Brine Calculator
Salt for any brine percentage, for fermenting, pickling and meat.
About this tool
Enter the water amount and the salt percentage, choose whether the percentage is of the water, the whole brine or the water plus food (equilibrium), and pick your salt type. The tool gives the salt in grams, tablespoons, teaspoons and ounces.
Getting brine right
Brines should be made by weight, because salts differ hugely in density. A tablespoon of fine table salt weighs about 18 g, but one of Diamond Crystal kosher salt only about 10 g, so a recipe written in spoons can be nearly twice as salty with a different brand. Most recipes give the percentage of the water's weight: 1 litre (1,000 g) at 3.5% needs 35 g of salt. Some define it as a percentage of the total brine; a fully saturated brine is about 26.4% salt by total weight, the most water can dissolve. Fermenters often use equilibrium brining, taking the percentage of water plus vegetables so the finished ferment reaches exactly that salt level, typically 2โ3%. Typical strengths: 2โ3.5% for sauerkraut-style vegetables and fermented pickles, around 5% for firm pickles, 5โ7% for turkey and pork brines, and 8% or more for olives and feta. Honest limits: spoon weights are approximate, so weigh salt for ferments. Prefer salt without iodine or anti-caking agents, and follow tested recipes for food safety, especially when canning. The cooking converter and the recipe scaler are related.
Frequently asked questions
How much salt for a 3.5% brine?
35 g of salt per litre (1,000 g) of water.
What is equilibrium brining?
Using a salt percentage of the combined weight of water and vegetables, so the final ferment has exactly that salt level.
What percentage brine for pickles?
About 3.5 to 5% for fermented pickles.
Why weigh salt instead of using spoons?
Salt types differ in density: a tablespoon of table salt can weigh almost twice as much as kosher salt.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing is stored or sent.