2.5% salt for Mustard Greens (Gai Choy)
10.0 days at 68 °F · pH target 3.40 · default for this vegetable
Salt calculator
Enter your vegetable weight and a salt percentage. We return the exact salt mass in grams, plus teaspoons for each common 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.
All salt grains
| Grain | Grams | Teaspoons | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Crystal kosher | 25 g | 8.8 | 2.93 |
| Morton kosher | 25 g | 5.21 | 1.74 |
| Fine sea salt | 25 g | 4.39 | 1.46 |
| Pickling / canning | 25 g | 4.55 | 1.52 |
About Mustard Greens (Gai Choy)
Mustard greens — sold as gai choy in Chinese markets and called dai gai choy when mature — are the foundation of Chinese suan cai, a sour fermented green that predates Korean kimchi by centuries. The sulfur compounds (glucosinolates) produce a sharp, almost horseradish-adjacent tang during fermentation. Less common in Western fermenting circles but extensively documented in Asian fermentation literature.
Fermentation data
- Default salt
- 2.5%
- Salt range
- 2–3%
- Time at 68°F
- 10.0 days
- pH target
- 3.40
- Water content
- 90%
- Preferred styles
- kimchi baechu, lacto ferment, suan cai
Technique
Separate leaves from the central rib. Wash thoroughly (mustard greens trap grit). Drain. Pound or massage with 2.5% salt by total weight until leaves wilt and release liquid (8-10 minutes). Pack tightly into a wide-mouth jar with a 1-inch piece of ginger and one whole dried chili. Weight, ensure brine covers leaves, leave 1 inch headspace. Ferment 7-14 days at 65-72°F. Liquid will turn slightly cloudy and smell sharply sour — this is correct. Soft pink discoloration is normal from leaf pigments; gray or fuzzy growth on top is mold and the batch should be discarded.
Salt level notes at 2.5%
Standard for hot sauce base. Weighed at 2.5% of total pepper weight before any added brine. If adding aromatics (garlic, onion, carrot), those also count in the weight — 2.5% of combined total.
Safety: Safe range for lacto-fermentation. 2% is the most common default for cabbage, kimchi and pepper mash.
Explore other salt levels for Mustard Greens (Gai Choy)
Sources
- Katz — The Art of Fermentation (p. 105, Suan Cai)
- NCHFP (UGA) — Fermented and Pickled Products
- Sandor Katz, The Art of Fermentation (Chelsea Green, 2012)
For educational use only. Consult your local food safety authority for commercial production.