Recipes

Vegetables Drinks Dairy Koji Fruit and vinegar Sourdough Mead and cider
What can I ferment with what I have?
Recipes Learn Problems Tools Community

Language

Español Spanish English
My jars

Kitchen scales

The salt in a ferment gets weighed, because a spoonful of one salt doesn't weigh the same as another. Which scale to choose and how to use it so the salt comes out right.

4 min read First steps Reviewed October 26, 2026 16 facts, each with its source

Why weigh instead of using spoons

In a ferment, the ratio of vegetables to salt decides the flavor and, often, the safety1. And salt measured by the spoonful is misleading: each salt takes up a different volume depending on its grain, so weighing it is more accurate2.

The difference isn't small. A cup of salt weighs 230 to 335 g depending on the salt3, and since a cup is 16 tablespoons4, one tablespoon can weigh anywhere from 14 to 21 g. With a recipe of one tablespoon per kilo (2.2 lb) of cabbage, the sauerkraut could end up at 1.4% or at 2.1%, depending on the salt you use. Below 2%, the house minimum, you don't ferment: reducing salt is not safe5.

Flake salt varies so much that the guides don't recommend it6, and if you use kosher or flake salt, weigh it, with no spoons or cups7. Whatever the salt, weighing it is best8. A soft sauerkraut can come simply from measuring the salt badly9.

Which scale to choose

To ferment you need a kitchen scale10, and almost any digital scale will do if it ticks these boxes:

What to check What you need Why
Units Grams In metric units, the salt is a single multiplication11
Capacity 5 kg (11 lb) or more You weigh in the bowl, with the cabbage in it
Resolution 1 g Enough for batches of half a kilo (1 lb) and up
Tare button Yes To zero it with the bowl on top12

For very small batches, a 0.1 g pocket scale weighs the salt with more margin.

How much precision you need

A 1 g scale rounds, and rounding matters more the less salt you weigh. At the 2.5% of the sauerkraut recipes:

Vegetables Salt On a 1 g scale Actual salt
200 g (7 oz) 5 g 4.5 to 5.5 g 2.25 to 2.75%
500 g (1.1 lb) 12.5 g 12 to 13 g 2.4 to 2.6%
1 kg (2.2 lb) 25 g 24.5 to 25.5 g 2.45 to 2.55%

Even with 200 g of vegetables, rounding keeps you above the 2% minimum. If you work with less, or with a recipe that runs closer to the line, use the 0.1 g scale for the salt.

If your recipe comes in cups or pounds

Convert it to grams and milliliters13: a pound is 454 g14. Then work out what percentage of salt it uses, dividing the grams of salt by the grams of vegetables, or by the milliliters of water if it's a brine15. If the recipe gives the salt in spoons and doesn't say which salt, there's no way to know what it weighs: weigh it using Fervida's figures instead, 2.5% for dry salting and 5% for brine. And if the math comes out below 2%, don't make it that way.

How to weigh

  1. Set the scale to grams and put the empty bowl on it. Press tare to zero it12.
  2. Weigh the vegetables once prepared, without outer leaves, cores or peels. That weight is what the salt for a dry-salted ferment is worked out on.
  3. For brine, weigh the water instead of using a measuring jug: 1 liter of water weighs 1 kg16, and the salt goes on that weight.
  4. Weigh the salt separately, in a small bowl, with another tare.

Fervida always gives you the salt in grams, worked out on the weight you enter, so you don't have to do the math.

Where every number comes from

Every number in the text leads to its figure: the exact sentence from the official guide it comes from, in its own language.

  1. 1

    The ratio of vegetables to everything else affects flavor and often safety

    “Measure or weigh amounts carefully, because the proportion of fresh food to other ingredients will affect flavor and, in many instances, safety.”

    National Center for Home Food Preservation (USDA, University of Georgia) · General Information on Fermenting · read on October 26, 2026

  2. 2

    Each salt takes up a different volume by grain size: weighing is more accurate

    “Many recipes use volume measurements for salt, but salt varies between types based on the size of the granules. Weighing salt is more accurate.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  3. 3

    A cup of salt weighs 230 to 335 g depending on the salt

    “Salt varies from 230 g to 335 g per US cup measured.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  4. 4

    A cup is 16 tablespoons

    “1 cup = 8 fl. Oz = 16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons = 237 mL”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  5. 5

    Reducing salt is not safe

    “It is unsafe to reduce salt in lactofermented vegetables.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  6. 6

    Flake salt varies in density: not recommended

    “Since flake salt varies in density, it is not recommended for making pickled and fermented foods.”

    National Center for Home Food Preservation (USDA, University of Georgia) · General Information on Fermenting · read on October 26, 2026

  7. 7

    If used, weigh it, no spoons or cups

    “If used, measure by weight NOT measuring spoons or cups”

    Oregon State University Extension Service · Pickle Fact Sheet (SP 50-466, revised April 2024) · read on October 26, 2026

  8. 8

    Weighing salt is best

    “It is best to weigh salt for accuracy.”

    University of Illinois Extension · Fermentation handout (2020) · read on October 20, 2026

  9. 9

    Soft sauerkraut can come from measuring salt badly

    “Insufficient salt (inaccurate measuring or uneven salt distribution.)”

    Washington State University Extension, Lewis County · Sauerkraut Making · read on October 26, 2026

  10. 10

    You need a kitchen scale to weigh salt and ingredients

    “You will need a kitchen scale to weigh your salt and ingredients.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  11. 11

    With metric units, brine is much easier

    “Life is made much easier using the metric system if you are figuring out brine.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  12. 12

    In grams, with the tare button zeroed before weighing

    “Set scale to g and use the tare button to zero it out before weighing.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  13. 13

    Convert the recipe to grams and milliliters

    “Convert recipe to metric (see conversions): either food weight or volume of liquids and the salt.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  14. 14

    A pound is 454 g

    “1 lb = 0.45 kg = 454 g”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  15. 15

    Work out its percentage: grams of salt over grams of vegetables or milliliters of water

    “Figure out the brine percentage: g salt / g food or g salt / ml liquid.”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

  16. 16

    For water, 1 kg is 1 liter

    “For water: 1 kg = 1000 g = 1 L = 1000 mL”

    UC Master Food Preservers, Inyo-Mono · Brine Math Made Easy · read on October 20, 2026

Keep reading

Salt: how much and why Which salt to use Dry salting or brine The complete guide to sauerkraut Brine pickles The complete guide to kimchi