acalculator

How much salt for my brine?

Type how much water you have and the brine strength you want. The brine calculator gives the salt to weigh out for pickling, fermenting or brining meat.

Your numbers

Percent of
Salt (g)
50

Dissolve 50 g of salt (1.76 oz) in 1,000 g of water.

Salt (oz)
1.76
Water (g)
1,000
Brine (g)
1,050
Salt as % of water
5
Salt as % of brine
4.76

Salt (g): 50. Dissolve 50 g of salt (1.76 oz) in 1,000 g of water.

How to calculate

Works out the salt for a brine of a given strength from the amount of water, as a percent of the water weight or of the whole brine weight, in grams and ounces.

Example with the default inputs (Water 1, Water unit liters, Brine strength (%) 5, Percent of Water weight): Dissolve 50 g of salt (1.76 oz) in 1,000 g of water.

Method: Of water: salt = water × % ÷ 100. Of brine: salt = water × % ÷ (100 − %). Volumes of water weigh 1 g per mL.

  • Water typed as a volume weighs 1 g per mL (1 kg per liter); real water at 20 °C weighs about 0.998 g per mL, 0.2% less.
  • The salt is weighed. Salts differ in grain size, so a cup or spoon of one salt does not weigh the same as of another.
  • US gallons, quarts and cups are liquid measures: 1 gal = 3.785411784 L, 1 qt = 946.352946 mL, 1 cup = 236.5882365 mL.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Water 1, Water unit liters, Brine strength (%) 5, Percent of Water weight gives Salt (g) 50, Salt (oz) 1.76, Water (g) 1,000, Brine (g) 1,050, Salt as % of water 5, Salt as % of brine 4.76.
  2. Water 1, Water unit US gallons, Brine strength (%) 3.5, Percent of Brine weight gives Salt (g) 137.3, Salt (oz) 4.84, Water (g) 3,785.4, Salt as % of water 3.63, Salt as % of brine 3.5.Source: NIST Handbook 44 (2024), Appendix C (1 gal = 231 in³ = 4 qt = 16 cups), https://www.nist.gov/document/nist-hb-44-2024-appendix-c-general-tables-units-measurement; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 (1 in = 0.0254 m, 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg exactly), https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811
  3. Water 2, Water unit pounds, Brine strength (%) 2, Percent of Water weight gives Salt (g) 18.1, Salt (oz) 0.64, Water (g) 907.2.Source: NIST Handbook 44 (2024), Appendix C (1 gal = 231 in³ = 4 qt = 16 cups), https://www.nist.gov/document/nist-hb-44-2024-appendix-c-general-tables-units-measurement; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 (1 in = 0.0254 m, 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg exactly), https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811
  4. Water 4, Water unit US cups, Brine strength (%) 10, Percent of Brine weight gives Salt (g) 105.2, Water (g) 946.4, Brine (g) 1,051.5, Salt as % of water 11.11.Source: NIST Handbook 44 (2024), Appendix C (1 gal = 231 in³ = 4 qt = 16 cups), https://www.nist.gov/document/nist-hb-44-2024-appendix-c-general-tables-units-measurement; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 (1 in = 0.0254 m, 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg exactly), https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811

How it works

Water weight W in grams. Weights convert exactly: 1 kg = 1,000 g, 1 lb = 453.59237 g, 1 oz = 28.349523125 g (a sixteenth of a pound). Volumes are weighed at 1 g per mL: 1 L = 1,000 g, 1 US gallon = 3,785.411784 g (231 cubic inches), 1 US quart = 946.352946 g, 1 US cup = 236.5882365 g.

Salt S in grams, for a strength of p percent:

  • Percent of water weight: S = W × p ÷ 100
  • Percent of brine weight (salt ÷ (water + salt) = p ÷ 100): S = W × p ÷ (100 − p)

Also shown:

  • Salt in ounces = S ÷ 28.349523125
  • Brine weight = W + S
  • Salt as % of water = S ÷ W × 100; salt as % of brine = S ÷ (W + S) × 100

Inputs and limits

  • Water: from 0.01 to 1,000,000 in the unit chosen. Strength: from 0.1% to 50%.
  • Typed values are read as exact decimals and every step is exact. Shown values are rounded half up: grams to 1 decimal, ounces and percents to 2 decimals.

Assumptions

  • Water typed as a volume weighs 1 g per mL. Real water at 20 °C weighs about 0.998 g per mL, so the salt is about 0.2% more than needed; that does not matter in a kitchen.
  • The salt is weighed, since salts differ in grain size.

Worked examples by hand

1 L at 5% of water weight: W = 1,000 g. S = 1,000 × 5 ÷ 100 = 50 g = 50 ÷ 28.349523125 = 1.76 oz. Brine = 1,050 g; salt is 50 ÷ 1,050 = 4.76% of the brine.

1 US gallon at 3.5% of brine weight: W = 3,785.411784 g. S = 3,785.411784 × 3.5 ÷ 96.5 = 137.3 g (4.84 oz). Salt is 3.63% of the water.

2 lb at 2% of water weight: W = 907.18474 g. S = 907.18474 × 0.02 = 18.1 g = 0.64 oz.

4 US cups at 10% of brine weight: W = 4 × 236.5882365 = 946.352946 g. S = 946.352946 × 10 ÷ 90 = 105.2 g. Brine = 1,051.5 g; salt is 11.11% of the water.

Other questions people ask

How do I make a 5% brine?

Weigh 5 g of salt for every 100 g of water: 50 g of salt in 1 liter of water. That is 5% of the water weight. Measured against the whole brine, 50 g of salt in 1,050 g of brine is 4.76%.

Percent of the water or percent of the brine?

Recipes use both. Percent of water weight is salt ÷ water. Percent of brine weight is salt ÷ (water + salt), so it needs a little more salt for the same number: a 5% brine by brine weight in 1 liter needs 1,000 × 5 ÷ 95 = 52.6 g. Follow the convention your recipe uses.

Why weigh salt instead of measuring it in cups or spoons?

Salts differ in grain size. A cup of fine table salt holds much more salt than a cup of flaky kosher salt, so a recipe that gives salt by volume only works with the salt it was written for. Weighing gives the same brine with any salt.

What salt should I use for pickling and fermenting?

The National Center for Home Food Preservation uses canning or pickling salt in its fermented pickle and sauerkraut recipes. Pickling salt is plain salt without added iodine or anti-caking agents.

Does the salt add to the volume?

A little: the brine weighs the water plus the salt. The calculator shows the brine weight, but not its volume, which also depends on how the salt dissolves.