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Queen of fennel: Finocchiona IGP

This softly scented pink salami dates to the Middle Ages when Tuscany’s butchers decided to add fennel seeds, prevalent in the fields and meadows, as an alternative to more costly ...

NEWS

What is the future of delivery food in Florence?

UberEats is the most recent addition to delivery services in town

FOOD + WINE

The backstory on Baci chocolates

A blue box of silver-foil chocolates wrapped with a note is a failsafe on February 14. But there’s actually a real-life love story behind the Baci. When Perugia-born clothing designer ...

NEWS

Why Starbucks might not be a bad thing for Italian coffee

Our readers love to loathe the Seattle giant. But is it such a threat?

FOOD + WINE

Torrone: an Italian holiday tradition

At the Christmas Day table, there may be some argument between panettone diehards and pandoro instigators about which cake is better, but few dispute that the gooey white, sticky nougat-type ...

FOOD + WINE

What’s up with Tuscan bread?

A lifetime ago, I was on a train with a presumptuous Australian teenager who thought her eight months in Tuscany qualified her to speak authoritatively on all things culinary. I ...

FOOD + WINE

Gelato: a Florentine invention

Folks worldwide flock to this Renaissance city with more motives than one, but its oh-so famous, lip-smacking gelato is reason alone to visit. Unbeknownst to many, the tasty treat is ...

FOOD + WINE

You say tomato, I say tomato: salsa versus sugo

Do you know your sugo from your salsa? Pellegrino did! Various editions of Pellegrino Artusi’s quintessential Italian cookery book, La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene (Science in ...

FOOD + WINE

How “fico” is FICO?

Op-ed on "the world’s largest agri-food park"

FOOD + WINE

At the Italian dinner table

Food and Italy are practically synonymous. Appreciating and embracing the gastronomic splendor of the Italian meal is one of the most remarkable experiences for tourists and permanent dwellers alike. Indeed, ...

FOOD + WINE

The perfect espresso

How many times have you walked into a bar and drank a coffee even though it tasted rancid or was lacking in flavour? It’s astonishing how little we know about—and ...

FOOD + WINE

La Marzocco: coffee machines made in the Mugello

A turn around the La Marzocco coffee machine factory, tucked away on an unassuming industrial block due west of Borgo San Lorenzo, is like a tour of the Willy Wonka ...

THINGS TO DO

Tuscany’s hidden truffle town

At this time of year there’s no better thing to eat in Tuscany than black truffles, whether they’ve been shaved and scattered liberally onto our dinner or drizzled over it ...

FOOD + WINE

On “gottino”

There’s a pocket-sized enoteca in NYC’s “the Village” that serves Italian wines by the glass: its name is Gottino. In Pontassieve, my hometown that regularly sleeps, miniscule pizzeria Da Sandrino ...

FOOD + WINE

On “mescita”

If you’ve ever eaten in San Niccolò, likely it was a hearty Florentine affair among amici at the Osteria Antica Mescita. On the table a fiasco flowing with rough-around-the-edges red ...

FOOD + WINE

Inside Mattonella: at the Biscottificio Antonio Mattei

Ever since I was a lad I’ve tried to picture what was behind the wall of blue paper bags. I would walk past the store windows of Biscottificio Antonio Mattei, ...

THINGS TO DO

A quick trip to Chianti Rufina

Everyone knows Chiantishire, but there are actually another seven Chianti sub-zones and I have been living in one of them for the past 21 years—Chianti Rufina—the smallest and probably the ...

FOOD + WINE

5 ways to approach Tuscan food

If you’re new to Florence, welcome! Ready for tripe or lampredotto, ribollita soup that resembles curry, or even fried brain? Tuscan food, when you get down to the nitty gritty, ...

FOOD + WINE

The queen’s salami: Salumificio Mori in Torniella

High in the hills in a small Maremman town, there’s a butcher who makes salami for Buckingham Palace. But you would never know it.   Anywhere else in the world, ...

FOOD + WINE

What exactly is a Bistecca alla Fiorentina?

The steak is cut from the loin, just below the rib cage and above the round or rump (depending on which side of the pond you come from!). The higher ...

FOOD + WINE

Zuppa inglese: English or not?

Old fashioned, rather gaudy, but simple to make, zuppa inglese has long inspired debate over its origins. What Elizabeth David called an “exuberant joke” and a “trifle much glorified” (Italian ...

FOOD + WINE

Scuola Tessieri: a new brand of Italian cooking school

Twenty-five minutes from both Florence and Pisa, Scuola Tessieri offers something new on the Italian cooking school scene: a convivial and easy-going culinary experience for food lovers of every level. ...

FOOD + WINE

4 tips to maximise your gelato in Florence experience

When Florence becomes too hot to bear, residents and tourists turn to gelato as a survival strategy.   1. Gelato was born in Florence. The first thing you should know is that gelato has Florentine origins. This knowledge will justify your copious ice-cream eating in Florence this summer. Believed

FOOD + WINE

Interview with Antonello Sardi, La Bottega del Buon Caffè

While you can certainly have your fill of exquisite bistecca fiorentina, crostini neri and ribollita in Florence, a new wave of creative culinary excellence is putting the city firmly on the map. Among those who are burnishing the city’s reputation for fine food is Antonello Sardi, the latest

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