# How much salt for my brine?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/food/brine-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/food/brine-calculator.json
- Version: dded9cdc39d1

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| w | Water | How much water the brine uses. |
| u | Water unit | The unit of the water amount. Volumes are weighed at 1 g per mL. |
| p | Brine strength (%) | The salt percent you want. |
| of | Percent of | Whether the percent is of the water weight, or of the whole brine (water plus salt). |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| saltG | Salt (g) | The salt to dissolve, in grams. |
| saltOz | Salt (oz) | The salt in ounces (1 oz = 28.349523125 g). |
| waterG | Water (g) | The water weight in grams. |
| brineG | Brine (g) | Water plus salt, in grams. |
| ofWater | Salt as % of water | Salt ÷ water weight × 100. |
| ofBrine | Salt as % of brine | Salt ÷ (water + salt) × 100. |

## Method

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

## Assumptions

- 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.

## Worked examples

1. w = 1, u = L, p = 5, of = water gives saltG = 50, saltOz = 1.76, waterG = 1,000, brineG = 1,050, ofWater = 5, ofBrine = 4.76.
2. w = 1, u = gal, p = 3.5, of = total gives saltG = 137.3, saltOz = 4.84, waterG = 3,785.4, ofWater = 3.63, ofBrine = 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. w = 2, u = lb, p = 2, of = water gives saltG = 18.1, saltOz = 0.64, waterG = 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. w = 4, u = cup, p = 10, of = total gives saltG = 105.2, waterG = 946.4, brineG = 1,051.5, ofWater = 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.

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- National Center for Home Food Preservation, Fermented dill pickles and Sauerkraut (canning or pickling salt; salt and water per gallon and per quart of brine). https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/ferment/recipes/dill-pickles/ and https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/ferment/recipes/sauerkraut/ (retrieved 2026-10-19)
- NIST Handbook 44 (2024), Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement (1 gallon = 231 cubic inches = 4 quarts = 16 cups). https://www.nist.gov/document/nist-hb-44-2024-appendix-c-general-tables-units-measurement (retrieved 2026-10-19)
- NIST Special Publication 811 (2008), Appendix B.8: 1 in = 0.0254 m and 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg exactly. https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811 (retrieved 2026-10-19)