Glossary of Terms

The A to Z Guide to Tuscan Wine

Tuscan food is simple and delicious.  Herbs: Rosemary; Sage; Oregano; Basil.  Italians love bread soup (ribollita) and salad (panzanella), and are addicted to grilled bread with garlic (bruschette).  The finest olive oil in Italy is fresh in the Fall.  They also enjoy grilled & roasted rabbit, duck & pork (arista).

Agnello (AH NYEHL LOH)
Lamb, a Tuscan favorite

Al forno (AHL FOHR NOH)
Baked

Ànatra (AH NAH TRAH)
Duck.  Popular in meat sauce in Tuscany

Anguilla (AHN GWEEL LAH)
Eel. In Tuscany, cooked in tomato sauce

Arista (AH REES TAH)
Roasted pork loin, seasoned with rosemary and garlic.

Arrosto (AHR ROHS TOH)
Roasted

Arrabbiata - all’ arrabbiata (AHL LAHR RAHB BEE YAH TAH)
“Angry” tomato pasta sauce with olive oil and hot red peppers

Bistecca alla fiorentina (BEES TEHK KAH. AHL LAH. FYOH REHN TEE NAH)
Tuscany’s famous thick steak from the local Chianina cattle.  Typically serves two; sold by the etto (3-1/2 ounces). Expensive.  Usually cooked very rare (al sangue).  Medium is media; ben cotto is well done.

Bollito (BOHL LEE TOH)
Boiled or stewed

Brace – alla brace (AHL LAH. BRAH CHEH)
Grilled over charcoal

Braciola / bracioletta (BRAH CHYOH LAH / BRAH CHYOH LEHT TAH)
Chop / small slice of meat

Brasato (BRAH SAH TOH)
Braised beef; cooked in red wine

Bruschette (BROOS SKEHT TAH)
Tuscany’s garlic bread.  Grilled, rubbed with raw garlic, sprinkled with olive oil and salt

Cantucci (CAHN TOOCH CHEE)
Tuscan almond cookies, also called Biscotti di Prato. Served with Vin Santo wine

Capra (KAH PRAH)
Goat

Carciofi (KAHR CHYOH FEE)
Artichokes.  An antipasto or pasta sauce in Tuscany.

Castagnaccio (CAHS TAH NYACH CHYOH)
Popular Tuscan chestnut flour cake with raisins, nuts, and rosemary

Ceci (CHEEH CHEE)
Garbanzo beans; Chick peas.  Popular side dish in Tuscany, with olive oil and rosemary or pureed in soup

Cinghiale (CHEEN GYAH LEH)
Wild boar.  A Tuscan favorite—in sauce (sugo di cinghiale), prosciutto, salame and sausage

Coniglio (KOH NEE LYOH)
Rabbit—One of Tuscany’s favorite meats

Costa / costoletta / costarelli (KOHS TAH / KOHS TOH LEHT TAH / KOHS TAH REHL LEE)
Chop / Cutlet / Rib / spareribs.  Costada di manzo is rib steak. 
Meat cuts are very different from US cuts

Cozze (KOH TSEH)
Mussels

Crespelle (KREHS PEHL LEH)
Crepes

Crostata (KROHS TAH TAH)
Cake / Pie with thin layer of fruit or jam

Fagiano (FAH JAH NOH)
Pheasant—All game is popular in Tuscany

Fagioli (FAH JOH LEE)
Beans—very popular side dish or soup.  Fagioli all’uccelletto, a Tuscan bean dish, is seasoned with sage, garlic and tomatoes.

Fegato / Fegatini (FEH GAH TOH / FEH GAH TEE NEE)
Liver / chicken liver—In Tuscany, liver is often used in meat sauce

Fatto in casa (FAHT TOH. EEN. CAH ZAH)
Homemade

Fetta di / fettina (FEHT TAH. DEE / FEHT TEE NAH)
Slice of / thin slice

Fettunta (FEHT TOON TAH)
Toasted slice of Tuscan bread with olive oil

Finòcchio (FEE NOHK YOH)
Fresh fennel—cherry like with anise flavor

Finocchiona (FEE NOHK KYOH NAH)
Tuscan salame with fennel seeds

Formaggio (FOHR MAHJ JOH)
Cheese—Pecorino isTuscany’s famous cheese

Funghi (FOON GHEE)
Mushrooms, usually porcini

Gàmberi / gamberétto / gamberoni (GAHM BEH REE / GAHN BEH REHT TOH / GAHN BEH ROH NEE)
Prawns / crayfish / large prawns

Ghiótta – alla ghiótta (AHL LAH. GYOT TAH)
Basted with seasonings while grilling

Granchio (GRAHN KYOH)
Crab

Griglia—alla griglia (AHL LAH. GREE LYAH)
Grilled over charcoal

Lèpre (LEH PREH)
Hare or rabbit—One of the most popular meats in Tuscany

Lésso (LEHS SOH)
Boiled

Lombata (LOHM BAH TAH)
Loin

Manzo (MAHN ZOH)
Beef

Maiale (MAHY AH LEH)
Pork

Milza (MEEL ZAH)
Spleen—Often combined with liver as a topping for crostini

Olio d’oliva (OH LYOH. DOH LEE VAH)
Olive oil.  In Tuscany, it’s the main cooking fat.  It’s also
a condiment, drizzled over soup and pasta, for example.  Extra virgin, from the first pressing, is the finest—Best purchased in the fall, just after pressing

Panforte (PAHN FOHR THE)
A dense sweet cake from Siena made of nuts, spices and dried fruit

Panzanella (PAHN ZAH NEHL LAH)
This Tuscan first-course dish is made of bread, tomatoes, onions, basil and olive oil.

Pappa col pomodoro (PAH PAH. COHL. POH MOH DOH ROH)
A Tuscan tomato-bread soup

Papparadelle (PAHP PAHR AH DEHL LEH)
Very Tuscan—1-inch wide, flat pasta—Often served with wild boar (sugo di cinghiale), hare (sugo di leper) or duck (sugo di ànatra) sauce

Pecorino (PEH KOH REE NOH)
A Tuscan sheep’s milk cheese, fresh (fresca) or aged.  Best is from Pienza

Penne (PEHN NEH)
Hollow, quill-shaped pasta, about 2-inches long

Petto (PEHT TOH)
Breast, i.e. chicken

Piccione (PEECH CHYOH NEH)
Squab

Pici (PEE CHEE)
A round, but irregular, pasta like spaghetti, but much thicker and more rustic—Very Tuscan

Pollo (POHL LOH)
Chicken—Pollo alla diavola is Tuscany’s spicy grilled chicken

Polpo / polipo (POHL POH / POH LEE POH)
Octopus.  Polpetti are baby octopus

Prosciutto (PROH SHOOT TOH)
‘crudo’ is air-dried ham, finer in texture and drier than cooked ham.  In Tuscany, where it is often made from wild boar, it is sliced more thickly than in other parts of
Italy. ‘Cotto’ is cooked ham.

Ribolitta (REE BOH LEET TAH)
Tuscan twice-boiled bread soup

Ricciarelli (REECH CHYAH REHL LEE)
A chewy almond cookie from Siena

Salsìccia (SAHL SEECH CHAH)
Sausage

Sàlvia (SAHL VYAH)
Sage, a favorite in Tuscany.  Salvia Fritta (fried sage) s popular.

Soppressata (SOHP PREHS SAH TAH)
Course Tuscan salame, like headcheese

Sugo (SOO GOH)
Juice from meat or tomato sauce

Tagliatelle (TAH LYAH TEHL LEH)
Long ? inch wide noodles, similar to fettuccine

Tagliolini / tagliarini (TAH LYOH LEE NEE / TAH LYAH REE NEE)
1/16- inch wide noodles

Tortelloni / tortelli (TOHR TEHL LOH NEE / TOHR TEHL LEE)
Large stuffed pasta / stuffed pasta similar to ravioli

Umido- in umido (EEN. OO MEE DOH)
Braised; cooked in liquid

Vitello (VEE TEHL LOH)
Veal

Vóngole (VOHN GOH LEH)
Clams

Zucca (ZOOK KAH)
Similar to pumpkin; popular in ravioli or tortelli

Zuppa (ZOOP PAH)
Soup—Minestra also means soup or first course.