Tuscany’s best food & drink

Typical dishes include chicken liver-topped crostini and garlicky bruschetta piled with white beans and lashings of Extra Virgin olive oil; hearty bread-based soups such as ribollita and papa al pomodoro; pasta dishes such as pappardelle with hare sauce and ravioli stuffed with Swiss chard and ricotta.

Mains are mostly meat-based; garlic and rosemary-spiked arista (pork loin), grilled sausages and ribs (rosticciana), and the majestic ‘Fiorentina’, a vast T-bone steak served rare (and don’t dare ask for it to be well-done).

Regional desserts include castagnaccio (flat chestnut cake flavoured with rosemary) and the hard almond biscuits known as cantucci to be dunked in sweet vin santo wine.

Tuscany is renowned for its robust red wines; look out for Chianti Classico, Brunello and the so-called ‘Super-Tuscans’ from the Bolgheri area. There are many small estates producing superb wines and these are often cheaper than the big guns; ask the wine waiter for advice.

Also see Nicky’s round-up of traditional Italian foods to try when you’re in Italy.

The restaurant scene covers all bases from traditional, family-run trattorie to new-generation osterie where young chefs riff on the dishes that Mamma used to make.

A ristorante implies a more formal eating experience (though not always); a trattoria or osteria is likely to be more relaxed. For a glass of wine and a snack, look for an enoteca or bottega del vino. Then there are the elegant temples to gourmet cooking, a number of which have Michelin stars.

Most decent-sized towns in Tuscany have a Consorzio Agrario; a kind of rustic supermarket, which sells local produce such as wines and olive oil, cheeses and charcuterie, honey, jams and local bread.