Iowa fills the supermarkets with generic produce and meat... but a few people are trying to show that it can be capable of world-class cuisine, too. That's the mission of La Quercia, whose prosciutto made in a suburb of Des Moines has been raved about by top chefs and food writers.

In this Sky Full of Bacon we tour La Quercia's prosciuttificio and talk with founders Herb and Kathy Eckhouse about starting an artisanal food business, their quest for excellence, and their struggles in finding and supporting farmers willing to raise pigs humanely and environmentally. And chefs from several top Chicago restaurants talk about how La Quercia has changed their ideas about food from the midwest. (20:23) For more information on this James Beard Award-nominated series, go to skyfullofbacon.com/blog. (Note: if video is slow to load, you can click "HD Is On" button to turn HD off.)