Brassica & Brine's Lacto-Fermented Pickles & Kimchi

Brassica & Brine's motto should be, "Rock kraut with the vinegar (and heat and preservatives) out."

To make the food company's pickles, kimchi and, yes, kraut, Los Angeles-based founder Jordan Laio lacto-ferments local, organic vegetables using a simple, centuries-old method.

He preserves Brassica & Brine's raw vegetables using only sea salt harvested from the California coast. It's a process he became impassioned about when he was an apprentice at Adamah Farm in northwestern Connecticut. The method creates fermented foods that are packed with nutrients and probiotics.

Similarly, Brassica & Brine's cultured specialties are also loaded with flavor. Heavy lavender notes in the Four Thieves Kraut ($8), fermented for eight weeks, take pork or chicken from familiar to intensely aromatic. Kimchi Karma ($10), redolent with curry, adds Indian heat to any grilled sausage or simple scrambled eggs; kale lovers may shovel forkfuls of sweetly bitter Chlorophyll Kraut ($10) straight from the jar.

Late summer and early fall promise spicy, garlicky cucumber pickles, Moroccan pickled lemons and dilly beans. The biggest pickle, as far as we're concerned? Which to try first.

Brassica & Brine, available at brassicaandbrine.com.