Trippa alla fiorentina and lampredotto

Trippa alla fiorentina and lampredotto. Lampredotto and tripe have always been part of Florence, they are associated with an ancient and “genuine ” culinary tradition of the city. In the past, every piece of the animal was precious, even the stomach, liver etc. That was the case everywhere in Europe not just in Florence. The symbolic quarter of tripe was San Frediano, the birthplace of tripe processing from the mid-nineteenth century when the first slaughterhouses were born on the current Lungarno Soderini,.

Tripe were boiled in large boilers which were then strung and hung on long lines of hooks, cleaned and boiled again, only then were they ready to be transferred to the tripe barrocci, at the time carts pushed by hand or mounted on wheels operated by pedals, for the happiness of those who waited in the streets or in restaurants for the “Saturday tripe!”. The saying was due to the slaughtering calendar which took place mainly on Thursdays and Fridays in anticipation of the greater demand for consumption linked to the holiday: tripe had to be consumed on Saturdays.

La trippa (tripe), is the part of the digestive organ found between the esophagus and the stomach of the cows. It can be cooked in many different ways but in Florence it is mostly cooked with tomato sauce and mushrooms accompanied by Parmigiano cheese. Lampredotto also comes from the stomach of a bovine, but is more tender, thin and flat, and it’s not white, but light brown.

The meat is boiled in a broth of herbs and vegetables, then finely sliced and as served inside a sandwich. Salt and pepper, green sauce and hot sauce are the traditional toppings, and a glass of red wine is the perfect drink to match with lampredotto. Some of the best Lampredotto in Florence you can find at Bambi Trippa e Lampredotto at Mercato Centrale, Via Dell’ Ariento . These people are tripe and lampredotto producers from 3 generations. They know whatever there is to know about what makes this dish right.