Tuscans are among Italy's most prolific meat-eaters, and they regularly eat beef and pork, as well as wild game like hare and boar. The Florentines are particularly meat-obsessed – one only has to order the outrageous bistecca alla Fiorentina to see that – and you'll find lots of offal snacks sold from street vendors too, normally sandwiches stuffed with trippa (tripe) or lampredotto (the fourth and final stomach of a cow, braised with onion, celery and parsley).

As you'd expect from a meat-heavy region, salumi is much-loved all over Tuscany, and they make a selection of their own sausages. The best known is undoubtedly lardo di Colonnata – the smokey preserved back fat of Tuscan pigs, slowly cured in marble tanks in the hinterlands of Carrara – but soft, spreadable soppressata is common too, as is finocchiona – a classic Tuscan fennel salami.

The Tyrrhenian is one of the best fishing seas in the world, packed full of top quality fish and seafood as well as rarities like eels and langoustines. Salt cod is a favourite all over Tuscany, but if you're near the coast you'll get to try a huge variety of delicious fish soups and stews, including a regional classic – cacciucco alla Livornese, made with octopus, squid, clams, mussels and monkfish, among other things.

Tuscany isn't as well-known for cheese compared to neighbouring Campania and Emilia-Romagna, but close proximity to those two means you get excellent quality mozzarella di bufala and Parmigiano Reggiano here. Still, there are some local sheeps cheeses worth looking out for –Pecorino della Garfagnana is made in small quantities around Garfagnana in the north, whilst Pecorino Toscano is far more common – both are hard cheeses good for grating and seasoning, and for eating in salads.

Bread, both fresh and stale, is a big part of the Tuscan diet. Pane sciocco – 'stupid bread' as it amusingly translates to – is thus called because it is baked without salt. It's a staple in Tuscany, where it is baked in towns and villages every morning and eaten as crostini, in salads like panzanella, and is a vital part of soups like acquacotta, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro.

Emilia-Romagna is the true home of fresh pasta, but again, Tuscany shares a considerable border with its northern neighbour, and inherits many similar traditions. Handrolled pici – often associated with the beautiful city of Siena – is eaten with tomato, garlic and breadcrumbs, and other pastas like pappardelle are common here too, not to mention typical Tuscan dishes like crespelle and testaroli, both of which use a unique pasta dough that is said to be the precursor to the French crêpe.

You won't eat for a day in Tuscany without eating a cannellini bean. Fagioli – not just cannellini but also borlotti and other varieties – are the lifeblood of Tuscan cuisine, alongside a huge variety of vegetables like Italian kale, cavolo nero, Certaldo onions and of course, Tuscan tomatoes, which might just be the best in the world. The Tuscan climate is also perfect for stone fruits like cherries and peaches.

Chestnuts are a surprisingly important part of Tuscan cooking. Through the years of famine and poverty, chestnuts have supported many of the locals thanks to their abundance and high calorie count. Though they can be eaten fresh, they're often ground into flour and used in polenta, porridge, bread, cakes, biscuits, fresh pasta and necci (a type of Tuscan crêpe).

Tuscans have a real sweet tooth, particularly for rich, dense cakes. Panforte is typical of the region – a thick, sticky gingerbread-esque cake flavoured with almonds, candied fruit and spices. If that doesn't take your fancy, there's plenty more to try, from soft almond ricciarelli and castagnaccio chestnut cake to the classic Tuscan torta della nonna.

Home to world-renowned DOP wines like Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti and Montepulciano, some of Italy's important, traditional winemakers are based in Tuscany. Though there's an established scene already in place, there's a growing number of organic, natural and biodynamic wines here too, meaning Tuscany is undoubtedly the beating heart of Italian wine country. Check out our guide for more.

Bistecca is a remarkably simple thing on the surface – a kilogram of T-bone steak, seared over raging hot coals and served rare with a dash of seasoning – but it has a complex history that goes back thousands of years to the rule of the Medici family. Take a look at how it's stood the test of time.

Nothing illustrates Tuscany's humble cuisine as well as its collection of soups and stews. Tuscans have cooked soups like ribollita and acquacotta for centuries, using these simple recipes as a vehicle to make the most of meagre ingredients like stale bread, Italian kale, tomato and onion. We've rounded up all the most traditional recipes, so you can taste them yourself.

A classic Florentine dish, crespelle alla Fiorentina is a pasta pancake, filled with ricotta, pecorino and spinach. Legend has it that the crespelle actually inspired the French crêpe! This is normally served at Christmas in Florence, but there's no reason why you shouldn't eat it all year round.

Crostini neri – so called because of the dark brown colour of the chicken liver spread – is a classic way to kick off a Tuscan feast. The livers are slowly braised with soffrito before anchovy paste and capers are stirred in at the last minute, making for a wonderful antipasti dish.

Order a panzanella outside of Tuscany, and you'll probably get a tomato salad heaped with toasted croutons, but the reality is very different. A true panzanella should be made by soaking slices of stale pane sciocco in water, and then squeezing the liquid out with your hands, before adding chopped onion, tomato, cucumber and dressing.

These little bread dumplings are standard antipasti fare in Tuscany, particularly on the streets of Florence, where they're served with creamy stracchino cheese and prosciutto crudo – a seriously moreish sweet and salty combo.

Tuscans are known throughout Italy for their unwavering love of everything beany. This soup is one of many dishes that are bolstered with them, but the real star is farro, the name given to a variety of ancient grains (namely spelt, emmer and einkorn, although any variety of wheat falls into the category). These chewy, nutty grains are grown in Garfagnana in northern Tuscany and when cooked in a simple soup with a little pancetta, potatoes and those famous beans, they become a hearty delicious bowl of comfort food that's stood the test of time.

You'll find this traditional Tuscan fish stew all up and down the region's western coastline, but it's especially famous in Livorno, where the locals make a rich red wine and tomato broth and cram it with whatever seafood is available. Traditionally, it should contain at least five different species.

We see chestnut flour as somewhat of a luxury ingredient in the UK, but in Tuscany, chestnuts are so common that the flour has been used to cut regular flour for hundreds of years. One of the resulting dishes is lasagne bastarde – diagonal pieces of chestnut pasta, tossed generously in oil then topped with plenty of pecorino and black pepper.

These tasty pork ribs are a Tuscan barbecue favourite, cured for twenty-four hours in fennel, chilli and rosemary before being roasted on the barbecue. The final result has an intense meaty flavour thanks to the cure, with meat that tears effortlessly off the bone.

Pici – those thick, chewy, delicious noodles we all love – actually come from Siena in southern Tuscany. Head to Siena and you'll typically see pici served all'aglione – a garlicky tomato sauce (aglione is the name of a local garlic) – or sometimes simply with breadcrumbs.

Another Italian sweet that has forged itself some popularity around the world, biscotti (or cantuccini, as they are known in Tuscany) first appeared in the city of Prato, just to the northwest of Florence. These days they're eaten everywhere and anywhere, often with a glass of Vin Santo – an amber-hued dessert wine.

One of Italy's most widespread desserts, torta della nonna has Tuscan roots, though there's argument as to exactly who was first responsible. A proper torta is a thing of delicious simplicity – two sheets of slightly leavened sugar pastry with a topping of crunchy pine nuts and a creamy filling of lemon-scented custard.

Another Tuscan Christmas treat, panforte started in monasteries, but quickly became a favourite in homes all over Tuscany. This thick, dense cake is made with almonds and honey, with heady aromas of coriander seed, mace, clove and nutmeg.

Testaroli get their name from the cast-iron pan in which they are cooked, the testo – a flat pan with two handles and a lid, used throughout Tuscany to make all sorts of things, from delicate chestnut necci to roast meats. The testaroli themselves are almost like a giant pasta pancake – cooked in the testo, cut into diamonds, plunged into boiling water then tossed with a simple basil and pine nut pesto.

As we mentioned before, the use of chestnut flour to cut regular flour is extensive all over Italy – chestnut flour is used in pasta, bread, cakes and even pancakes like these necci. Traditionally served with ricotta and a dash of honey, the natural sweetness of the chestnut is perfect alongside fresh, creamy ricotta.

Rural Tuscan homes would often hunt game in years past, and hares, though fast, are also plentiful in Tuscany's beautiful rolling hillsides and meadows. The best way to treat wild hare is to cook it slowly at a low temperature, breaking down the tough meat into a glorious silky ragù, served alongside ribbons of tagliatelle.