Brine & Salinity Calculator

Enter how much vegetable and water you’re packing and your target salinity. The calculator returns the grams of salt to weigh out — by the equilibrium-brine method, corrected for the purity of your salt.

VegetableCabbageCucumberCarrotNapa cabbageChili pepperGreen beanRadish/DaikonBeetGarlicGinger

Recommended 3.5–5% · Low — softens fast; needs tannin/cold

Salt typeFine sea saltPickling/canning saltDiamond Crystal kosherMorton kosherTable salt (iodized)Coarse sea saltHimalayan pinkGrey sea salt (sel gris)

99% NaCl · Default. Pure, dissolves fast.

Vegetable (g)

Water (g)

Target salt (% EQ)

2.0%2.5%3.0%3.5%5.0%

70.7g

Fine sea salt to weigh

In range

70.0g

pure NaCl

3.50%

equilibrium salinity

Equilibrium brine: salt is 3.5% of the combined vegetable + water weight, so the whole jar equilibrates to target as the brine and vegetable exchange. Weigh salt by mass — never by volume.

How it works

Equilibrium brining computes salt as a percentage of the combined vegetable + water weight, rather than of the water alone. Because salt migrates until the vegetable and the brine reach the same concentration, this makes the whole jar settle at your target — which is what actually governs flavor and safety.

The formula:

salt_g = (vegetable_g + water_g) × target% / 100

For example, 1000 g cucumber + 1000 g water at 3.5 % equilibrium needs 70 g of pure salt. Weighed grey sea salt (≈ 92 % NaCl) would need a bit more by mass to deliver the same NaCl.

Caution

Use non-iodized salt with no anti-caking agents (fine sea, pickling/canning, or kosher salt). Iodine inhibits fermentation and additives cloud the brine. Always weigh salt by mass — flaked salts like Diamond Crystal weigh roughly half as much per tablespoon as table salt.

Choosing a target

• Lacto-vegetables (submerged): 2.0–3.0 % is the everyday band; use 3.0 % above 24 °C or for ferments longer than two weeks.
• Cucumbers: 3.5–5.0 % — they soften easily and benefit from a firmer brine plus a tannin source (grape, oak, or tea leaf).
• Below 2 %: flagged in red — the ferment loses its safety head start. See Safety First.

Note

For dry-salt ferments like sauerkraut, salt is computed against the shredded-vegetable weight only (no added water). A dedicated dry-salt mode arrives with the rest of the Brine & Salinity suite in Phase 1.