The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley

by Elizabeth Romer

The Tuscan Year recounts the daily life and food preparation of a family living on a farm in Tuscany. Elizabeth Romer chronicles each season's activities month by month: curing prosciutto and making salame in January, planting and cheesemaking in March, harvesting and threshing corn in July, hunting for wild muchrooms in September, and grape crushing in Ocober. Scattered throughout this lovely calendar are recipes―fresh bread and olive oil, grilled mushrooms, broad beans with ham, trout with fresh tomatoes and basil, chicken grilled with fresh sage and garlic, and apples baked with butter, sugar, and lemon peel, among many others. Alive with the rhythms of country tradition, The Tuscan Year is a treasure for the armchair traveler as well as the cook.

Genres: Travel, Italy, Food, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Memoir, Cooking

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Elizabeth Romer studied textile design at the Royal College of Art, London, and has practiced and taught in that field. She lives in Tuscany with her husband.

Reviews

[Doreen Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, though I wouldn't rate it as exceptional to the point that I couldn't put it down.
To those who have read other reviews which suggests that this book is boring, I'll just say this : don't approach this book thinking it's a cookbook, because it isn't. This book gives the reader a window to peer into what goes on in a real farming community in Tuscany, described season by season. As someone who haven't been to Tuscany nor a farmer, I did find this book interesting
Also, because this book was probably written way before the current style of incorporating stories with recipes, the layout would appear clumsy to those of us who have read recent publications in this format. Nonetheless, I feel this book is still worth a read :-)

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The straightforward descriptions of seasonal activities and meals on a Tuscan farm remind me of visit to my grandparents’ farm in Iowa, and they are delightfully evocative of scents, sights, and sounds we have experience on trips to the countryside in Italy. The recipes interspersed throughout are simple outlines and support one’s own modifications. They rely entirely on high quality ingredients. This is the real farm to table dining.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very strange combination of travelogue and cookbook. I loved the descriptions of food and how it was gathered, prepared, and enjoyed in the context of what life was like in Tuscany for much of the twentieth century, but the "recipes" were often redundant and would be very hard to actually cook from.
Do I want to go to Tuscany now? For sure.

[Gina]

This is a difficult book to review because it is so unique. It is full of recipes which were not of interest to me but I can see others really feeling like they've hit buried treasure. I enjoyed the descriptions of everyday life, the customs, the living off the land, the celebrations, etc. It was a lovely escape to what seems like a clean purposeful life.

[Tiina]

DNF lk 50.
Kuidagi ei suju lihtsalt. Aga soovitan, kes tahab täielikult Toscana piirkonna traditsionaalsesse kokakunsti sukelduda. Natuke kohmakas tekst, aga huviliste jaoks sisutihe. Mul lihtsalt läks mõte kogu aeg rändama.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ühest Toskaana talu aastaringist sai täitsa vahva ülevaate - kasvatati nii tubakat, viinamarju kui oliive. Tekstid ja retseptid natuke kordasid üksteist ja no retsepte oli ikka palju! Huvitav oli lugeda nii pulmakombestiku (ja söökide) kui veinitegemise kohta.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

More a cookbook than a book about life in Tuscany. Abandoned.

[Cerealflakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about the day to day life of a traditional Cortona woman and what she cooks throughout the year. It is about 50% about the food they eat and 50% recipes. The recipes are oddly written and not very clear. The writer is British, and the directions might be more clear to them. She tries to translate her British measurements to American at the end, but when she says an American teacup is not the same as a British tea cup, it's not much clearer. She has one recipe which asks the reader to dissolve yeast in a glass of water, but neglects to say what size the glass is. She also says put in a hot oven, with no mention of temperature. I think with some cooking knowledge, you could figure out the recipes, but they are not for the feint of heart.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the year month to month in a Tuscan farmhouse kitchen from curing proscuitto to making cheese. It was fascinating to me since I have little experience with the real nitty-gritty of farm living.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Exactly what the title says. A slice of life before modernization completely obliterates it.

[Denise Covey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable asset for researching life in Tuscany with some historical facts. Enjoyable.