Salt Percentage

Free Salt Percentage calculator with clear step-by-step results.

About Salt Percentage

Salting by percentage of total weight is the only reliable way to season consistently across batch sizes. Because salt crystals differ enormously in density - a teaspoon of Diamond Crystal weighs less than half a teaspoon of fine salt - the volume conversion depends on which salt you actually have.

Formulas

Total salt required

Grams = food weight x target percentage

Volume equivalent

Teaspoons = grams still needed / grams per teaspoon for that salt

Worked example

With the default values below, Salt Percentage returns Salt still to add of 40.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Weight of food or waterminimum 1 g: 2,000 g
Target salt concentrationaccepts 0.1–30 %: 2 %
Salt already addedminimum 0 g: 0 g
Salt typeone of Fine sea salt (1 tsp = 6 g), Kosher, Diamond Crystal (1 tsp = 2.8 g), Kosher, Morton (1 tsp = 4.8 g), Coarse sea salt (1 tsp = 5 g): Fine sea salt (1 tsp = 6 g)

Results

Salt still to add: 40.00 g
Total salt at the target concentration: 40.00 g
Teaspoons of this salt: 6.67 tsp
Current concentration: 0.000% %

Step by step

1Values used
2Total salt required
3Volume equivalent
4Salt still to add= 40.00 g
5Total salt at the target concentration= 40.00 g
6Teaspoons of this salt= 6.67 tsp
7Current concentration= 0.000 %

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What percentage should I use?

Around 1-1.5% for meat and vegetables, 2% for bread dough, 3-5% for a quick brine and up to 10% for fermenting vegetables such as sauerkraut or kimchi.

Why do kosher salt brands differ so much?

Crystal shape. Diamond Crystal is hollow and flaky at about 2.8 g per teaspoon while Morton is denser and rolled at 4.8 - nearly double, which is why recipes specify the brand.