3% salt for Kohlrabi
10.0 days at 68 °F · pH target 3.50 · within recommended 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.
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 | 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 Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi — the German turnip — is a Brassica oleracea cultivar grown for its bulbous, swollen stem rather than its root. Crisp, mild, and slightly sweet raw, it ferments into a snappy, slightly tangy pickle that retains its crunch for months. Common in Czech, German, and Korean cooking; in kimchi tradition it appears as a component in mixed-vegetable variants. The white-skinned variety ferments faster than purple; either works.
Fermentation data
- Default salt
- 2.5%(you are viewing 3%)
- Salt range
- 2–3%
- Time at 68°F
- 10.0 days
- pH target
- 3.50
- Water content
- 90%
- Preferred styles
- brine pickle, kimchi component
Technique
Peel the tough outer skin (it can be thick — peel deep enough to remove all woody fibers). Cut into 1-cm matchsticks or 5-mm rounds. Pack into a jar with one bay leaf, a teaspoon of caraway seed, and a thin slice of horseradish or one crushed garlic clove per quart. Cover with 2.5% brine, weight, leave 1 inch headspace. Ferment 7-14 days at 65-72°F. Done when fully sour but still crisp at the bite. Refrigerate; will hold 4+ months.
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 Kohlrabi
Sources
- Katz — The Art of Fermentation (p. 99, Brassicas)
- 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.
The kit for fermenting Kohlrabi
A short, honest kit for lacto-fermentation. The scale is the one that matters most — everything here is by weight.
- Digital kitchen scale (0.1 g)Salt % is by weight, not volume — a 0.1 g scale is what makes the math above accurate.View on Amazon →
- Glass fermentation weightsKeep vegetables submerged under the brine line so they ferment safely without mould.View on Amazon →
- Airlock fermentation lidsLet CO₂ escape while keeping oxygen out — wide-mouth lids that fit standard jars.View on Amazon →
- Wide-mouth mason jarsThe workhorse vessel for kraut, kimchi and brine pickles — 1 qt and ½ gal sizes.View on Amazon →
- Pickling / fine sea saltPure salt with no iodine or anti-caking agents, which can cloud brine and inhibit fermentation.View on Amazon →
- Stoneware fermentation crockFor scaling past the jar — a water-sealed crock for 5 L+ batches with built-in weights.View on Amazon →
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