Brine Salt Ratio Calculator
Enter your water volume and target brine strength to get the salt you need to dissolve in, plus the equivalent salometer reading.
Brine recipe
Brining does more than season the rind
A salt brine seasons a cheese, but it's also doing real structural and preservative work: drawing out surface moisture, firming the rind, slowing unwanted surface bacteria and mold, and helping the right microflora establish itself instead. Getting the concentration wrong in either direction undercuts all of that, not just the taste.
Because "make a strong brine" means something different for a fresh mozzarella than for a long-aged pecorino, most recipes are specific about the percentage or salometer reading they want — this tool just turns that number into an exact recipe for the water you actually have on the counter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a "20% brine" actually mean?
It means salt makes up 20% of the total weight of the finished brine — water plus dissolved salt together. It's not simply 20% of the water's weight on its own; the calculator solves for the salt needed so that the salt-to-total-brine ratio comes out to your target percentage.
What is a salometer, and what do the degrees mean?
A salometer is a floating hydrometer calibrated specifically for brine, reading 0 to 100 degrees. 0° is plain water and 100° is fully saturated brine — about 26.4% salt by weight at room temperature, the practical ceiling for how much salt water can hold in solution.
Why can't I just make a fully saturated brine every time?
Different cheeses call for different brine strengths, and going stronger than a recipe calls for pulls moisture out of the cheese faster and more aggressively than intended, over-salting the rind before the interior has absorbed enough. Weaker, longer soaks are typically used for milder, less salt-tolerant cheeses.
Does brine strength affect how long I should brine for?
Yes, generally inversely — a stronger brine draws salt in faster, so it usually calls for a shorter soak, while a weaker brine needs longer to reach the same salt uptake. Always follow your specific recipe's timing, since it's usually tuned to a particular brine strength and cheese size together.
Educational estimate only, assuming 1 kg of water per liter. Always follow your specific recipe's brining strength and time, and use food-grade, non-iodized salt free of anti-caking additives.