3% salt for Napa Cabbage

5.0 days at 68 °F · pH target 4.00 · outside typical range

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.

30g salt

5.27 tsp 1.76 tbsp 1.06 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	30 g	10.56	3.52
Morton kosher	30 g	6.25	2.08
Fine sea salt	30 g	5.27	1.76
Pickling / canning	30 g	5.45	1.82

About Napa Cabbage

The standard kimchi base. Napa cabbage has looser, more water-dense leaves than green cabbage. Traditional Korean preparation salts at higher % (3.5-5%) during a pre-ferment brining stage to draw water and soften leaves before the paste is added.

Fermentation data

Default salt: 4%(you are viewing 3%)
Salt range: 3.5–5%
Time at 68°F: 5.0 days
pH target: 4.00
Water content: 95%
Preferred styles: kimchi baechu, pao cai

Note: 3% is outside the typical range for Napa Cabbage (3.5–5%). The recommended default is 4%. View 4% + Napa Cabbage.

Technique

Quarter cabbage lengthwise. Dry-salt at 4% by quarter weight, rest 2-4 hours flipping halfway. Rinse 3x in cold water to remove excess salt. Toss with kimchi paste (gochugaru, ginger, garlic, fish sauce or alternative, carrot, scallion, radish). Pack into jar leaving 2cm headspace. Ferment 3-7 days at 65-70°F then transfer to fridge.

Salt level notes at 3%

For brine-pickling: calculate 3% of total brine weight, not of vegetable weight. E.g., 1kg water = 30g salt. For dry-salting: less common at this %, but used for onions + harder root vegetables.

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

Explore other salt levels for Napa Cabbage

1.5% — minimum safe
1.8% — low-salt sauerkraut
2% — standard sauerkraut
2.25% — lightly-salted brine-pickle
2.5% — standard hot sauce
3% — brine-pickle standard (current)
3.5% — kimchi rinse stage
4% — traditional kimchi / kvass

Sources

Maangchi — traditional tongbaechu-kimchi
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.