Prosciutto, the salted and long-aged meat of the hind legs of a pig, has been made in Italy for thousands of years. Now, a couple in Iowa are turning out prosciutto to rival that of the finest pork artisans in Parma, writes The New York Times. Herb Eckhouse, a former Des Moines seed company executive, and his wife Kathy spent four years studying prosciutto-making, salting meat in their garage and aging it in a spare room. It's been on the market since 2005, and Vogue food writer Jeffrey Steingarten has declared it the best prosciutto he's ever tasted. And that, coming from the author of "The Man Who Ate Everything," is really saying something.
Now, prosciutto from La Quercia, as the company is called, is making a big splash with chefs coast to coast, and is sold at Whole Foods. The company now sells, in addition to prosciutto, other cured pork products like lardo, pancetta and speck.
Has anyone had La Quercia prosciutto? How does it compare to the Italian stuff?
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