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Exploring Artisanal Food and Wine in Tuscany

Posted On : Jul-28-2011 | seen (549) times | Article Word Count : 496 |

Does it matter what we put into our mouths? There is a major shift back to understanding our food better. The trend is to know where it comes from, to eat locally grown produce in its proper season – if you can remember what that is.
Does it matter what we put into our mouths? There is a major shift back to understanding our food better. The trend is to know where it comes from, to eat locally grown produce in its proper season – if you can remember what that is. It’s fashionable to patronize the little guys who still practice the old fashioned art of producing food – even it can be so much more expensive. Is this really so important? How can we actually do this in the modern world? We go deep into the heart of Tuscany, where the tradition never died, to try to address this.

A good way to dig into this matter is to spend a week trailing a Tuscan chef as he searches for ingredients for his kitchen. Andrea Anichini, the chef at the Tuscan Renaissance Center (tuscanrc.com), crisscrosses his entire region “hunting and gathering” what he considers the best organic and natural products. Il Chiostro- Workshops in Italy (ilchiostro.com) has arranged a week in the fall (October 22-29, 2011) to spend with Andrea. He talks with bio-dynamic farmers about the effects of climate on their land, he scours the Chianti hills looking for mushrooms and truffles, caresses goats as they are giving their milk for cheese. We’ll have the opportunity to meet those purveyors and understand why their products are different. We’ll sit with the butcher as he makes traditional sausage. With Andrea we will help pick olives and press our own oil from a family orchard, tasting it fresh from the spout. He can explain the meaning of organic wine. Throughout the week, Andrea will talk to us about his philosophy of the importance of supporting local producers. He’ll teach us his respect for the land, for acknowledging the season, for understanding where your food comes from.



Every day the small group will go on an excursion through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to taste and select ingredients. We’ll meet the producers, then go home to cook our meals. Andrea will guide us through traditional recipes from the region for ribollita, peposo, gnocchi with wild boar sauce, etc. He’ll lead us through an olive oil tasting to understand the importance of terriore in oil production. He’ll conduct a wine tasting from a variety of local Chiantis and Super Tuscans. While we savor our meals we’ll talk about if it is worthwhile to apply this process to our own food preparation back home.

Andrea was born in the Chianti area and has owned his own restaurant, a typical Tuscan products store and is an official sommelier. His life’s passion is to find local producers who make food in traditional ways. He believes that pursuing local, artisanal foods is the most important thing we can do for ourselves and our families.

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Exploring Artisanal Food and Wine in Tuscany_69583.aspx

Author Resource :

Ilchiostro- Offering art workshops in Painting, Photography, Fiction Writing, Cooking, Singing, Poetry, Creativity, Yoga. We have been organizing workshops in Italy: Tuscany, Venice, Lake Garda, Bologna Rome and Sardinia since 1995.

Keywords : Watercolor in Tuscany, Plein Air in Tuscany, art workshop tuscany, tuscany painting workshops painting, arts, photography, ,

Category : Food and Beverage : Wine

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