich soil of their land and perfect sunny temperatures close to the sea provided them with ideal cultivation conditions.

Orchards brimming with a huge variety of delicious fruits and olives and fields covered with a thriving harvest of cereals and other vegetables meant that the Etruscans had a fantastic variety of food available to them to compliment their meat and fish dishes. They even had plenty of surplus grains to send to other parts of Italy during famines.

When travelling on holidays to Tuscany, it would be well advised to learn a bit more about their famous coffee that fuels Italian life! The art of coffee making has been a subject of heated discussions between passionate enthusiasts ever since it first arrived through the city of Venice in the 17th century and became an almost instant success. It was originally discovered much earlier by a goat shepherd in Ethiopia who noticed his goats got became quite hyper after eating a certain type of seed which came from the berries of the coffea plant!

Tourists will rarely enter any restaurant, bar, holiday accommodation or public place in Italy without spotting somewhere to enjoy a selection of delicious coffee brews. Here are some of the most popular coffee variations to learn more about them.

This might help you decide which ones you’d like to try before you order from one of the numerous coffee making professionals in Italy!

The favourite of all Italian coffees is of course the espresso. Espresso is made using 25ml of boiling water that is brewed using a pressurised system that forces it quickly through seven grams of a ground Italian coffee blend into a cup. It’s strong in flavour and delivers an almost instant caffeine boost to liven you up for the day’s activities! If you wish to order this you simply need to ask the waiter for ‘un caffè’.