With Florence’s ever shifty climate the way one knows when the warm weather has come to stay is when the markets fill themselves with the freshest fruit and vegetables of summertime. Italian cuisine is known for its simple preparation and quality of flavor. This balance is achieved by letting the produce used in each dish speak for itself without masking the natural flavor of the ingredients with unnecessary amounts of butter, cream, and salt. The key to having the natural flavor of the dish be more than enough to satisfy a palate is to cook with produce that is in season, and therefore at its most succulent, flavorful, and thankfully inexpensive state. A trip through the market was filled with dark red cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, watermelons, cantaloupe, white melon, lemons, oranges, tomatoes in all shapes and sizes, eggplant, and zucchini. In these early summer months, the market also had produce that was in its prime in the springtime but is still available in the markets like all sorts of beans, asparagus, leeks, artichokes, and strawberries. Italian Chef’s swear by only using the ingredients that are in season to achieve the finest quality dishes. The grocery stores may have more variety of choices but the fresh air markets, like San Ambrosio and Mercato Centrale, have the highest quality of produce.
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