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Brine Calculator

Enter your water and brine strength, or the weight of your cabbage for dry salting. Get the salt in grams, ounces and spoons for canning, sea and kosher salt.

Ferment preset & salting method

Quick start:
Salting method
Water brine for chunks/whole veg; dry salt for shredded kraut.

Water or vegetable weight & salt %

You typeWe calculate

How it's calculated

Brine:    salt = water × %
Dry salt: salt = veg × %
Spoons = grams ÷ g per tsp

A milliliter of water weighs about a gram. Spoon measures differ by salt type, so the table shows each one.

Sources and worked example
Salt for 1 quart of water at 2.5%24 g0.83 oz · weigh it if you can
Exact salt weight & spoon equivalents

24 g (0.83 oz) of salt — about 1 tbsp + 1 tsp canning/table salt or 2 tbsp + 2½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher

Morton coarse kosher: 1 tbsp + 2 tsp · Fine sea salt: 1 tbsp + 1¼ tsp. Always weigh salt on a scale when possible.

Salt typeApprox. spoon measure
Canning, pickling or table salt1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Fine sea salt (Morton)1 tbsp + 1¼ tsp
Morton coarse kosher1 tbsp + 2 tsp
Diamond Crystal kosher2 tbsp + 2½ tsp
Salt / water2.50%
Salt / finished brine2.44%
Quart jars, about2

K-State plans on about 2 cups of brine and 1 pound of vegetables per quart jar.

Track every fermenting jar:Making about 2 quart jars with 24 g of salt? The Fermentation Tracker Spreadsheet logs each batch's start date, salt %, and target days so you can see which jars are Ready Now or Overdue at a glance.

Keeping more than one ferment going?

An estimate for planning, not food safety advice. Follow a tested recipe, weigh your salt and don't cut it back.

Made with the free Brine Calculator at cleanpixelstudios.com/tools/brine-calculator/

Fermentation Tracker Spreadsheet preview
The full template

Track every jar from salt to ready date

  • Batch Log with ready date, days left and a Fermenting, Ready Now or Overdue status
  • Recipe Library that saves salt %, ratios and ferment days, and rescales the salt
  • Dashboard showing which jars are ready, overdue or need a check today
  • Feed schedules for sourdough starters, SCOBYs and kefir grains
Fermentation Tracker Spreadsheet$15.00One-time · instant download
Excel + Google Sheets + PDF guide5.0 shop rating on Etsy

How the brine calculator works

There are two ways to salt a ferment. Shredded vegetables like cabbage are usually dry salted: you mix the salt into the vegetables and they make their own brine. Whole or chunked vegetables like cucumbers and carrots go under a salt water brine. Illinois Extension describes both, and the calculator has a mode for each.

1. Brine: salt as a percentage of the water

Multiply the water's weight by the brine percentage. A milliliter of water weighs about a gram, so a quart is about 946 g. UC Master Food Preservers write it as 1% = 10 g per liter, and say tested recipes fall between 2% and 10%. Illinois Extension uses 3% for shredded vegetables and 5% for large vegetables like cucumbers and carrots.

2. Dry salt: salt as a percentage of the vegetables

Weigh the vegetables after trimming and multiply by the salt percentage. The NCHFP sauerkraut recipe uses 3 tablespoons of canning salt for 5 pounds of cabbage, about 2.4%. If the cabbage hasn't made enough juice to cover itself, NCHFP tops it up with brine made from 1½ tablespoons of salt per quart of water.

3. Measure the salt

Weigh it if you can. The same spoon holds very different amounts depending on the grain. UC ANR's chart gives a teaspoon of canning or table salt as 6 g, Morton coarse kosher as 4.8 g and Diamond Crystal kosher as 2.8 g. Morton's fine sea salt label gives 1.4 g per quarter teaspoon, or 5.6 g per teaspoon. Other sea salts and flaky salts vary too much to measure by the spoon.

Typical salt for common ferments

Each percentage is worked out from the source's own recipe, with canning salt at 6 g per teaspoon.

Ferment and source recipeWorks out to
Sauerkraut, dry saltedNCHFP: 3 tbsp canning salt per 5 lb cabbage2.4% of vegetables
Most vegetables in chunksK-State Extension: 1 tsp salt per cup of water2.5% of water
Top-up brine for krautNCHFP: 1½ tbsp salt per quart of water2.9% of water
Shredded vegetables in brineIllinois Extension: 3%: 27 g salt per quart of water3% of water
Cucumbers, peppers, carrotsIllinois and K-State Extension: 5%: 45 g per quart (Illinois); 2 tsp per cup (K-State)5% of water
Fermented dill picklesNCHFP: ½ cup salt in 8 cups water + ¼ cup vinegar7.4% of liquid

Worked example

Mixed vegetables in chunks, such as green beans and cauliflower, under a 2.5% brine, in one quart of water. One quart is 946 g of water, so the salt is 946 g × 2.5% = 24 g (0.83 oz). That is 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of canning salt or 2 tbsp + 2½ tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. K-State's 1 teaspoon per cup is the same strength.

For sauerkraut, 5 pounds of shredded cabbage (2,268 g) at 2.4% takes 54 g of salt, which is 3 tbsp of canning salt. That matches the NCHFP recipe. At 70 to 75°F, NCHFP says kraut is fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks.

Where the sources differ

The biggest difference is what the percentage is a percentage of. Extension recipes divide the salt by the water, so a 2.5% brine is 23.7 g per quart. Dividing by the finished brine (water plus salt) needs 24.3 g for the same 2.5%, a small difference at fermenting strengths. Dividing by the water plus the vegetables, sometimes called an equilibrium brine, gives a much weaker brine, because the vegetables count toward the total. Pick the convention your recipe uses. The extension recipes on this page all use the water.

Spoon conversions differ too. Illinois Extension rounds 3% to 2 tablespoons (27 g) per quart, while the exact figure is closer to 28 g. UC's Inyo-Mono program notes that salt ranges from 230 to 335 g per cup depending on the type. That is why the calculator works in grams and treats the spoon measures as a guide.

Sources

FAQ

Common questions

How do I make a 3.5% brine?

Weigh 35 g of salt for every liter of water (33 g per quart). That is salt as a percentage of the water's weight, the way extension recipes count it. Stir until it dissolves and pour it over the vegetables.

How much salt do I need for sauerkraut?

The National Center for Home Food Preservation uses 3 tablespoons of canning or pickling salt for every 5 pounds of shredded cabbage. That works out to about 2.4% of the cabbage weight, or 54 g per 5 pounds.

Is brine percentage by weight of the water or the total?

Most fermenting recipes mean the water. UC Master Food Preservers define a 1% solution as 10 g of salt per liter of liquid. A chemist would divide by the water plus the salt, which needs a little more salt for the same number. Some fermenters divide by the water plus the vegetables, which gives a weaker brine. The calculator lets you pick and shows all three.

Can I use kosher salt or sea salt for fermenting?

Canning or pickling salt is the one extension services recommend. UC Master Food Preservers note that additives in other salts can cloud the brine, darken vegetables or interfere with fermenting. If you use a pure kosher or sea salt, weigh it. A tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs less than half a tablespoon of canning salt, so swapping by the spoon leaves the brine too weak. Penn State Extension says salt substitutes are not safe for fermented foods.

Can I use less salt in a ferment?

Not in a tested recipe. Penn State Extension says salt is vital to safety because it favors the good bacteria and holds back others, and warns against cutting the salt in sauerkraut or fermented pickles.

How much brine does a quart jar need?

K-State Research and Extension plans on about 1 pound of vegetables and about 2 cups of brine per quart jar when brining, or about 2 pounds of vegetables when dry salting.

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