Fermentation and brine calculators
Sauerkraut at 2% salt, ogórki kiszone under a 3% brine, kimchi, a fermented hot sauce mash, and two brine tools: classic and equilibrium.
Vegetable fermentation is a salt question. Sauerkraut and the pepper mash are dry-salted, so the salt is a share of the vegetable: 2% on shredded cabbage, 2.5% on chopped chilies. Cucumbers sit under a brine, so there the salt is a share of the water: 3% for a full sour, 1.5% for half-sours. The two brine pages are the arithmetic on its own, for whatever you are pickling: the classic brine counts salt against the water, the equilibrium method against water and vegetables together, 2% the Noma way.
Sauerkraut calculator
Dry-salted sauerkraut: 2% rock salt on the shredded cabbage, packed into jars and left to ferment for a week or two.
5 × 410 g
Fermented dill pickle calculator
Polish ogórki kiszone: cucumbers under a 3% brine with dill, garlic and horseradish, two to three weeks to a full sour.
4 × 1015 g
Kimchi calculator
Napa cabbage kimchi from one weighed recipe: brined quarters, a gochugaru paste with fish sauce, garlic and pear, three days out and then the fridge.
Hydration 28% · 2470 g
Fermented hot sauce calculator
A pepper mash for hot sauce: chopped chilies salted at 2.5% of their weight, fermented one to four weeks, then blended with vinegar.
465 g
Brine calculator
The classic pickling brine: salt as a share of the water, from 1.5% for half-sours to 3% for full sours in Polish recipes.
Equilibrium brine calculator
Equilibrium brining: salt as a share of water and vegetables together, the Noma method at 2%.