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FLORENCE FOOD GUIDE: CURIOSITIES...

A small A to Z guide to food curiosities you can find in Florence - their history and description.

Negroni

The famous drink “Negroni” comes from a variation on the classic “Americano” (originally prepared in Caffè Casoni, very famous in the 1919’s, with red vermouth, Campari and Cinzano) which the barman had created for count Negroni. One day, the count, had asked his barman to make something new, and Fausto Scarselli, the barman, added some gin to the “Americano” and the cocktail for the count was ready and perfect. Its name? Well, more and more people asked for the “count Negroni's drink”, and the name stayed.

Cibreo

“Cibreo” is a typical second dish of the Florentine cuisine, it was created under Catherine of Medici. She tried to introduce it in the French cuisine as successfully as the “papero al melarancio”, the famous “canard à l’orange”, or as the “zuppa di cipolle”, the equally famous “soupe d’oignons”; but this dish wasn’t very successful. Even though it was for sure one of Catherine’s favourites and she ate big quantities of it, it is very simple: it’s chicken crests, wattles, livers and hearts enriched with meat broth, onions, sage, all bound together by an egg.

Bellini

“Bellini” cocktail was born in the Summer of 1948 at Harry’s Bar in Venice. Its creator, Mr. Cipriani, decided one day to make a fresh and sparkling cocktail for those hot days, and gave it the name “Bellini” in honor of the famous painter, who's works were being exhibited that Summer in Venice.

The original “Bellini” has two parts of Prosecco, one part of fresh white peach juice, and a few drops of fresh raspberry juice.

Harry’s Bar

Harry’s Bar takes its name from the American Harry Pickering, a man whom Giuseppe  Cipriani had financially helped a few years before the opening of the Bar. The American wished to thank the restaurateur by helping him this time open what would become one of the most famous, elegant and classic bars in the world. It happened in 1931.

Companatico

Companatico  means food thatgoes with bread, like a... side dish for bread.

Coquinarius

Coquinarius – means “of the kitchen”.

Trippai

The “trippai” are literally trippa (tripe) sellers, and for many centuries they have been serving beef entrails from their carts (“carretti”) on the streets of Florence. They fortunately are spread in the most characteristic areas of ancient Florence, keeping the ancient habit of street eating alive.

Fagioli all’uccelletto

 “Fagioli all’uccelletto”. This dish, very well known, is called all’uccelletto, which literally means “the small bird way”, because sage, the herb used to give its special flavor, used to be eaten by birds, or was used for cooking these birds.

Etruscan dishes

Condiments in Etruscan dishes were of animal source.

Olive Oil

Olive Oil was originally (from the VII century B.C.) used for making unguents, creams and perfumes. Later on it started to be used as a dressing and ingredient.

Wine

Wine was imported from the Greeks in the VIII century B.C. It was so strong that it had to be drunk with lots of water.

Cakes

Cakes in Medieval ages and Renaissance were not soft. They were luxury items, and so they had to resist long transportations from a region to another to arrive well at destination. Breads were, on the contrary, very soft, they could be considered the cakes for the common people, and many types of bread were made.

Arista

Arista comes almost certainly from the ancient Greek word “aristos”, which means “superb”.

The legend says that the Byzantine patriarch came to Florence during the Ecumenic Council of 1439 and while eating a roasted pork loin exclaimed “aristos!”. The Florentine guests believed that that was the name of the loin for the patriarch and liked it. The name arista remained to mean a roasted loin of pork.

However, some ancient documents point out that that name had existed since the 1200’s, so:

1. either the name comes from the Greek perfume merchants who had been living in Florence since the 1200’s, or
2. the name comes from the Latin “arìsta”, perhaps meaning “what stays at the top”, and the loin is located at the top...

Bistecca alla fiorentina

The original name for the bistecca alla fiorentina, more simply “bistecca”, was “carbonata” (lit. “charbroiled” meat).

The name “bistecca” comes from the English “beef-steak”; according to a legend, a beef was being roasted on a spit in Piazza San Lorenzo in 1565 to be fed to the people; some English visitors were there and started screaming “beef-steak!”, which was immediately adopted by the creative Florentines as “bistecca”.

Alchermes

The Alchermes is an original ancient Florentine liquor, which has a very particular name and color, intense scarlett. The name… comes from the color. And the color… comes from the name of the cochineal insect, which produced that color.

In Spanish, this insect was called “alquermes”, from the Arab “qirmiz”, which meant scarlet.

The regular and abundant use of spices and herbs in the Renaissance was not exactly an artistic inspiration, but came instead out of a necessity to… cover the taste and odors of meats easily going off.

Béchamel

The “béchamel” is known as a refined white cream / sauce… from France? No. Perhaps its origin is not Florentine but it certainly isn’t French. It took that name later in history, from the marquis de Béchamel in the 1700’s, and for a certain period in Italy it was called “balsamella”, a mix of the French word and the Italian “balsamo” (balsam).

But this “savore” (lit. “flavor”, as sauces were called in the Renaissance) already existed in the Renaissance, and probably Catherine de Medici introduced the original recipe of that kind of  “glue” to the French court...

... and, by the way, the first glue in ancient Florence was made of water and flour...

Poison ivy

Feudal serfs were so poor that they had to eat soups of… poison ivy and acorn and “pasticci” (“pies”) of mice and lizards…

…but poison ivy (“ortica”) is still eaten today in some Tuscan, not many Florentine, dishes, and it is very good in home-made “tortelli di ortica”.

Cenci

The famous and tasty “cenci” literally mean “rags”; they are fried bits of batter cut like rags. The ancient name of the cenci was “guanti”, “gloves”, if they had the shape of a hand, or “crespelli”, literally “frizzies”, something similar to our modern ruffles...

Lampreys

Lampreys were rare even in Renaissance times, they were expensive and very appreciated.

During Maria de’ Medici’s wedding, a lamprey was served cold and filled with ...sweet cream...

Beignets

The origin of the French “bignés” (the correct word is “beignets”) is Florentine. They were the ancient “pasta soffiata”, literally “blown batter”, which arrived at the French court thanks again to Caterina de’ Medici’s chefs. The French called them “pàtes à chaud”, which then became “choux”, a synonim of the word “beignets”.

Anatra all’arancia

Anatra all’arancia is Florentine. In the 1300’s, among different recipes dedicated to the duck, the “paparo”, there was the “paparo alla melarancia”. In the Renaissance, the Medicis ate “cappone con savore aranciato” (“capon in orange sauce”), and then again Caterina de’ Medici, who loved food, brought the recipe to the French court, where it became the famous “canard à l’orange”...

...and the original “crèpes suzette” perhaps... was the “ritortelli”.

Schiacciata alla fiorentina

The schiacciata alla fiorentina (lit. “flat bread the florentine way”) was in very ancient times named “stiacciata unta” (lit. “greasy flat bread”), because lard was used, but it wasn’t flat at all. It was called that way, at the time, perhaps because of the generous quantity of eggs “beaten”, “schiacciati”, used to make it.

Arnione

The arnione is the kidney; the word comes from the Latin “renione”. Florentines commonly call it “rognone” or “pietra” (“stone”).

Zuppa di cipolle

The “zuppa di cipolle” (onion soup) was originally named “carabazada”, said to come from “karabos”, the Greek word for a boat with the shape of a shell; the word adopted by the Florentines referred perhaps to the shape of the soup container. From “carabazada” comes the name carabaccia . This soup is not exactly the regular onion soup… it is richer and very tasty.

Cheese

Where does the word “cheese” come from?… the Latin “caseus”. The Romans diffused the preparation, use and appreciation of cheese throughout the different regions of their empire; therefore this word can be recognized in several languages:

• “cacio” - Tuscan
• “kase” – German
• “kaas” -  Dutch
• “queso” – Spanish

The other italian word,“formaggio”, comes from the ancient greek “formos”, the container of the milk during coagulation, used to give it its shape. After the Greek came the Latin “forma”, from which the french “fromage” derives, and finally came the modern versions of the words.

Cacciucco

Cacciucco is one of the typical dishes from Livorno and is originally made of fish in pieces. The origin of the name is Turkish, “kuciuk”, which means “very small, minute”. The poor ate everything edible, so, this soup was originally made of the small fish which fell inevitably with the big fish in the fishing nets.

Finocchiona

The popular “salume” finocchiona gets its name from “finocchio”, fennel, which was used to give the special perfume and taste that characterizes this cold cut: in the Middle Ages fennel was far more common than pepper and so cheaper... And, again, why use this seed which is so strong in taste? Well, for the same reasons for using many other strong flavors... to cover the bad taste and smell of a... not very fresh meat...

Vino

The word “vino” (wine) is said to derive from:

1. “venas”, the sanscrit for “pleasing”, or “vi”, the sanscrit for “twining” (like the plant does), or
2.  “iin”, in ancient Hebrew, from which comes the ancient greek word “oinos”.

Etruscans used to drink fruit wine, which was made from the light fermentation of fruits like pears, apples and some berries, and also adding honey. This wine is the precursor of cider.

They were also very good lovers, and so during special banquets they added some strong drugs to the wine, so that it became an aphrodisiac…

Tuscany in its gastronomy also has a “saint wine”, the vin santo. But why is this passito called like this? Maybe because:

• at the beginning of Christianity this specially pure wine was considered apt for Mass ...
• during the Renaissance a representative of the Eastern Church exclaimed that this wine was from the Greek isle of Xantos, having a very similar taste, and it was immediately translated into “santus”...
• in the Middle Ages it gave a sense of relief to the victims of the plague, who then called it “vinsanto”...
• its production coincides with religious periods on the calendar (Easter, Christmas or All Saints)...

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