Archive for 'Slow Food'

Autumn in Tuscany is synonymous with eating really, really well. Wine harvests are an obvious culinary delight of the region but there are two other key ingredients that are commonly used at this time of the year: truffles and chestnuts. While both ingredients are found in different parts of Italy and in the local cuisines of various regions of Italy, Tuscan dishes utilising both are especially delicious. Plus, festivals dedicated to both ingredients pop up in villages and towns all over Tuscany right through the season. For example, the town of Marradi has had a dedicated chestnut festival that has been running for more than 50 years. Chestnuts are not something that everyone is used to eating but there are all sorts of delicious Tuscan chestnut-based dishes to sample and it is a perfectly autumnal food. So, if you are enjoying a fall escape to a villa in Tuscany and you want to get cosy, eat well, and embrace the season, be sure to check it out!

If you are a foodie on tour and are planning a vacation in Tuscany, particularly if you have found a villa in Carrara and especially if you like doughnuts, then you should definitely make a point of trying the local speciality, sgabeo. Tuscany boasts lots of incredible culinary delights, some of which we are all familiar with, but the serious food-lovers of the world will also ensure that they sample the less well-known delicacies from a region. 

As you delve into the culinary scene of the region on a vacation in Tuscany with one of our amazing Tuscany Villas, you may come across certain labels on speciality food products and wonder what they might mean.

Protected by European laws, these labels, such as DOP and IGP are applied to products that make use of the highest quality ingredients and production standards from all across the country of Italy, though Tuscany boasts quite a number of these sorts of wonderful items. So, read on to learn more and then prepare to immerse yourself in the world of authentic Italian flavours and culinary experiences on holiday in Tuscany. 

Truffles have had a long reputation in the culinary world as a beloved product that can immediately elevate even the most basic of dishes. For many years, people all over the world have been seeking them out and paying incredible amounts of money for the highest-quality examples. However, the world of truffle tourism has grown massively in recent years as travelling foodies have sought out new culinary experiences and planned holidays entirely centred around eating well. As Tuscany's truffles are known to be some of the best and most valuable in the entire world, those foodies who want to experience delicious truffles, truffle dishes, and truffle products should browse our Tuscany villas and spend their next vacation well by sampling some truly incredible and delicious things while they relax and unwind. Given that fall is a perfect time of year to get excellent truffles and when most of the region’s truffle festivals take place, it is the perfect time to secure that vacation rental in Tuscany today. Plan a trip in the next couple of months and be sure to seek out Tuscany's brilliant truffle festivals for the best experience of this wonderful foodie favourite!

Autumn means harvest season and if you were thinking about an off-season vacation in Tuscany in one of our Tuscany villas then foodies will be glad to know thaat it is also foodie season. During the Fall, Tuscany is not only flooded with all sorts of delicious food products that have been freshly harvested but it abounds with food festivals. While food festivals do take place throughout the entire year, there are endless options to choose from at this time of the year, in particular. One of the larger and most impressive among these has to be Certaldo’s Boccaccesca festival. Named for and held in honour of the famous 14th century writer and beloved son of the town, Boccaccio, this foodie festival has been taking place since 1999 and sees Certaldo Alto taken over for three to four days each October or late September by all sorts of food stalls selling products and snacks, demonstrations, lessons, talks, tastings, and much more besides. So, if you love to eat well and you have been browsing our luxury villas in Florence nearby or our holiday rentals in Certaldo itself, then consider planning a getaway in the area around the 14th to the 16th of October this year or around that general time on any given year to sample the delights of the Boccaccesca festival.