The timing of the readiness of sauerkraut depends on the type of vegetable, the storage temperature of the fermented dish, so it is impossible to say with certainty when the dish can be eaten. It is possible to determine the readiness of cabbage only by its appearance and taste, the brine in which it is fermented.
After fermentation, cabbage can be eaten any day, the only thing worth considering is that in the first days the vegetable will resemble a fresh cabbage salad, and only after a certain time the dish will acquire a pleasant sourness. Therefore, if you want to feast on sauerkraut, then you should wait until all the signs of complete readiness of the meal appear.
How to understand that cabbage is fermented in a jar
First of all, you should pay attention to the amount of cabbage in the jar (well, or in the container in which it is fermented, for example, in a saucepan, bucket). Usually, a completely finished dish loses its original volume by 20 percent. That is, if the vegetable is fermented in a 3-liter jar, while the container is tightly packed with cabbage almost to the very neck, then the finished dish will settle by five centimeters from the original volume.
You can also determine the readiness of the cabbage by the state of the juice in which the vegetable is fermented. Usually, on the first or second day after fermentation, an intensified fermentation of the dish begins, and foam forms on the surface of the brine. So, a decrease in the amount of foam or its complete disappearance indicates that fermentation is over, and the product can be stored in a cool place.
Well, the most reliable method for determining the readiness of a product is taking a sample. Fresh sauerkraut has a sweet and sour taste, and the vegetables themselves have a good density and crunch on the teeth.
Fermented cabbage: what to do next
Further actions with cabbage depend on the purpose of cooking. If the food was prepared in small quantities for food for a couple of weeks, then you can simply put it in the refrigerator and use it as needed.
If the cabbage was fermented in large quantities (in a bucket), then in this case it is worth taking care of freezing the product. The fact is that the first five to six weeks of storing food at above-zero temperatures will not particularly affect its taste, but a longer exposure of cabbage (even sauerkraut) in heat will certainly lead to its deterioration.
