Salt percentage

Salt percentages that actually work

1.5% is the safety floor. 2.0% is the standard. 2.5% is the kimchi default. Above 3% you are into pickle-and-preserving territory. Calculator on this page; reference levels below.

Salt calculator

Enter your vegetable weight and a salt percentage. We return the exact salt mass in grams, plus teaspoons for each common grain.

Vegetable weight

grams

Salt percentage

Salt grain

Grain matters: one teaspoon of Diamond Crystal weighs half as much as one teaspoon of fine sea salt. Weigh in grams when you can.

20g salt

3.51 tsp 1.17 tbsp 0.71 oz

Based on Fine sea salt at 5.69 g/tsp.

Safe range for lacto-fermentation. 2% is the most common default for cabbage, kimchi and pepper mash.

All salt grains

Grain	Grams	Teaspoons	Tablespoons
Diamond Crystal kosher	20 g	7.04	2.35
Morton kosher	20 g	4.17	1.39
Fine sea salt	20 g	3.51	1.17
Pickling / canning	20 g	3.64	1.21

The canonical salt levels

1.5% — Safety floor: Absolute minimum for submerged vegetable ferments per NCHFP + Sandor Katz. Below this line lactic bacteria compete poorly; yeasts and moulds dominate.
1.8% — Sauerkraut minimum: The lower edge of the sauerkraut range. Ferment is fast; flavour is less salty but keeps less well.
2.0% — Standard sauerkraut + kimchi: The most-cited default across cabbage and napa-cabbage ferments. Balanced flavour, predictable timing at 68 °F.
2.25% — Slightly salty: A touch firmer, a touch slower. Good for warm kitchens where 2.0% finishes too fast.
2.5% — Kimchi + hot-sauce: Korean baechu kimchi standard; also the starting point for pepper-mash hot-sauce ferments.
3.0% — Pickle low-end: Entry to the pickle-brine range when used as a mash weight; most dry-salt cucurbit + allium ferments.
3.5% — Half-sour to full-sour: Long sauerkraut ferments; firm kimchi; flavour-forward lacto hot sauce.
4.0% — Preserving strength: Slows lactic activity dramatically. Used for long-life pickles and olive cures. Expect weeks rather than days.