First off I'm NOT going to go into great detail on the subject of cures. The science and process have been done numerous times, all ya have to do is a search and there's a wealth of info to be found on here. I am going to attempt to simplify what is needed, in accuracy. I spent MANY hours researching, this subject. I had questions, which I think others do or will as well. So Hopefully I can answer some of them and clear some thing up. This all applys to what ever measurement you are using lb, oz, g, etc.
Not every scale is the same. While they may appear to be the same, they may be totally different. Here's why.
The terms accuracy, precision, and resolution are important descriptors of the properties of weighing scales. Although these terms have different and distinct meanings, they are often confused with one another. It is important that they not be used alone to determine the quality or exactness of a scale.
ACCURACY is the measure of the degree of closeness of the average value of an object’s displayed weight to the object’s actual weight. If, on average, a scale indicates that a 200 lb reference weight weighs 200.20 lb, then the scale is accurate to within 0.20 lb in 200 lb, or 0.1%.
PRECISION is a measure of the repeatability of an object’s displayed weight for multiple weighing of the same object.
Example, if the displayed weights of an object that weighs 200 lb are 200.20, 200.30, 200.15, 200.10, and 200.25 lb, then the average displayed weight is still 200.20 lb, but the measured values deviate by as much as 0.10 lb with respect to this average. Thus the precision is expressed as ±0.10 lb, meaning that the fluctuations are limited to 0.10 lb in either direction. In a similar example, if the displayed weights are 200.20, 200.40, 200.10, 200.00 and 200.30, the average is still 200.20 lb, and the accuracy is still 0.20 lb or 0.1%. However, the deviation is larger (0.20 lb) and the precision would be ±0.20 lb, not ±0.10 lb.
RESOLUTION is the smallest increment of weight that can be detected or displayed on a scale. In the examples cited above for precision, the readout appears to show changes in 0.01 increments, but in fact the digits change by 0.05, and 0.1 lb. Hence the PRECISION
The info above came from https://www.homscales.com/sites/def...olution-in-weight-measurements-17-02-27_0.pdf
Armed with the info i found/learned I came to the conclusion that a scale that reads in 0.01 may be just as accurate as one that reads 0.1, or even 1 (I know the 1 is a stretch). There for unless you are measuring out "PURE Nitrate or Nitrite" you do NOT need an extremity accurate scale. You could get by using one that uses 1 but myself Id go nothing less then 0.1 (better consistency, 1 rounds too much when using spices). Heres why you can use a lesser accurate scale using cure #1 or #2. Using the recommended amount of 1 teaspoon of cure for 5 pounds of meat there is a margin of error to keep it under the max allowed. 1 teaspoon weighs ~5.46 g. I have spoke with several reputable cure suppliers, and they all have said that there is a Margin of error to be below the max allowed. Several went on to say that if your scale only reads in 1 g increments to use 1 g per pound of meat, and add a few days to the cure time. I crunched the numbers to make sure and yes its below the max PPM.
Not every scale is the same. While they may appear to be the same, they may be totally different. Here's why.
The terms accuracy, precision, and resolution are important descriptors of the properties of weighing scales. Although these terms have different and distinct meanings, they are often confused with one another. It is important that they not be used alone to determine the quality or exactness of a scale.
ACCURACY is the measure of the degree of closeness of the average value of an object’s displayed weight to the object’s actual weight. If, on average, a scale indicates that a 200 lb reference weight weighs 200.20 lb, then the scale is accurate to within 0.20 lb in 200 lb, or 0.1%.
PRECISION is a measure of the repeatability of an object’s displayed weight for multiple weighing of the same object.
Example, if the displayed weights of an object that weighs 200 lb are 200.20, 200.30, 200.15, 200.10, and 200.25 lb, then the average displayed weight is still 200.20 lb, but the measured values deviate by as much as 0.10 lb with respect to this average. Thus the precision is expressed as ±0.10 lb, meaning that the fluctuations are limited to 0.10 lb in either direction. In a similar example, if the displayed weights are 200.20, 200.40, 200.10, 200.00 and 200.30, the average is still 200.20 lb, and the accuracy is still 0.20 lb or 0.1%. However, the deviation is larger (0.20 lb) and the precision would be ±0.20 lb, not ±0.10 lb.
RESOLUTION is the smallest increment of weight that can be detected or displayed on a scale. In the examples cited above for precision, the readout appears to show changes in 0.01 increments, but in fact the digits change by 0.05, and 0.1 lb. Hence the PRECISION
The info above came from https://www.homscales.com/sites/def...olution-in-weight-measurements-17-02-27_0.pdf
Armed with the info i found/learned I came to the conclusion that a scale that reads in 0.01 may be just as accurate as one that reads 0.1, or even 1 (I know the 1 is a stretch). There for unless you are measuring out "PURE Nitrate or Nitrite" you do NOT need an extremity accurate scale. You could get by using one that uses 1 but myself Id go nothing less then 0.1 (better consistency, 1 rounds too much when using spices). Heres why you can use a lesser accurate scale using cure #1 or #2. Using the recommended amount of 1 teaspoon of cure for 5 pounds of meat there is a margin of error to keep it under the max allowed. 1 teaspoon weighs ~5.46 g. I have spoke with several reputable cure suppliers, and they all have said that there is a Margin of error to be below the max allowed. Several went on to say that if your scale only reads in 1 g increments to use 1 g per pound of meat, and add a few days to the cure time. I crunched the numbers to make sure and yes its below the max PPM.
