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A decade ago, prosciutto di Parma was one of only a few decent dry-cured hams you could get in this country—at least legally. Not that the law has ever been much of a deterrent to top chefs, who seem to have a way of getting their hands on the best-tasting foods, Canadian Food Inspection Agency be damned. Toronto chefs even developed a sort of early warning system: If one of them received a visit from the inspector (and had to surrender his bootleg ham), the chef would then call his peers to hide their gams.

But contraband is hard to come by. Happily, more and more hams have taken the legal route to Canadian deli counters in recent years, from Italy's sweet San Daniele to our newest arrival, the much-touted Ibérico de bellota from Spain. Even New World producers are getting in on the act, sometimes rivalling Old World efforts: Oenophile Robert Parker has compared the jamón rossa from Iowa's La Quercia to the famed Ibérico.

Nevertheless, there's nothing like the real thing, and when the first (legal) shipment of jamón Ibérico arrived in Toronto this spring, nearly half the city seemed to crowd into Bay Street's Pangaea restaurant for a taste. Widely considered the world's best ham, the meat is generously streaked with a nutty, sweet-tasting fat that is high in oleic acids (and therefore good cholesterol), thanks to the pig's steady diet of acorns.

But with good taste comes a high price tag: Bellota is also the world's most expensive ham. Pusateri's, a chi-chi Toronto grocery store, sells the stuff at a whopping $500 a kilogram. The first shipment to Canada sold out almost instantly. Why so pricey? The black Iberian breed takes up to two years to mature (as opposed to six months for a conventional white pig) before it is slaughtered. The legs are cured for another 36 months, and Spain had to build a CFIA- and FDA-approved slaughterhouse before it could begin curing hams for export to North America. This month, U.S. gastronomes hope to get their first taste of legal bellota. Better not tell them we got the first bite.

Niagara Prosciutto
From Ontario
Tastes Meaty and salty
Pair with Niagara figs,
honey and a brut bubbly

Serrano
From Trevelez, Spain
Tastes Deeply complex
and meaty
Pair with A glass of sherry and a younger Manchego cheese

Ibérico de Bellota
From La Alberca, Spain
Tastes Nutty, tender and rich
Pair with Nothing. This pork
is matchless

San Daniele
From Friuli, Italy
Tastes Sweet, moist and fruity
Pair with Fresh Montasio (Friuli's catch-all cow's milk cheese) and a glass of pinot gris

La Quercia Rossa
From Iowa
Tastes Buttery and nutty
Pair with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and warm bread