Pickling salt

Pickling salt is Salt without the extras that make grocery salt pour in humid weather. NCHFP's fermenting hub: use canning or pickling salt; noncaking material added to other salts may make the brine cloudy; flake salt varies in density and is not recommended for pickled and fermented foods ¹.

It is still sodium chloride. The job in fermented cabbage and brined pickles is not optional seasoning. NCHFP: salt in sauerkraut and brined pickles provides flavor and is vital to safety and texture — it favors desirable bacteria and inhibits others. Do not cut the salt in those ferments ¹. Fresh-pack pickles acidified with vinegar are a different product; salt can be reduced there only on a tested formula, and quality may drop ¹.

What it is not. Iodized table salt. Kosher flake measured as if it were pickling salt. A cloudy brine from anti-caking agents is a cosmetic complaint; a weak ferment from too little salt is a safety and texture failure. Application: Pickling, Sauerkraut, Brine. Cabbage and Cucumber are the usual vegetables, not a complete list.

Pickling formulas also name 5 percent vinegar when the method is vinegar, not lactic ¹. Use the salt amount named by the tested process for the crock and vegetable.