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Brine Salt Calculator

Find the salt needed for a brine.

How it is calculated

The tool tells you how much salt to dissolve in a given amount of water to reach a brine strength: salt (g) = water (L) × 1000 × (concentration % ÷ 100). It treats one litre of water as 1000 g, so the concentration is salt as a percentage of the water's weight, not of the finished solution. Water must be above zero and the percentage cannot be negative. The answer is rounded to two decimals in grams. Weigh the salt rather than measuring it by spoon, because coarse and fine salt differ in weight per spoonful.

Worked example

You want a 5% brine for 2 litres of water. Water weight: 2 × 1000 = 2000 g. Salt share: 5 ÷ 100 = 0.05. Salt needed: 2000 × 0.05 = 100.00 g. Stir until fully dissolved before adding the food.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Reading the percentage as salt in the final mixture. Here it is salt relative to the weight of the water, so the finished brine is slightly weaker, about 4.76% in the example.
  • Measuring salt in tablespoons. Table salt, kosher salt and sea salt weigh different amounts per spoon.
  • Entering millilitres in the litre field. 500 mL must be entered as 0.5.
  • Using a recipe percentage meant for dry-curing or a different method. Brine strength depends on what you are preserving or cooking.

About this calculator

A brine is a solution of salt in water, and this calculator finds the salt needed as salt mass = water mass (or volume, using water's ~1 g/mL density) × target concentration percentage — the same percentage-concentration logic behind ppm and percentage-concentration calculations, just applied to kitchen quantities. A weak brine for quick-pickling might run 2-5% salt by weight, while a strong cure brine can exceed 10%.

Home cooks use it to brine poultry, pork, or fish before cooking so the meat absorbs moisture and seasoning through osmosis, picklers and fermenters use it to hit the precise salt percentage that makes sauerkraut, kimchi, or pickles ferment safely and predictably, and cheesemakers use brine baths at a specific salinity to salt and firm cheeses like feta or halloumi. Professional and home chefs alike rely on getting this ratio right, since too little salt risks spoilage and too much draws out too much moisture.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The result is salt per litre of water, treating one litre as 1,000 g, and the percentage is salt weight against water weight, not against the finished brine. Weigh salt on a kitchen scale, since a spoonful of coarse and fine salt can differ a lot in weight. Food that goes into the jar adds liquid and slightly dilutes it. What are you brining, and which strength do you aim for?

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