Blog - Food

Island delicacies on Elba: Local products and traditional dishes

Be sure to visit Elba with Netferry because it is truly one of the most beautiful islands in Italy.  Located in the Tuscan archipelago and bathed by the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Elba is a charming place to spend a holiday.  You can dive into the gorgeous sea, take walks to discover great views and breathtaking landscapes, and of course try the traditional Elban dishes.  The cuisine on Elba has ancient roots and is based on very simple ingredients that are combined in an imaginative way to produce really tasty dishes.  

Fish is at the heart of most dishes, together with local wild herbs.  There are beautiful aromas from rosemary, lentisk (a berry), juniper and laurel, plus capers and wild garlic in savoury dishes and for desserts, blackberries are commonly used.  

Honey is another important speciality on the island and is produced in various flavours, including Elban specialities such as strawberry tree, heather, and thistle honey; along with the classic millefiori honey, with notes of chestnut and eucalyptus. The island of Elba also has delicious cheeses, which are often accompanied by the honey. There are many goat farms on the island that produce exquisite cheeses and ricottas.  

A speciality dish on Elba is favolli soup, which contains locally caught crab, rockfish and wild beets. The soup has an exquisite taste and is usually served with slices of toasted bread flavoured with wild garlic.  Another delicious dish that contains cod is called sburrita, a fish soup enhanced by herbs or vegetables, chilli, garlic and nipitella, a herb belonging to the mint family. This soup used to be a typical lunch for miners who used to work on the island. Another typical Elban dish is stockfish alla riese, which is rich red stew prepared with care and cooked for a long time. It contains tomatoes and peppers, olives, onions, pine nuts and cheese.

The desserts are also not lacking on the Island of Elba, there is sportella which can be found around Easter for the Feast of Sportella. Also corolla, a ring-shaped sponge cake. The most famous cake on Elba is called schiaccia briaca and commemorates the encounter between the Saracens and the inhabitants of Elba. The cake is stuffed with pine nuts, raisins, almonds, honey and walnuts combined with Alchermes liquor and Aleatico wine all giving the cake its distinctive flavour and bright pink colour!

Ferries to Tuscany

Netferry provides easy online booking for all ferries to Elba! Netferry makes choosing your ferry really simple, just fill in the fields, follow the instructions and in just a few clicks you will have all of the information you need to buy your ferry ticket. The Netferry website provides you with all of the information you need for your ferry to the islands in the Tuscan Archipelago, such as Elba, Capraia, Giglio, Painosa, Gorgona and Giannutri.

Nerferry provides you with a sea of ferries!

Do you need help? Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions or need clarification.
+39 0831 564 257 info@netferry.com