Florence's San Lorenzo Central Market

Yep - it's market time again, with today's excursion being the result of our cooking class chef taking us out to procure products for today's lesson. Pictured here was a shop providing us with a tasting session of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some of which were aged 20 years. We also nearly fainted when we smelled the amazing fragrance of dried porcini mushrooms on sale outside.



We were told that Italians eat every part of the animal, so this head was on display together with a wide selection of other body parts like penis, testicles, and lungs. Rooster carcasses complete with their combs still on their heads were available too. Of course cured meat was also on sale at other stalls, hanging in all of their glory. If you look closely at the photo below, you'll see cross-sections on display in the back.



And oh yeah - we learned a number of interesting things during class, like how a proper bruschetta should use sliced tomatoes and have the garlic rubbed on, whereas many restaurants dice their tomatoes in advance for ease of production. Household refrigerators are also very small here since everyone goes to the market every day to buy fresh ingredients rather than storing it over time. Either way, the four course meal we had was delicious - and so huge that we couldn't finish.