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This is sauerkraut after fermenting for 16 days in these jars. About 4 pounds of cabbage fit into these 3 jars. I burped the jars twice daily for the first 4 days, then daily after that. After the first 7 - 10 days, I began burping them about once every three days. The small jar really smells like sauerkraut. The contents taste like sauerkraut too. The larger jars smell like sauerkraut, just not quite as strong. They are kept in the dark inside a cupboard that has a temperature around 68 - 70 F. The sauerkraut is kept submerged under the brine with larger folded cabbage leaves. I also placed shot glasses on top of the leaves to keep everything submerged under the brine when I screw on the jar lids.
I've checked the jars regularly for any kind of mold or off odors. So far so good. I will probably ferment the larger jars at least another week and a half. I may soon be refrigerating the smaller jar. This is the second batch of sauerkraut that I have fermented. The first time I fermented the batch for only three days before refrigerating. This was based on recommendations from a youtube video I saw. That was not long enough. The first batch tasted like salty cabbage. I still ate it over time.
Since then I did a lot more reading and research and felt confident in trying a longer ferment period. This batch definitely is proving to be developing a nice sauerkraut smell as the fermentation proceeds.
One important lesson I learned: Leave plenty of space at the top of the jars. During the first 3 - 4 days, when fermentation is vigorous, the brine levels can rise a lot and in my case, two jars fermenting became three. Hence the smaller jar.