Dough & BrineBrine calculator
Fermenting is all about salt. Too little and unwanted bacteria get a chance; too much and fermentation slows down. Weigh your vegetables and the calculator works out the salt.
How are you fermenting?
Vegetables, trimmed and weighed
Water
Salt
We don’t go below 2 percent: under that, unwanted bacteria can take over.
This much salt
g salt
| Amount | Ingredient | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 g | vegetables | about 2.2 lb |
| 500 ml | water | about 2 ⅛ cups |
| 20 g | pure salt, no iodine or anti-caking agents | 2% |
Weigh the salt: a tablespoon of salt weighs very differently from one kind to the next.
Fermenting safely
- Keep the vegetables under the liquid; a small weight or a zip-top bag filled with brine helps.
- A white film on top is usually kahm yeast. Skim it off.
- A strong, sour or sulfurous smell is normal. If it smells rotten, or you see fuzzy or colored mold, throw it all out.
- Ferment at 64 to 72 °F (18 to 22 °C), then keep it cool.
Recipes that use this calculator
- FermentingHomemade kimchi
- FermentingHomemade sauerkraut