What this calculator does
Brine strength is salt as a percentage of the water weight, so a 5% brine is 125 g of salt in 2,500 g of water. The calculation is one multiplication, and the reason to be careful is that brining is unforgiving of a misjudged strength in a way that most seasoning is not.
Strengths cluster by purpose. Around 3 to 5% suits a quick brine for poultry or pork over a few hours. Fermenting vegetables generally uses 2 to 3%. Preserving brines for olives or long-cured products run to 10% and above, where the salt is doing microbial control rather than seasoning.
The formula
The salt mass is the water weight multiplied by the target percentage. Water is taken at 1 g per ml, so a volume in millilitres can be entered directly as a weight. The total brine weight adds the salt to the water, which is the figure to use if the brine itself is later being measured or diluted.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Brine percentage | Salt as a percentage of water weight, which is the most common convention. |
| Equilibrium brining | An alternative method where salt is calculated against the combined weight of water and food, giving a predictable final saltiness regardless of time. |
| Saturation | About 26% at room temperature, the point at which no more salt dissolves. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Water volume (ml) | Water quantity in millilitres, taken as grams at one to one. |
| Target brine strength (%) | Target brine strength as a percentage of the water weight. |
When to use it
Brining poultry or pork before cooking
A few hours in a 3 to 5% brine improves moisture retention noticeably, and the strength matters more than the exact timing within that window.
Fermenting vegetables
Lactic fermentation needs enough salt to suppress unwanted organisms without stopping the lactobacilli, which puts most vegetable ferments in the 2 to 3% range.
Making a preserving brine
Olives, long-cured products and anything stored at ambient temperature need considerably stronger brine, since the salt is providing the preservation.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How much salt does each brine strength need?
A fixed 2.5 litres of water across a range of brine strengths.
| Brine strength | Salt needed | Salt needed (oz) | Total brine weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | 75 g | 2.65 oz | 2,575 g |
| 5% | 125 g | 4.41 oz | 2,625 g |
| 8% | 200 g | 7.05 oz | 2,700 g |
| 10% | 250 g | 8.82 oz | 2,750 g |
Questions
Does the type of salt matter?
For the weight, no: salt is salt by mass. For volume measurement it matters enormously, because coarse flake salt occupies far more volume per gram than fine table salt. A cup of kosher salt can weigh half what a cup of table salt does, which is why brining recipes should specify weights.
What is equilibrium brining?
Calculating salt against the combined weight of the brine and the food rather than the water alone. The food and brine eventually reach the same salt concentration, so the result is predictable and the food cannot become over-salted by being left too long. It is slower but far more forgiving.
How long should I brine for?
It depends on thickness more than weight, since salt penetrates from the surface inward. A few hours suits chicken pieces, overnight a whole bird, and considerably longer for a large joint. Over-brining at high strength produces a texture many people find spongy.
Can I reuse a brine?
Not for raw meat. The brine picks up protein and bacteria from the food and its salt concentration drops as water moves out of the food into it, so both its safety and its strength are compromised. Make it fresh.
For curing rather than brining, see the bacon curing calculator. For salt as a baking ingredient percentage, see the baker percentage calculator.