Ask anyone even marginally involved in the world of Spanish food about the most highly anticipated new Spanish import and your answer is likely to be one and only one product: jamón Ibérico.While the arrival of this prized product has been delayed time and time again, one importer has confirmed the first shipment of Ibérico products is on the way. Fermin USA—a partnership between Embutidos Fermín, José Andrés (of Jaleo restaurants in Washington, D.C.) and The Rogers Collection—will bring in a shipment of jamón Ibérico (bone in, and boneless), paletas de IIbérico (pork shoulders), sometime in the Fall of 2007.

What’s more, they anticipate the Spring-Summer 2008 arrival of the prized jamón Ibérico de Bellota—the fatty, sweet, delicious black-hoofed Ibérico pigs that gorge on acorns and grow to twice their weight. The longer wait time for the Ibérico pigs cannot be avoided, according to Taylor Griffin, President of The Rogers Collection and a partner in Fermin USA, as the high fat content of these Ibérico pigs requires more time to age. The only issue with jamón Ibérico, other than the delay, is the price. According to Taylor Griffin, the jamón Ibérico will run $80 a pound, while jamón Ibérico de Bellota will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 a pound. It’s certainly not going to be an everyday ham to use in sandwiches at lunch, but for a special occasion, some things are worth the price.

While Ibérico is certainly the buzzword of the Spanish import world, the crop of other new products from Spain is equally exciting, and includes everything from hand-made chocolates to gluten-free Romesco sauce.

Sam Niglio, president of International Specialty Foods, will be bringing in a roster of new products from all over Spain, including Sun Bites, a mini baked wheat and olive oil cracker from Barcelona, in three flavors—black olive, wheat, and cheese. He also plans to import the full line of Agromar seafood products, including tuna, lobster, and crab patés, beans and clams, sea urchin caviar, anchovies with Manchego cheese in oil, baby squid in ink sauce, and mini calamari, all from Asturias in the North of Spain. He’s also bringing new items from Salazones Serrano, including smoked fish like mojama, as well as botarga and boquerones. Cebesa USA, a subsidiary of International Specialty Foods, is importing user-friendly packets of squid and squid ink sauce, conveniently packaged with recipes, to help open the American market to this wonderful Spanish delicacy.

Betsy Power, of Matiz España, the Spanish import arm of The Culinary Collective (formerly known as Power-Selles) is also bringing in a boatload of new products, but she is most excited about the expanded line of dark chocolate Sabores from Barcelona’s artisan chocolatier Blanxart. She’ll offer four different flavors—ginger, nibs, orange, green tea—in addition to their full line of bars, baking chocolates and bonbons. Power’s chocolate line will also grow to include an expanded selection of hand made bonbons and chocolates from Oriol Balaguer, the acclaimed pastry chef and owner of Estudi de Xocolata i Pastisseria (the Chocolate & Confections Atelier) in Barcelona.

But one of her most popular items has nothing to do with chocolate. It’s the simple Torta de Aceite, the light, crispy and flaky Sevillian biscuits made from wheat flour, extra virgin olive oil, almonds, sesame seeds, and anise that are perfect with savory cheeses or as a sweet snack with hot chocolate or coffee. She’s currently importing them in three flavors: savory, sweet, and sweet with almonds, but she will be importing new flavors, possibly one with sea salt and black pepper and another with cinnamon.

Power will also bring in two brand new sauces under the Matiz brand. The first is a fresh take on a Romesco sauce made without breadcrumbs so it is gluten free. The second is a new Alioli that follows the traditional recipe of garlic and oil but is made without eggs.

Epicure Spain is gearing up for a very busy 2008. They are importing a host of new olive oils and vinegars from Sol & Tierra, a line that specializes in traditional Andalusian foods. On the roster are several new olive oils including the Hojiblanca Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed from hojiblanca olives which grow in the area of Córdoba, an Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and a Coupage de la Familia Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a sweet, intense, fruity oil that’s produced from a blend of olives secretly guarded by the family. (Tel: 510-531-6621).

They will also bring in a new Sol & Tierra Pedro Ximénez sweet vinegar from the Córdoba area, as well as Moscatel vinegar, a pale-yellow sweet vinegar that is extraordinarily smooth and quite complex, made from 100% Moscatel grapes, and a sweet dry fig vinegar made form sun dried figs that are macerated in alcohol.

One of their most unique imports is a product called Pedro Ximénez Wine Reduction Tears, which is made by slowly reducing Pedro Ximénez and extracting the humidity, leaving it super concentrated and syrupy. Wine Reduction Tears is suitable for a many uses and is perfect with meats, salads and for desserts, drizzled over ice cream, and fruits.

The traditional Andalusian tapenade—Olivadas—also packaged under the Sol & Tierra label, will be imported in two different styles: Black Olivada with anchovies and Green Olivada with garlic. Three different combinations of Spanish olives, cured by artisanal methods, will also be introduced in 2008 under the Sol & Tierra label. The olives are cured for months in natural brine, using a variety of fresh spices to add the flavors reflective of different regions: Sevilla style, Granada style and Córdoba style.

Epicure Spain is also bringing in a line of canned fish under the Lorea “Green Selection” label from the Basque region. The line of tuna includes line-caught white tuna from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean coasts, poached and packed in organic extra virgin olive oil, as well as the coveted Ventresca, gorgeous fillets obtained from the underbelly of the fish, which are also preserved in organic extra virgin olive oil. Lorea “Green Selection” also includes cured anchovies packed in organic extra virgin olive oil, and anchovy paste. All Lorea “Green Selection” fish are caught through traditional and sustainable fishing methods, ensuring not only the survival of the anchovy and white tuna species, but also of Spain’s traditional fishing communities.

Mark Hernandez of Yaya Imports is bringing in some off-beat Spanish products including Solera Luna certified honey from Granada’s PDO (packaged in glass and ceramic jars) in several varieties, including chestnut, wildflower, avocado, rosemary, citrus and thousand flower (a blend of honeys). He is also importing a truffle called Naranehoc, which are candied orange slices dipped in chocolate, individually packaged and made by La Estepeña, from Sevilla. In an effort to help Americans enjoy canned foods the way they do in Spain, he is also bringing in a canned Mamía seafood Paella that is pre-made and just needs to be heated up for a delicious and convenient dinner.

While importers are gearing up to share their new products with the world, chefs are already getting their hands on some of Spain’s new bounty. Seamus Mullen, the chef of Boqueria and Suba in New York City, is most excited with the kokotxas (cod jowls) that he was able to find this Spring which were finally at the quality level he was looking for. (He won’t reveal his source for fear that other chefs will buy them out.) He’s also a big fan of “arrope,” a grape must and candied squash syrup from the Basque region that he uses as a condiment on cheese plates and over desserts and rice pudding. One of his favorite new basic products for the kitchen is a new line of sea salts from Flor de Sal, in Mallorca, which he likes in their hibiscus and olive flavors.

Alex Raij, the chef and an owner of New York City’s Tía Pol and El Quinto Pino, also loves the new sea salts from Spain, though she favors the plain and the smoked varieties from Sal de Maxmeridia. “They have large flakes of salt that I love,” she says. And it’s nice to be able to use Spanish salt.”

Like Mullen, Raij is also a fan of salt cod and she particularly likes the newly available Giraldo Bacalao, which she says is “an outstanding salt cod being imported by Despaña Brand Foods.” “They have very special Basque cuts. I can’t emphasize enough how great it is.” As for new cheeses, she has become fond of Guriezo, a raw sheep’s milk cheese from Cantabria that she calls “Spanish Parmesan, for its crystal-like texture.” “It’s more acidic and less nutty, but very special,” she says.

For her newest restaurant, El Quinto Pino, she is excited about Horchata, the creamy chufa tiger nut milk from Valencia. “It has this great almond flavor and I am going to make a frozen Granita (sorbet) cocktail from it that will be spiked with Brandy,” she says. Now that sounds like something to get excited about.

The one product she’s coveting that she can’t get yet is Caviar de Riofrío, a beluga caviar from Granada, where sturgeon are farmed in the cold waters of the Riofrío river. “Once it’s available here, I will start doing caviar nights at the restaurant,” she says. “I have to have it. It’s amazing.” [Ed. note: Caviar de Riofrío expects that the product will be available again by Christmas through a new importer.]

Another importer is also making a world of new Spanish products available. Michele Buster of Forever Cheese is debuting two new flavors of turrón (sesame pepper and rosepeach) from Ludomar, a Catalan chocolatier who has been making artisanal chocolates for more than 50 years using techniques passed down through the family over generations. She’s also thrilled about the arrival of Aubocassa, an estate-produced oil made from early harvest Arbequina olives produced on the eastern side of Majorca, on an estate that dates as far back as the 12th century. “The olives are harvested early to capture the ultimate fruitiness of the Arbequina’s, and the end flavor is redolent of crisp green olives,” she says. “It also has a wonderful buttery quality which chefs love.” In addition to the turrón and the new olive oil she’ll offer Mitica Lavender Honey, a raw Spanish honey cultivated using wild lavender that is light and floral and is perfect with cheese.

Speaking of cheese, the folks at Murray’s Cheese in New York City are bringing in about a half-dozen new products from Spain. Sarah Zaborowski, Murray’s Director of Merchandising, explained that her goal has been to bring in more non-sheep’s milk cheeses to have more variety. “Spain is so diverse and has so many different regions, from the islands to Pyrenees. For me, getting a cross section of the country is the goal,” she says.

Zaborowski’s favorite new cheeses include Aragonés, a washed rind cow’s milk cheese from Zaragoza that’s fairly mild with a fruity finish; Señorio de Montelarreina Gran Reserva—a pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Castilla-León that’s aged for about a year and is similar to Manchego, with lots of nuttiness and a pineapple-y finish; Majorero, a raw goat’s milk cheese from the Canary Islands that’s aged for about 4-6 months and is a firm, very versatile slightly tart cheese; and the Clara, another raw goat’s milk cheese from León, that is dome-shaped, covered with ash, with a creamline. The final cheese she’s awaiting is Ombra. It’s a pasteurized sheep’s milk cheese from Catalonia that’s aged about five months and is reminiscent of Manchego.

The Rogers Collection is also getting in on the cheese market, importing the Torta Cañarejal on the suggestion of chef José Andres. This sheep’s milk cheese from Extremadura is similar to Torta del Casar and Torta de la Serena but has a sweeter, earthier taste, and an even creamier, more liquid texture. Griffin is thrilled about the opportunity to bring it into the States and explained the origin of the idea to import it. “Ferran Adrià has this cheese on the menu at El Bulli, and he recommended it to José Andrés,” recalled Griffin. “And José called me and told me to find it and bring it into the States, which I did. When José tells you to find something, you find it.”

Finally, a few new products from Despaña Brand Foods are making their way to market. The first is a Mojo from Argodey Fortaleza of the Canary Islands. The rich sauce can be used with potatoes, fish, or just on crusty bread. It will be available in three varieties—a mild one made from garlic, olive oil and peppers, a spicy one made with hot peppers, and a bright green one made with cilantro. Despaña will also bring in the most coveted Spanish food (other than Ibérico)—a line of frozen Churros from Casimiro in Castilla that manager Lidia Sánchez guarantees will taste just like they do in Spain. Well, almost. After all, there’s nothing quite like eating Spanish food in Spain.

Andrea Strong is the author of The Strong Buzz, a twice-weekly blog and e-zine devoted to New York City’s food scene. Her writing appears weekly in The New York Post, and has also appeared in New York Magazine, and The New York Times. She is co-author of Sparks in The Kitchen, with Katy Sparks (Knopf 2006).