Vegetable · fruit vegetable

Lacto-fermenting eggplant: 3.50% salt, 10.0days at 68 °F

A denser, spongy fruit-vegetable traditionally fermented across the Caucasus and Middle East (Georgian stuffed fermented eggplant, Persian torshi). Its airy flesh absorbs brine readily, so it is salted firmly at 3.5-5% and usually blanched briefly first to collapse the sponge and prevent soft, off textures.

Salt calculator

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

grams
%

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

35g salt
6.15 tsp 2.05 tbsp 1.23 oz

Based on Fine sea salt at 5.69 g/tsp.

Flavour-forward. Ferment will be slower; brine will taste salty. Good for pickles and hot-sauce mashes that need long shelf life.

All salt grains
GrainGramsTeaspoonsTablespoons
Diamond Crystal kosher35 g12.324.11
Morton kosher35 g7.292.43
Fine sea salt35 g6.152.05
Pickling / canning35 g6.362.12
Default salt
3.50 %
Salt range
3.00% – 5.00%
Time @ 68 °F
10.0 days
Target pH
4.00
Water content
~92%
Preferred styles
torshi, lacto ferment, brine pickle

Technique

Blanch small whole or halved eggplants 3-4 minutes until just pliable, then cool and press out excess water. Pack into a 3.5-5% salt brine (35-50g salt per liter), often stuffed with garlic, herbs, and chili. Keep fully submerged and ferment 7-14 days at 65-72°F. The higher salt and pre-blanching are important steps for this dense, low-acid vegetable.

Source: NCHFP (UGA) — fermented brine-pickle method. Last verified 2026-06-27.

Frequently asked questions

What percent salt for fermenting eggplant?

3.50% by weight is the default for eggplant (workable range 3.00%–5.00%). For 1000g eggplant, that's 35.0g salt. Use non-iodised salt and weigh in grams — teaspoon equivalences vary by salt grain. Source: NCHFP (UGA) — fermented brine-pickle method.

How long to ferment eggplant?

10.0 days at 68°F (20°C). Cooler kitchens (60-65°F) slow fermentation; warmer kitchens (75-80°F) roughly halve the time per 10°F increase. Start tasting from day 5; target pH 4.00 or below indicates complete primary fermentation.

What's the best technique for fermenting eggplant?

Blanch small whole or halved eggplants 3-4 minutes until just pliable, then cool and press out excess water. Pack into a 3.5-5% salt brine (35-50g salt per liter), often stuffed with garlic, herbs, and chili. Keep fully submerged and ferment 7-14 days at 65-72°F. The higher salt and pre-blanching are important steps for this dense, low-acid vegetable.

What category is eggplant for fermentation?

Eggplant is a fruit vegetable vegetable. A denser, spongy fruit-vegetable traditionally fermented across the Caucasus and Middle East (Georgian stuffed fermented eggplant, Persian torshi). Its airy flesh absorbs brine readily, so it is salte… Preferred fermentation style: torshi, lacto-ferment, brine-pickle.

The kit for fermenting Eggplant

A short, honest kit for lacto-fermentation. The scale is the one that matters most — everything here is by weight.

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