While this might be confusing for Italians who can’t understand why you want to cook while on holiday, culinary tours in Tuscany and other regions, are nothing new for tourists to this country.
Generally aimed at promoting local specialties, the tours often combine Italian cooking classes with dinners and wine tasting.
The most famous are in Tuscany and Abruzzo, where in the former you can learn how to prepare a traditional Sunday lunch.
Much focus recently is placed on sustainable agricultural practices, along with the re-discovery of fresh and seasonal produce.
Visits are organised to butcher shops in business since 1628, or to cheese producers where you can buy pecorino directly from the facilities.
In Abruzzo, where the traditional specialties are different, you can learn to make (and then taste) homemade pasta, and desserts where the ritual of making sweets is linked to courtship.
One dessert that is simple but really good, is homemade lemon sorbet.
While you can come away from a culinary tour having learned many mouthwatering recipes, they’re an important means for the Italians to preserve some of their agricultural traditions such as olive oil production, milk and milk products, wine and many more.
There is an ocean of websites dedicated to culinary tours, Italian cooking schools and guides to wine tourism.
You just need to explore.
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