Sauerkraut and other pickled foods were once
cultured by being left out on the shelves at room temperature to naturally ferment using salt or whey, but now these food items undergo a fundamentally different process replacing natural fermentation with a combination of vinegar and preservatives to
achieve the same acidic pickled flavor, however lacking the beneficial byproducts of fermentation.Another ancient method of fermentation that is now regaining popularity is
kefir - fermented beverages.