Artisanal Delights: Unveiling the Culinary Secrets of Tuscany

One of the most-adored regions enjoyed by August Signature, Premium and Prime Collection Homeowners, Tuscany's picturesque countryside and fertile soils produce some of the world’s most coveted olive oils, truffles, cheeses and cured meats.

The slow food movement nurtures a respect for seasonal, farm-to-table cooking. Honouring Italian culinary tradition, Tuscan homes and trattorias embrace cooking over aromatic wood fires and slow-baking in clay pots, with ‘peasant food’ and family culinary secrets the ancient foundation of the modern Tuscan menu. 

Tuscany’s storied culinary heritage

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Rooted in the ancient Roman and Etruscan civilisations and defined by simplicity and seasonality, Tuscan culinary traditions have been carefully protected by families for millenia. Birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany became a hub of art, culture and trade through the middle ages, and this rich melting pot infused existing Italian flavours with fresh inspiration.

A delectable blend of ‘peasant food’ and elevated Italian cuisine, Tuscan cooking today retains that age-old influence – with olive oil, legumes, grains, bread and the region’s revered fresh produce at its heart.
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The preservation of Italian culinary traditions

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Tuscans observe a deep respect for their gastronomic traditions, honouring them through exuberant food festivals that mark moments in the Tuscan culinary calendar – such as the annual olive and truffle harvests. 

Entrusting family culinary secrets to the next generation, grandmothers and mothers pass down their own uniquely nuanced takes on ribollita, pappa al pomodoro and bistecca alla Fiorentina, sharing these simple home-cooked pleasures through meals that extend long into the evening. Tuscan culinary traditions still celebrated today include:

Farm-to-table cooking

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Farm-to-table cooking is the cornerstone of Tuscan cuisine. Brimming groves, fertile forest floors and abundant fields and orchards provide olives, grapes, truffles, vegetables, fruits and herbs – all ripened to perfection under the Italian sun. Many Tuscan families grow their own produce, and for those that don’t, the local farmer’s markets proffer the simple, sun-nurtured ingredients to create traditional Tuscan recipes.       

Baking the daily bread

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Tuscany’s wheat fields yield bountiful harvests, providing families with the raw ingredients to recreate ancient Tuscan recipes. Pane Toscano – a traditional saltless bread – is prepared with a long fermentation period, then baked in a wood-fired oven and served alongside most Tuscan meals. 

Celebrating slow food

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Emphasising sustainability and the more laid-back Italian culinary tradition, Tuscany’s slow food movement is rooted in cherishing what is available, taking time to prepare meals and then savouring each mouthful through drawn-out dinners that strengthen familial bonds. 

Curing meats at home

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Prosciutto, Mortadella, Salami and Mondiola – cured meats are synonymous with Tuscan cuisine, and many families still cure and smoke their own. It’s this preservation of generational family recipes – each with its own particular balance of herbs and spices – that gives Tuscan gastronomy its almost fabled heritage. No two families’ Salsiccia will ever taste the same.

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Family wine making

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Celebrated during harvest season, Vino Novello – ‘new wine’ – is a young wine which many families still produce from their own vines, using their own favoured techniques. Chianti is another popular Italian tipple that families in the region still produce. Family wine-making not only honours Tuscany’s culinary history but also unites communities  – coming together to crush grapes during la vendemmia, the annual grape harvest.

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The most celebrated Tuscan produce 

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Olive oil

Renowned for its extra-virgin variety, Tuscan olive oil is considered some of the finest in the world. Rich and fruity with a hint of peppery heat, Tuscan olive oil is harvested in late autumn – la raccolta delle olive – and pressed using a traditional stone mill. 

Truffles

San Miniato and the Crete Senesi produce most of Tuscany’s celebrated truffles – both black and white varieties – that are still harvested using the ancient method of dogs or pigs, which sniff out the pungent fungi.   

Wine

One of the most eminent wine-growing regions on Earth, Tuscany’s Sangiovese, Vernaccia and Trebbiano grapes create full-bodied reds, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and zesty white wines such as Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

‍Herbs

Grown in most Tuscan home gardens, fragrant herbs like rosemary, basil, sage and thyme form the backbone of many simple Italian recipes.

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‍Traditional Tuscan Recipes

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Our beautifully renovated Tuscan farmhouse in the storied town of Montecatini Terme boasts a generous kitchen and spacious indoor and outdoor dining areas – poised for preparing traditional Tuscan recipes. Whether immersed in the rolling Tuscan countryside or not, here are some Italian family favourites to sample on vacation or at home. 

Appetisers

‍Crostini di Fegato

‍That famous, home-baked Tuscan bread is complemented by a rich chicken-liver pâté and garnished with salty capers and anchovies for this appetiser. 

Ribollita

‍Leftover bread, beans and vegetables are the basis for this hearty Tuscan soup. Epitomising the Tuscan culinary tradition of peasant cooking, this family recipe ensures that nothing goes to waste.

Pappa al Pomodoro‍

Ripe Tuscan tomatoes and day-old bread are the stars of this simple Italian soup – a quick and nourishing family meal.

Primi‍

‍Risotto ai Funghi Porcini

‍A staple of Tuscan home cooking, this creamy risotto elevates the humble porcini with lashings of beef stock, white wine and butter.

Pappardelle al Cinghiale

‍A beloved Tuscan pasta dish, pappardelle pasta is stirred through with an intensely flavourful, slow-cooked wild boar ragu.

Secondi

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

‍Visit any Florentine trattoria and you will find this gargantuan, salt and peppered, T-bone steak – grilled over an open flame with a drizzle of olive oil – on the menu.

Pollo al Mattone

‍Cooked under a brick in Tuscan culinary tradition, this simple dish of chicken is enhanced by the delicately crisp, flavoursome skin. 

Dolce

Cantucci e Vin Santo

‍A favourite of Tuscan home baking, these little almond biscotti are traditionally served alongside a glass of sweet Vin Santo – into which the dessert is dipped.

Torta della Nonna

‍A traditional Tuscan tart, this dolce is filled with sweet custard and topped with a sprinkling of pine nuts.

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Boasting one of the richest culinary traditions in Europe, Tuscany is an enduringly desirable destination for tourists and expats alike. Unlock the enviable lifestyles of rural Tuscany, the French Alps, Mallorca, the Cotswolds and the Côte d'Azur with an August Collection. 

With five beautifully renovated homes enjoying spacious kitchens and generous indoor and outdoor entertaining areas, embrace the simple pleasure of sharing good food, good wine and good conversation with your loved ones. Schedule a call with an August Advisor today and call Italy, France, Spain and the UK ‘home’ by next year. You have never been closer to unlocking your European dream.