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Italian Cuisine_In The Heart Of Tuscany
When an American conjures up an idea of “Italian cuisine,”
often what comes to mind is pasta, red sauce, and garlic bread.
Pasta, no doubt, plays a large part in most traditional Italian
regional cuisine, and few cultures know how to employ a tomato
the way that Italians can. However, there are so many distinct
styles and trademarks within the different regions of Italy
that it is hard to lump together all Italian regional cuisine
into one general type of cooking. In reality each region has a
very distinct style and taste, and there is really no way to
appreciate Italian regional cuisine without visiting
restaurants and eateries all over the boot.
Tuscany is a region of Italy that takes up a small piece of the
western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Since a large border of
the Tuscan region is coastal, seafood plays a large role in the
regional cuisine of Tuscany. A coveted destination for
tourists, Tuscany is overflowing with cultural experiences,
with roots stemming from the Renaissance. Florence, Pisa and
the busy port of Livorno all lie within this modest region.
Like it’s simple but beautiful landscape, Tuscan cooking keeps
things simple. Tuscan bread, for example is a saltless crusted
compliment to their judiciously spiced entrees.
While many people think of Italian cuisine as being very salty
and filled with garlic, onion, and basil, Tuscan cuisine uses
seasoning very sparingly to bring out the natural flavors of
the vegetables, beans, and grains that make up their
traditional regional cooking. Chefs of Tuscany are renowned for
their rice dishes, and a fish or duck dish in Tuscany is often
not complete without a risotto base. They also blend wine
seamlessly into these dishes, evaporating the alcohol content
and leaving the fruits to mingle with the grains and filled
pastas that compliment the meat and fish entrees that bring the
rich and famous from all over the world to Tuscany.
Along the coast, seafood plays an integral part of the cuisine.
A trademark of the Tuscan coast is a soup called caccuccio.
Caccuccio is a rich soup made from a tomato and fish base. The
secret is to use many different types of fish, pureed bones and
all directly into the base of the soup. This soup, served with a
hearty Tuscan bread is filling enough to constitute an entire
meal. While the coast of Tuscany is home to many a delicacy, it
is the varied nature of the Tuscan landscape that provides such
variety in the regional cuisine of Tuscany.
The cattle and boars that are particular to the region, for
example, make for a taste that you cannot find anywhere else,
in soups, grilled dishes, and hams. While Tuscany is
responsible for only four percent of Italy’s overall olive oil
production, Tuscan olive trees can live to be hundreds or even
thousands of years old. So while each tree produces less of an
oil yield than trees customarily found in other regions of
Italy, the trees have a much more rich history. This simplicity
grounded in a rich tradition is only appropriate for the Tuscan
region.
About The Author: This article provided courtesy of
http://www.gourmet-food-guide.net
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