Why It's Time to Buy a Kitchen Scale and What to Buy
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It's time. You've been hesitating for long enough, procrastinating, knowing what you should do, but for whatever reason avoiding the final decision. But deep down, you know that until you do, you are hampered in your cooking. It is time to buy a kitchen scale.
Cooking with weight measurements, especially for baking, is a fundamental shift in thinking for all cooks who started with standard measurements. You probably have a kitchen full of various measuring cups, spoons, and beakers, and the idea of investing in one more kitchen appliance might seem egregious at first.
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But hear me out.
How a kitchen scale makes your cooking and baking easier
Sure, you may already be wondering if it would be easier to use those weight measurements from your Great British Baking Show faves, but a kitchen scale does far more for your kitchen life than that. Fundamentally, weight measurements, once you get used to them, make your cooking and baking easier and more consistent. Easier because you can measure things right into your mixing bowls or prep bowls without dirtying measuring cups or beakers in the process. More consistent because one person's "cup" of flour can vary by nearly 5 ounces from another person's and imagine what that can do to your cake. If a recipe calls for 3 eggs and you want to halve it, how on earth are you going to measure an egg and a half? But if it calls for 100 grams of egg, then you can measure out 50 grams easily and know your recipe will be okay.
Shifting to weight measurements just means there is no recipe you cannot cook, no cookbook that presents an obstacle, and chances are, you will find in short order that you become a better cook!
3 brands of kitchen scales to buy right now
Once you have decided to pull the trigger on a kitchen scale, how do you choose? That depends on the kind of cook you are. Here are 3 great options, from $11 to $80.
Courtesy Amazon
Budget best: Ozeri Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale
While weight-based cooking is a game changer for many, it isn't an intuitive shift for everyone. If you aren't fully sure that a kitchen scale is something you will use, don't invest a lot! This bargain option packs good accuracy and functionality in a budget-friendly package and is also a great gift for the new cook or baker in your life. They come in fun colors, and for little more than 10 dollars, it is a painless way to test the waters.
Buy it: Ozeri Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale ($11.50), amazon.com
Courtesy Amazon
For the serious baker: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Scale
OXO is always a good brand to bet on, and I often tell people if they are looking for kitchen equipment and don't know which brand to buy, check OXO first. This kitchen scale is no different. It goes up to 11 pounds, which is great for breads, and the display pulls out, so you can use large mixing bowls and still be able to see the controls easily.
Buy it: Oxo Good Grips 11-Pound Scale ($49.99), amazon.com
Courtesy Amazon
If you have minimal storage space: Rösle Digital Kitchen Scale
This Rösle scale is slim and small enough to leave out without taking up much room, or slide into a drawer for storage, but still packs a terrific precision punch. It shifts easily between measurement units from grams to milliliters to pounds or ounces, and even though it is small, it is well built and solid. I've been using mine for almost a decade with no issues.
Buy it: Rösle Digital Kitchen Scale ($80), amazon.com
