4% salt for Napa Cabbage
5.0 days at 68 °F · pH target 4.00 · 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 | 40 g | 14.08 | 4.69 |
| Morton kosher | 40 g | 8.33 | 2.78 |
| Fine sea salt | 40 g | 7.03 | 2.34 |
| Pickling / canning | 40 g | 7.27 | 2.42 |
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%
- 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
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 4%
Never use 4% for final dry-salted sauerkraut — way too salty. Only for pre-ferment rinse stages or for dilute brines (kvass) where the resulting beverage is drunk diluted or cooking vinegar.
Safety: Flavour-forward. Ferment will be slower; brine will taste salty. Good for pickles and hot-sauce mashes that need long shelf life.
Explore other salt levels for Napa Cabbage
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.