About the Brine Calculator
This brine calculator tells you exactly how much salt (and optional sugar) to dissolve for a brine of any strength. Choose a wet brine — salt measured as a percentage of the water, the way most turkey, pork chop and pickle recipes are written — or a fermentation brine, where salt is a percentage of the total weight of vegetables plus water, the method used for sauerkraut, kimchi and fermented pickles.
Because salts differ hugely in density, it converts grams to tablespoons for table salt, fine sea salt, Morton kosher and Diamond Crystal kosher salt. A tablespoon of Diamond Crystal weighs roughly half as much as a tablespoon of table salt, which is why weighing salt is the most reliable way to brine.
Typical strengths: 3–6% for meat and poultry wet brines (shorter times at higher strength), 2–3% for sauerkraut and kimchi by vegetable weight, and 3.5–5% for fermented cucumber pickles. It also reports the true salinity of the finished solution, so you can compare recipes that use different conventions.
With the default inputs, the salt is 100 g. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the brine calculator
- 1Choose a wet brine or a fermentation brine.
- 2Enter the amount of water (and vegetable weight for ferments).
- 3Set the salt strength — for example 5% for poultry or 2% for sauerkraut.
- 4Add a sugar percentage if your recipe uses one.
- 5Pick your salt brand to see the amount by volume, then weigh or measure it.
Formula and method
Water is converted to grams at 1 g per millilitre (1 US gallon ≈ 3,785 g, 1 quart ≈ 946 g). For a wet brine the salt is the chosen percentage of the water weight; for fermentation it is the percentage of vegetables plus water, so the salt ends up evenly distributed once the vegetables release their juices. Sugar uses the same basis.
Volume conversions use approximate weights per level tablespoon: about 18 g for table salt, 17 g for fine sea salt, 15 g for Morton kosher and 8 g for Diamond Crystal kosher. Crystal size varies by brand and batch, so weigh salt whenever precision matters. True salinity (salt as a share of the total weight, including the salt itself and, for ferments, the vegetables) is slightly lower than the "% of water" figure.
- S%
- Chosen salt strength
- Water
- Water weight in grams
- Vegetables
- Vegetable weight in grams (ferment mode)
Worked examples
5% brine in 2 liters of water
2 L of water weighs 2,000 g, and 5% of that is 100 g of salt — about 6⅔ tablespoons of Morton kosher salt. The finished solution is 100 ÷ 2,100 = 4.76% salt by weight.
Turkey brine: 2 gallons at 6% with 3% sugar
Two US gallons is about 7,571 g of water. 6% salt is 454 g (almost exactly 1 lb) — about 3½ cups of Diamond Crystal — and 3% sugar is 227 g.
Sauerkraut: 1.5 kg cabbage at 2%
With no added water, salt is 2% of the 1,500 g of shredded cabbage: 30 g, or about 1¾ tablespoons of fine sea salt.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ratio of salt to water for a brine?+
A standard meat brine is about 5–6% salt by weight of water — roughly 50–60 g of salt per liter, or about 1½ cups of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (about ¾ cup of table salt) per US gallon. Weaker 2–3% brines can be used for longer soaks.
How much salt do I need for sauerkraut?+
Use about 2% of the cabbage weight — 20 g of salt per kilogram of shredded cabbage. Many fermenters use 1.5–2.5%; lower salt ferments faster and softer, higher salt is slower and crunchier.
Can I use table salt instead of kosher salt for brine?+
Yes, but measure by weight or reduce the volume. A tablespoon of table salt weighs about twice as much as a tablespoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, so swapping cup for cup would make the brine roughly twice as salty.
How long should I brine chicken or turkey?+
In a 5–6% brine, chicken pieces need about 1–4 hours, a whole chicken 4–12 hours and a whole turkey 12–24 hours. Keep the brining food below 40°F (4°C) throughout, in the fridge or a cooler with ice.
What salt percentage is used for fermented pickles?+
Fermented cucumber pickles commonly use a 3.5–5% brine by weight; lower percentages ferment faster but risk soft pickles, especially in warm kitchens. Other vegetables such as carrots and peppers do well at 2–3%.