Tuscan Food Tour

This was a full-on day, so I'm going to split it into two blog posts. This post covers the shopping, the next will describe the cooking. My sister and I both agree that this day was one of the highlights of our trip.

We left home early, taking the bus from Le Cure (Allesandro Volta) to San Marco and walking to Via Vinegia 23r (behind the Palazzo Vecchio). As usual, we got a little lost but soon found our way. At the Walkabout Tours office, we checked in and then took photos of ourselves on the Vespas and with the Fiats there. (They hire these out and conduct tours with them. We spoke to some who had done this and they raved about it.)

We met our guide, Julian, who was born in Florence to an Italian father and American mother. He has spent half his life in each place so is multi-lingual. We also met Gloria, who was taking another small group. We were told that we would all meet up later, on the bus to the venue for the cooking lesson.

Good Italian meals require fresh ingredients so our tour began at 9:45 am with a stroll through the streets of Florence to the markets, learning little bits of interesting history as we went. We heard about the floods of 1966 and saw the markers indicating the height of the water. Julian also pointed out the little wine doors (Below)and told us their history, which is fascinating. If you want to know more, go to www.ricksteeves.com.

We also stopped at a church that had once been a grain market. The loggia had been filled in with walls and pictures and stained glass windows added, but the chutes the grain passed through were still running down the inside walls. 

We strolled by a spice shop (below) and inhaled the lovely aromas. One side of the window contained jars of spices, the other was more inclined to medicinal. 

From there, we walked onto a greengrocers, where Julian (below) purchased tomatoes and basil for the bruschetta we would make later.

Then we continued on towards a coffee break. Before we got there, Julian explained the different coffees one can order. He told us he preferred a macchiato in a large cup. He then took our orders. Of course, most of us wanted a coffee in a large cup. In the cafe/bar, we could also order a sweet treat (and pay for ourselves, the coffee was complimentary). I didn't want to spoil lunch so settled for the coffee. Much to our surprise, the coffee in a large cup was just that, the usual esspresso (a couple of teaspoons of strong coffee) looking lonely in the bottom of a large cup! 

Before we left, Julian bought some bread to take with us, for our bruschetta. We then set off for the Central markets. Along the way, we heard the history of the San Lorenzo church, and also a little about the central markets themselves. Apparently, the downstairs section is now for all fresh produce, and the upstairs is a food hall, which generally comes alive at night.

At the Mercato Centrale, we purchased cheese (Mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano) and examined all the other varieties on offer, including a taste of Parmigano regiano. 

It was then time to buy the meats. We needed ground beef (mince) for the ragu sauce, and port for the roast. The beef was chosen and minced twice as we waited. While that was happening, one of the butchers cut the bone from a rack. He then rolled the pork and tied the wedge back onto it with twine. The idea is that one can stuff garlic and herbs between bone and meat for more flavour. It also makes it easier to remove the bone to slice the meat once the roast is ready.

We ended our tour through the markets with a look at what else is on offer, from the usual to the gross! There were chickens and ducks, plucked but with their feet and heads added back to make a neat package. Italians cook every part of a carcass! There was also every kind of offal you could think of. One stand was very popular, especially with tourists from Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and China. There, an ancient custom is continued, with the 4th stomach of the cow cooked, then sliced very thinly. To this is added a paste of herbs and spices and the result is heated and served on fresh bread rolls.

We left the markets and walked to Santa Maria Novella station, where our bus was waiting for us and for Gloria's group. We then crossed the Arno and drove up into the hills behind Piazzale Michelangelo, to where our cooking class and the feasting would be held.