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A quick search seems to indicate that a saturated solution of sugar is about 47% and a saturated solution of salt is about 26%
Question is if I have a salt solution of 26% can I dissolve some sugar in it and if so how much ?Also If I have a brine with say25% sugar then how much salt can I add.?
Since you ask I was playing around with pump and rub cure and wanted to get the pump down to 6% but I dont know if this is realistic so Ive settled for 8% and set the rub for more than 50%

Jim

100° brine is about 26.4% IIRC. That's an interesting question about adding sugar though.

Do you find that with some meat it's very difficult to inject at 10%? Injecting at a lower % with a purely injection cure was a non-starter as it would have needed more than 100° brine. You should stand a better chance with your pump/dry-cure.

I look forward to seeing the results.

(I'm playing with long immersion brines and dry cures at the moment and loving the results, otherwise I'd join you!)

Phil

I was trying to work out a pump and rub to inject at 6% as this seems to be the kind of weight increase I have been experiencing with immersion cures
This may work with 2%salt and 1% sugar
inject 1% salt(inc cure) plus 0.5% sugar and water at 4.5% thats combined 25% saturation which would be OK BUT
I wanted a sweet cure so more sugar.hence the question.
In the end I just injected at 8% and used a bit more than half on the rub
(all the cure was injected)

I should just experiment with a jug of water and some salt and sugar.but you cant tell if one wont dissolve or the other is dropping out of solution.

Jim

I've certainly done injection cures where had the combined total of salt and sugar been the weight of salt they would have been above 100°. Pauline's Ham is one - approx 112°

Phil

It's an interesting question and one I feel I ought to be able to answer, but I can't The only thing I can suggest is putting your dry mix in a jug and keep slowly adding water until everything is dissolved. Then work it out from there.

Sugar has a surpisingly small effect on the solubility of salt. I would make your sugar solution and slowly add the salt without heating (which would change the sugar).

Thanks Gents. Im off for couple of days will experiment when I get back.In view of what Paul said Ill dissolve 10 gms sugar in 40 gms water and then see if how much salt I can dissolve Ill post back on Monday.

Jim.

I couldn't resist so I dissolved 25g sugar in 100ml and then dissolved 26g salt in

cheers Dave
Have I got this right you started with 100 gms water added 25 gms sugar and then (for the sake of simplicity) 25 gms of salt.

So my thoughts are you ended up with 150 gms of brine which contained 25 gms salt which is 16.65% solution and the sugar would be the same?
I think Im going in the right direction maybe Im calculating my percentages wrong?

Jim

You'd think that (ignoring the sugar) the % would be 25/125*100=20. But is 25g salt dissolved in 100gm water a volume of 125ml.

I know it should be, but stranger things have happened...

I thought that brines were always calculated by weight
The FDA seem to base their calcs on weight.
I dont know enough about gravities to hazard a guess about volumes.
Also I was thinking that Dave dissolved 26 gms of salt and that was as much as he could manage.

Jim

Sorry Jim - the point I was (so clumsily) making is that 26gm salt and 100gm water isn't a 26% solution the % calc will be:

salt / (water +salt) * 100

Not that it really matters.

My brain then thought about whether the 100° brine is 26.395% by weight (gm) or by volume (ml), or whether the two are interchangeable. i.e. does 26.395gm of salt equal 26.396ml when dissolved? I don't know why! It's not relevant! I can't help it!

It's just how my stupid brain works!

Phil

I did 26g on the basis that 26g in 100g water is 26% (ignoring the sugar completely). Whether that is the correct calculation I don't know. I didn't try any more, as I ASSumed that would be saturated, but I can do as I still have it. I'll check the volume too

Back shortly

But isn't the percentage of 26gm in 100gm water:

26 / (whatever the water weighs (gm) after adding the salt) * 100 = %

or

26 / (whatever the volume (ml) of water is etc...) * 100 = %

...and if the two aren't the same, which do you pick?

(I'm just being an silly-arse and missing something completely here aren't I?)

Phil

Strictly it is 26g in 100ml final solution, to get 26% w/v. So I should have made it up to 100ml once it dissolved, but I didn't so there will be a slight error which I am checking.