''Biroldo'' is a very dark, brownish-red, soft-textured Tuscan

blood sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the ...

about 4 inches (10 cm) wide, with lighter-coloured chunks of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

in it. It was traditionally made from parts of the

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

such as the heart, lungs, and tongue, that wouldn't be used for other

sausages A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with Edible salt, salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or ex ...

. Because offal was used, the sausage would start being made as soon as the pig was slaughtered so that the taste of the offal would be at its freshest. The offal is boiled, chopped, and seasoned with spices including

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

star anise ''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to South China and northeast Vietnam. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripen ...

, cinnamon,

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

, and garlic. Pig's blood is added and it is formed into a sausage, using the pig's bladder or stomach as casing, which is cooked and then cooled with weights on top to press out the fat. It can be preserved in lard for 5 to 6 months, or eaten fresh within 8 to 10 days. ''Biroldo'' made in

Garfagnana The Garfagnana () is a historical and geographical region of central Italy, today part of the province of Lucca, in Tuscany. It is the upper valley or basin of the river Serchio, and thus lies between the main ridge of the Northern Apennines ...

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Tuscany, differs from that made in the rest of the province of Lucca in that in Garfagnana the head is also used. This ''biroldo'' made in Garfagnana is sometimes called ''biroldo della Versilia'', named after the Versilian Riviera, which is the strip of Tuscan coast starting at

Forte dei Marmi Forte dei Marmi () is an Italian sea town and ''comune'' located in the province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany, overlooking the Ligurian Sea. Tourism is the principal activity of Forte dei Marmi's citizens. The population of the town, amounting to ...

in Lucca and stretching down 20 km south to Torre del Lago Puccini. The Garfagnana mountain range is in the Tuscan province of Lucca. The cities of Barga and Castelnuovo are in it. Garfagnana ''biroldo'' is not really exported, even out of the area: almost all produced (90%) is eaten right in Garfagnana. In

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, Tuscany, a sweeter version uses

pine nuts Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...

, sultanas and pig's blood. For their savoury version, the Pistoians use calf's blood, and cheese.

References

Italian sausages Blood dishes {{Italy-cuisine-stub

See also

References