La Quercia (pronounced La Kwair-cha) was founded by Herb and Kathy Eckhouse on the belief that the food we eat can delight us each day.
Great food is more than great taste. It is healthful, nutritious, and pleasurable. Great food satisfies the senses and the body, the emotions and the mind. It is part of a responsible food system that sustains you, the producers, and the craftspeople, restaurants, and stores who support their communities and respect the environment.
Great food is made with the highest quality materials, careful adherence to the best of tradition, and the judicious use of modern tools.
Unique dry cured meats
La Quercia began with creating premium quality American prosciutto, then applied what we learned to other cuts of pork. Our appreciation for cured meats grew out of the three and a half years the Eckhouses lived in Parma, Italy, prosciutto’s area of origin, where they saw how the careful treatment of fine materials resulted in an accessible, sublime and entirely regional cuisine. Our ambition to create our own prosciutto came from our desire to take the bounty that surrounds us in Iowa to its highest expression. We seek to contribute to the growth of premium artisan-made American foods by offering unique dry cured meats of the finest quality.
We use local spices whenever possible. Our spice purveyors have rigorous safety controls to ensure the purity and integrity of their spices.
"The Oak"
La Quercia means “The Oak” in Italian. The Oak is a traditional symbol of the province of Parma, through its acorns, has been associated with the production of premium dry cured ham for millennia. It is also the state tree of Iowa, where La Quercia was founded. The name unites Iowa, Parma, and prosciutto, and is a symbol of patience, persistence, integrity, and beauty — values which guide us everyday.
