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Kraut, kimchi, pickles, kombucha and more: salt calculators, a log of every batch, and a reminder when it’s time to taste.
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Salt calculators
Dry-salting (kraut and kimchi)
Weigh the salt — teaspoons of different salts weigh very different amounts. Use salt without iodine or anti-caking agents (pickling, canning or pure sea salt).
Brine for whole vegetables
Stronger brine keeps pickles crisp and slows soft spoilage in warm rooms; weaker brine sours faster. Keep everything under the brine with a weight.
Fermenting safely
- Keep it under the brine. Vegetables above the liquid mould. Use a weight, a smaller jar or a zip bag of brine.
- Salt by weight. About 2% for kraut and 3–5% brine for whole vegetables. Too little salt lets the wrong microbes win.
- Temperature: 60–75°F is best. Warmer ferments fast and goes soft; cooler is slow but tastes better.
- White film: a flat, white film on top is usually harmless kahm yeast — skim it off.
- Throw it out if you see fuzzy mould in black, blue, green or pink, if it is slimy, or if it smells rotten rather than sour.
- When it tastes right, move it to the refrigerator or a cold cellar to slow it down. To can fermented foods, follow a tested recipe.
Kinds of ferments
| Ferment | Salt | About | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauerkraut | 2.0% | 21 days | Shredded cabbage with salt by weight. Keep it under the brine at 65–72°F; taste from 3 weeks. |
| Kimchi | 2.5% | 5 days | A few days at room temperature, then into the refrigerator to keep slowly souring. |
| Fermented dill pickles | 3.5% | 21 days | Whole cucumbers in brine, with dill and garlic. Trim the blossom end so they stay crisp. |
| Brined vegetables | 3.0% | 10 days | Carrots, green beans, peppers or cauliflower in brine. |
| Hot sauce mash | 3.0% | 14 days | Peppers in brine or a salted mash, blended when it tastes right. |
| Kombucha | — | 10 days | Sweet tea with a SCOBY and some of the last batch. Taste from 7 days. |
| Milk kefir | — | 1 day | Grains in milk at room temperature for about a day, then strain. |
| Apple cider vinegar | — | 42 days | Hard cider turning to vinegar under cloth. It is ready when it tastes sharp; it can take months. |
| Sourdough starter | — | 7 days | Flour and water, fed daily until it doubles reliably. |