Fingers wrote:So the US want a 6.25% in their meat, where Europe want 0.6%.
No. The amount in the meat is measured in parts per million and the US, UK and EU have restrictions on the amount in the meat that are similar (156 ppm, 150 ppm, and 120 ppm, respectively). American cure #1 (6.25%) is more concentrated than UK cure #1 (5.88%), and UK cure #1 is more concentrated than all-purpose curing salt (0.6%). We all want similar amounts in the meat. Americans use less of their concentrated cure and dilute it with plain salt. UK curers use a little more of their concentrated cure than the Americans and dilute it with plain salt. People using all-purpose curing salt don't add any plain salt to their cure because it is already diluted. The amount of salt and nitrite going into the meat is about the same - a little less nitrite if you use the all-purpose curing salt but usually enough to keep the sausage safe.
For a kilogram of meat, I could use 2.94 grams of US Cure #1 plus additional salt, or 3.12g of UK Cure #1 plus additional salt, or about 19g of all-purpose curing salt and no additional salt, and still end up with the amount of salt I want in the sausage and enough nitrite to keep the sausage safe.
You ask a good question. Calculating the amount of cure needed is the most complicated part of curing meat, in my opinion.