I bought a jar of sauerkraut at the farmers' market the other day, and when I opened it, the contents of the jar bubbled out like an uncorked bottle of champagne. “Uh-oh!” Matt said, “you'd better throw that out!”

Admittedly a bit alarmed myself, I tasted it, anyway, and not only did it not taste bad, it was quite simply the best sauerkraut I have ever tasted in my life. The label on my organic Hawthorne Valley Farm sauerkraut explained that their “lacto-fermented vegetables are made traditionally. They are unpasteurized and raw; they will continue to ferment and fizz. Raw lacto-fermented vegetables contain Vitamin C and living beneficial bacteria and enzymes.”