Brine & Salt Concentration Calculator

Finds the salt for a brine of a given strength, the water for the salt you have, or the strength of a brine you made, and shows how much a brine changes when you add water or salt. Use it for pickling, brining meat or salting cooking water.

How to use

1. Under "What to work out", choose "Salt needed", "Water needed" or "Strength".
2. Choose "How the percentage is counted": mass percent, percent of the water, or an equilibrium brine with the food weight.
3. Fill in the water, salt or percentage with their units; the answer appears at once with both percentages side by side.
4. Pick the salt under "Salt for spoon amounts" to see a rough tablespoon count.
5. To change a brine you already have, open "Make it weaker or stronger".

How it works

• Mass percent = salt ÷ (water + salt). Percent of the water = salt ÷ water. Equilibrium brine: salt = (food + water) × percentage.
• 30 g of salt in 1,000 g of water is 2.91 % by mass but 3 % of the water; the gap grows with stronger brines.
• Spoon weights for table and kosher salts come from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. 1 ml of water is taken as 1 g.
• The page gives no salt level or time that makes food safe to keep.

Questions and answers

How much salt for a 3% brine with 1 liter of water?

As mass percent, 1,000 × 0.03 ÷ 0.97 = 30.9 g. If the recipe means percent of the water, it is 30 g.

How salty is seawater?

About 3.5 %, or 35 g of salt per liter on average. For 1 liter of fresh water that is 36.3 g of salt by mass percent.

How do I make a brine weaker?

Add water equal to brine × (current % ÷ wanted % − 1). 1,000 g of 10 % brine needs 2,333 g of water to become 3 %.

What is an equilibrium brine?

The salt is weighed against the food and water together, so both end up at the same strength. 500 g of vegetables with 500 g of water at 2 % needs 20 g of salt.