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Brine Solution

Brine Solution

Active time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Serves: 1 cup
To get the correct culture within your krauts, it's important to ensure your ratio of salt and water is correct.

Chef's notes

If you don't need a full liter of brine solution, use either 2 tsp per cup for a 3% solution or 3 tsp per cup for a 5% solution.

Steps

1

Preparing the Brine

Preparing the Brine

Ingredients

  • 30 g salt per L water (or 1 oz salt per qt) for a 3% solution
  • 50 g salt per L water (or 1 1/4 oz salt per qt) for a 5% solution
Heat water in a non–reactive pan, add salt, and stir until dissolved. Cool thoroughly before using. The 5% solution is perfect for most fermenting applications, whereas the 3% is less salty and will help encourage a faster ferment. Brine solution is used when a bit of extra liquid is needed to keep the ferment submerged to anaerobic fermentation.

4 Comments

  • Richard J
    Richard J •
    I just got a salinity meter for checking our pool and well water, calibrated to within a few parts per million. For fun, I checked brining and was surprised to find that 1 Tbsp per cup yielded a 2.8% salt level. The recommended 2 tsp registered 1.4%. And it took 2 Tbsp per cup to reach 5.4%.
    Reply
  • Janet C
    Janet C •
    Interesting! Did you weigh your salt? The coarseness of the salt affects how much salt fits into a teaspoon.. I always go by mass over volume when fermenting
    Reply
  • Karen K
    Karen K •
    Should the solution be cooled before adding to the veggies?
    Reply
  • Dan M
    Dan M • Rouxbe Staff •
    "Cool thoroughly before using."
    Reply

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