Florentines love tripe. There are tripe stands in the streets and the locals line up for this treat…a panino di trippa or lampredotto for lunch.
Tripe is usually cooked in a tomato sauce, lampredotto is simmered in a seasoned broth. It is eaten with just salt and pepper, salsa verde or hot sauce.
I can’t stand the sight or smell of either and I avoid the stands altogether, but they do sell more reasonable looking food if you are interested.
Before i stopped eating meat i absolutely loved tripe – good to see all parts of animal used anyway.
By: LoveLyndaLovely on October 31, 2013
at 3:20 pm
My mother used to cook it, but she could never make me eat it.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 31, 2013
at 3:27 pm
I remember our Peruvian friend cooked tripe for us,we stopped eating when he announced,’Isn’t the tripe tasty’? We did not know tripe was cow’s stomach,We looked at each other and stopped eating,’we are full’ we said.
By: ranu802 on October 31, 2013
at 3:23 pm
I think it looks revolting. I did taste it when I was young, only because I was made to, but I couldn’t stand the taste,
By: Debra Kolkka on October 31, 2013
at 4:23 pm
My parents cooked tripe in a white, parsley sauce and I quite liked it. Now that I live in the US I could not buy it even if I wanted too. Not sure what they do with it over here.
By: Pam Proctor on October 31, 2013
at 3:28 pm
That is how my mother cooked it, but I couldn’t stand it. The texture alone makes me gag. Fortunately my father didn’t like it either, so Mum just cooked it for herself occasionally.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 31, 2013
at 4:24 pm
They used to sell it in the States a long time ago. I think that there was some sort of USDA regulation against its sale and they stopped selling it; however, you may be able to buy at at some Latino and Asian foodshps. It is the main ingredient in a Mexican soup called “menudo”.
By: mulino dominillo on October 31, 2013
at 5:42 pm
I am a courageous eater, but I have yet to eat tripe. It’s about time I gave it a try…but something stops me every time…hmmm.
By: The Daily Cure on October 31, 2013
at 5:02 pm
It looks extremely unappealing, and tastes even worse.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:50 pm
I can’t stand tripe but I love lampredotto – which is made from the fourth and final part of a cow’s stomach – and we always have a panino of the stuff everytime we go to Florence! But in Lucca no-one wants to touch it. Wonder why?.
By: Francis on October 31, 2013
at 5:12 pm
I can understand why, it’s revolting
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:51 pm
I can eat livers, kidneys, sweetbreads… but I cannot stand tripe or brains, no matter how they are cooked, but I could kill for a panino con porchetta!!!
By: mulino dominillo on October 31, 2013
at 5:23 pm
I love porchetta too.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:52 pm
Did someone mention the P word – aaaaargh Porchetta!
What a noble creation
By: christopher oconnor on October 31, 2013
at 5:48 pm
Especially made from Cinta sinese pork.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:53 pm
thats a description of a pork product that I see quite a lot.
what is it?
By: christopher oconnor on November 3, 2013
at 1:42 am
It is a type of pig that is left to forage for food in the forest. It can’t be intensively farmed and has a distinctive flavour.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 3, 2013
at 6:35 am
I wrote a long comment about tripe and I must not have clicked on Post or something because it is not here, suffice it to say that most people do not like or eat tripe because they eat with their eyes or their minds and are thinking about where tripe comes from, Well cooked tripe and onions in a white parsley sauce is a meal in a million, the smell of it cooking would always get me to the table with relish. It is strange, the smell of some foods cooking in the street but Moules Mariniere in a bucket smell delicious and I can finish my portion and still lick my fingers with glee and yet the smell of a hot dog stand sends me in the other direction.
By: lawrencian on October 31, 2013
at 6:57 pm
I don’t like the taste or the smell of tripe, but obviously some people love it. There are queues every day at the tripe stands in Florence.
By: Debra Kolkka on October 31, 2013
at 9:02 pm
I’ve never had tripe, but then I’m not a huge fish fan.
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on October 31, 2013
at 10:10 pm
I like most kinds of fish, but tripe is not for me.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:54 pm
I’ve only had bits in a dish once … but never on a major scale. … and I don’t think it would appeal to me.
By: aFrankAngle on November 1, 2013
at 2:32 am
There are so many delicious things to eat here it isn’t necessary to eat tripe.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 3:59 pm
I think I had a ravioli with bits of tripe at the restaurant in Bagni near your place.
By: aFrankAngle on November 1, 2013
at 4:27 pm
I’m with you Debra, I can’t stand any sort of tripe!
By: Catherine on November 1, 2013
at 7:40 am
Just thinking about that horrible white stuff turns my stomach.
By: Debra Kolkka on November 1, 2013
at 4:01 pm
I must say any offal offerings are not for me. Just the thought is offal !!!!!
By: Jim & Kerry on November 2, 2013
at 5:46 pm
My husband loves tripe but I agree with you and don’t care for it…especially the smell.
By: Karen on November 2, 2013
at 6:31 pm
I am ambivalent about tripe. I am not hugely fond of it but I will sometimes eat it as long as I can’t smell that distinctive smell.
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on November 2, 2013
at 11:53 pm
I liked the way my mom made it, but she hasn’t made it in ages! Probably because no one else in our family will eat it! It’s gross to think about what it is, but it’s actually pretty tasty if it’s made right! I’m sure it’s delicious at these stands – you should try it 😉
By: tesorotreasures on November 3, 2013
at 1:46 pm
[…] near the boar’s statue in the old market in the centre of Florence (see Debra Kolkka’s post at http://bagnidilucca.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/a-load-of-tripe/) but there are several in the Santo Spirit […]
By: Can You Stomach It? | From London to Longoio (and Lucca and Beyond) Part Two on October 24, 2014
at 6:42 am