• Suzanne Podhaizer
• Kimchi-jjigae with Sobremesa kimchi

At first glance, these ingredients may strike a reader as dissonant: anchovies and apples and vegetables? But when they go into Vermont's Sobremesa kimchi — locally grown Napa cabbage, carrots and daikon smeared with an intensely flavored seasoning paste and then fermented — the result is symphonic.

The flavor starts off sour, as you bite down on vegetables that retain some crunch but don't squeak between the teeth. In sweeps the heat from gochugaru pepper, jolting your tongue and sinuses. Finally, there's a hint of sweetness from the apples and a dose of fish sauce funk.

A single forkful of these fermented veggies lights up the taste buds and, at least in my case, makes the eater feel more alive.

Some products sold as "kimchi" in the U.S. share a mere thread of connection with traditional Korean ferments. But Sobremesa owners Caitlin Rodriguez Elberson and Jason Elberson strive to keep cultural traditions intact, despite having made a tweak to the classic formula by using Champlain Orchards apples in place of Asian pears.

The husband-and-wife team currently lives and ferments in Charlotte but launched the biz in Marshfield in 2014. "When we started brainstorming about having a fermented foods business, I was elated about the existence of kimchi," Caitlin said. "It's a complex, culturally important food, a condiment that is present at just about every meal."

• Suzanne Podhaizer
• Sobremesa kimchi

In addition to kimchi, the couple make and sell curtido (a cabbage relish), kombucha and a variety of sauerkrauts. They use local, organic produce in their ferments while sourcing a few crucial ingredients, including Vietnamese Red Boat fish sauce, outside the state.

One of their early suppliers was Full Moon Farm's David Zuckerman, then a state senator and now Vermont's lieutenant governor. Jason recalled swinging into the Statehouse parking lot to meet the politician and pick up hundreds of pounds of produce. "It was a funny experience," he said.

These days, Sobremesa sources its kimchi veggies exclusively from Zuckerman. "The quality is just incredible," Jason said.

To make their kimchi, the Elbersons brine Napa cabbage overnight in salt water, then slather it with a spice paste made with organic hot peppers from a Korean family farm, garlic, ginger, apple and fish sauce. The kimchi is then fermented, bottled and stored.

I scoop spoonfuls of Sobremesa kimchi into my breakfast bowls, appreciating the bite it brings to my daily sunny-side-up eggs on wilted greens. I drape strands over beef bulgogi tacos or pile it beside galbi — thinly cut beef ribs soaked in a tangy-sweet marinade. Another favorite use is in kimchi-jjigae, a fatty pork and kimchi stew sometimes garnished with tofu. Want to liven up a breakfast sandwich, a burger or a hot dog? You get the gist.

Sobremesa ferments are available at a number of farm stores and co-ops in central and northern Vermont and at the biz's online store. But the best way to get Sobremesa products is to visit Caitlin and Jason at the Burlington Farmers Market when it's in season.

There, you can quiz them on their favorite ways to eat kimchi, although they'll probably tell you the same thing they told me: "We basically eat it on the side of everything."

Small Pleasures is an occasional column that features delicious and distinctive Vermont-made food or drinks that pack a punch. Send us your favorite little bites or sips with big payoff at [email protected].