Definitive Guide to Food Scales

Food scales are an important tool that has a place in any kitchen, and for several very good reasons. There are some types of cooking, baking in particular, that benefit from the precision of measurement that a food scale can offer. Aside from being able to measure your ingredients accurately for your cooking, there are additional reasons why a kitchen scale can make life in your kitchen easier, not to mention potentially healthier.

Still, there are quite a few different types and models of kitchen scales available, so it can be difficult when it comes time to choose one. This guide will help you determine which food scales are the best for your kitchen, as well as how to find one that is the best value.

Types of Kitchen Food Scales

When it comes to food weighing scales, there are three primary types that are commonly used. While each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, there is one clear winner when it comes to which of them is the easiest to use and most versatile.

Balance Scales - Balance scales are based on the same principle as the scales that you find in many doctor’s offices, only on a much smaller scale and used to weigh food instead of people. The product is placed on one side and a counterweight slides along a calibrated bar until the two sides balance. When they are balanced, you know the weight.

The primary benefit to using these scales is their durability. They simply do not wear out. They are also accurate, which is why they are commonly used in the medical world. They are, however, large, clunky, and heavy, which makes them poor candidates for most kitchens.

Spring Scales - Many inexpensive food service scales depend on a spring-loaded mechanism to determine weight. They are calibrated to 0 using a dial, and weight is determined based on how much an internal spring is compressed when something is placed on it.

These scales are very inexpensive, and were frequently used in the food service industry, as well as in many weight scales used in the home for determining a person’s weight. The problem is that with repeated compressions, the internal spring steadily wears out over time, giving you a less and less accurate reading as time goes on.

Electronic Food Scales - Electronic food scales, however, function much differently than the other two types. These scales function by running a very tiny electrical current through a metal plate in the device, and that current is altered by pressure on that plate when something is placed on it.

What that means for you is that these scales are extremely accurate, fairly durable, and quick and simple to use. They are fairly inexpensive, usually between $15 and $40, and widely available. Most models come with additional functions that make them an even greater value. There is no doubt that in most situations, electronic food scales are definitely the way to go.

Features to Look For

Whether you are shopping for home food scales or professional food scales, there are a few considerations that you should keep in mind when you are choosing the best model for your needs. You will likely find a variety of features available beyond the ones listed here, such as memory recall in the case of electronic kitchen scales, but these are the most important to keep in mind.

Easy to Read Display - What good is weighing something if you can’t read the result? A large, easy to read display is a very important feature to keep in mind, especially if your eyesight isn’t very good.

Metric / Imperial Capability - Most digital kitchen scales have this capability already build into them, and it is useful for a number of different reasons. Aside from being able to be used in all regions, no matter what standard of weight is used, you may come across recipes that are measured under one standard or the other. In fact, due to its greater accuracy when dealing with small amounts, many recipes for baking are actually measured in grams. Having a scale that easily switches lets you eliminate much of the math from cooking.

Tare Button - The tare button is a very useful feature that you will find on many food scales, particularly the electronic variety. What this button does is allow you to “0” out the weight of what is already on the scale. The primary benefit to doing this is that you can place your bowl on the scale and measure out all of your ingredients, zeroing out the scale after adding each one. It also allows you to eliminate the weight of bowls or other measuring devices when weighing your ingredients.

Capacity - Most food scales have a maximum capacity of 11 pounds. If you need your scale to be able to measure something that weighs more than that, it is something that you are going to specifically have to look out for.

Easy to Clean - Proper sanitation requires that all kitchen tools be very easy to clean, and the kitchen scale is no different. Many of them have glass or metal platforms that are designed to be able to be cleaned very easily.

When it comes to choosing a scale for food measurement, there are a lot of different options available on the market, but choosing one is much easier when you take these guidelines into account. While other types of scales have their uses, digital scales tend to be the most useful for general kitchen use, and there are a few features to keep in mind to ensure that you get the best use, not to mention the best value from your purchase.