My scale hates goat cheese

puffbrat
puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
edited March 2016 in Food and Nutrition
I love putting goat cheese on my lunch salad at work (and other things because YUM!). But my food scale refuses to register the goat cheese 4 out of 5 days a week. I put the tupperware on the scale and tare it, then add the goat cheese as I crumble pieces, but the weight won't change (tried both grams and ounces settings). This is not a problem with crumbled feta. I have tried adding it to the empty container or after adding the almonds and mango pieces, but no use.

Does this mean my goat cheese is weightless and has 0 calories ;) ?

Do you think it would help if I tried weighing the goat cheese as a block and then crumbled it after? Any other suggestions?

Replies

  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    most food scales don't register lower than a certain weight (5 g). Instead of using tare, leave the weight from the container on, then add the cheese, and you should see the number change... then do math.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Interesting.

    Unfortunately I have tried that and it only works about 20% of the time. I feel pretty confidant I am adding at least 0.5oz (~14g) of goat cheese so I would expect it register at some point.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Don't crumble it first? Break a chunk off that seems about right and go from there. I have the same problem with nutritional yeast. Very annoying.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    edited March 2016

    CassidyScaglione wrote: »
    most food scales don't register lower than a certain weight (5 g). Instead of using tare, leave the weight from the container on, then add the cheese, and you should see the number change... then do math.

    Agree. My scale is sensitive enough. Except when it isn't (sounds like yours, too, OP). Calorie dense things that I use in small quantity get one of two measurement methods:

    1. I don't tare the scale, like Cassidy suggests.
    2. I do like you propose, weighing the whole block, or bottle of oil or peanut butter, etc., then take my portion. Record the difference.

    Yeah, gotta do a little math. A calculator and notepad reside next to my scale for such occasions. But it's good to be focused on accuracy with these types of items. A lettuce leaf missed somewhere? No big deal. A teaspoon of oil discrepancy 3 times a day? That's 120 cals off. Big deal.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My scale hates Parmesan and Romano cheese when grated using the microplane zester. So what I do is put the block of cheese on the scale, zero it, and weigh the block again when I'm done grating. The negative number represents the weight of the cheese that I am going to eat.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Thanks for the feedback everyone! I want to get this right since it is calorie dense and I eat it often.

    I will try not taring the scale for several days in a row and try using a block instead of crumbles to see if that will work better. I don't mind doing the math (probably the extent of what I can do without a calculator anymore...sigh). @kshama2001 - good idea, I will try that too.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My scale hates Parmesan and Romano cheese when grated using the microplane zester. So what I do is put the block of cheese on the scale, zero it, and weigh the block again when I'm done grating. The negative number represents the weight of the cheese that I am going to eat.

    This happens to me too! Drives me crazy!
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
    edited March 2016
    williams969 wrote: »
    A teaspoon of oil discrepancy 3 times a day? That's 120 cals off.

    120 calories in a tablespoon of oil. A teaspoon is a 3rd of that. You can have more oil than you thought :) (or that was a typo).

  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    jlahorn wrote: »
    williams969 wrote: »
    A teaspoon of oil discrepancy 3 times a day? That's 120 cals off.

    120 calories in a tablespoon of oil. A teaspoon is a 3rd of that. You can have more oil than you thought :) (or that was a typo).

    A teaspoon discrepancy 3 times would be a tablespoon.
  • kmfeig87
    kmfeig87 Posts: 1,990 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My scale hates Parmesan and Romano cheese when grated using the microplane zester. So what I do is put the block of cheese on the scale, zero it, and weigh the block again when I'm done grating. The negative number represents the weight of the cheese that I am going to eat.

    My scale doesn't do that accurately! The negative weight (especially for small amounts) is pretty far off. Noticed this by weighing something & noting weight, taring to 0, and then taking item off. Negative weight may be +15 grams more.

    I think you should just assume your goat cheese is free! Seriously, you could weigh it to start and then mark off portions. Check your accuracy by weighing the block before and after you add your crumbles!

    Good luck
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    kmfeig87 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My scale hates Parmesan and Romano cheese when grated using the microplane zester. So what I do is put the block of cheese on the scale, zero it, and weigh the block again when I'm done grating. The negative number represents the weight of the cheese that I am going to eat.

    My scale doesn't do that accurately! The negative weight (especially for small amounts) is pretty far off. Noticed this by weighing something & noting weight, taring to 0, and then taking item off. Negative weight may be +15 grams more.

    I think you should just assume your goat cheese is free! Seriously, you could weigh it to start and then mark off portions. Check your accuracy by weighing the block before and after you add your crumbles!

    Good luck

    Oh how I so dearly wish it was free :p

    Another great idea! I love all the suggestions. I'm sure at least one of these must work. Then I will have to face to reality of my goat cheese calorie intake, but it will be worth it for my weight loss.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    jlahorn wrote: »
    williams969 wrote: »
    A teaspoon of oil discrepancy 3 times a day? That's 120 cals off.

    120 calories in a tablespoon of oil. A teaspoon is a 3rd of that. You can have more oil than you thought :) (or that was a typo).

    Yep. 3 teaspoons = 1 tbsp = 120 cals is what I am saying. I wasn't clear.
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
    I think it depends on how much the goat weighs before and after milking ;)
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    64crayons wrote: »
    I think it depends on how much the goat weighs before and after milking ;)

    Do you think shaving the goat would shave some calories off the cheese?

    AHA! Maybe the goats providing my cheese spend so much time jumping they are weightless, therefore the cheese is weightless!
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
    Happy cheese comes from happy cows. Lightweight cheese must come from lightweight goats!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    edited March 2016
    When I weigh out chia seeds into my smoothie I can't use the smoothie cup instead I have to use the little scoop from the chia container. For some reason it doesn't like adding something so light to something heavier on my scale. Maybe yours has the same issue? Maybe try weighing on a paper towel or something instead of directly into your salad?
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    This morning I tried a couple of the suggestions together - added other ingredients first, didn't tare the scale, then added a block of goat cheese. It worked! Of course I was 3 grams over my target, but that is why this matters. Thanks for all of the help!
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
    Weigh the block
    Take your cheese
    Weigh the block again
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    If my scale doesn't register after I put something on it I will touch the scale so it jumps up and then settles back down. This will cause something registering as 9g to correct to 10-11g. Otherwise my scale works fine and it is a cheap $12 scale from amazon.
  • mspeppers
    mspeppers Posts: 8 Member
    MCIBTY wrote: »
    Weigh the block
    Take your cheese
    Weigh the block again

    I logged in just to say this. It's also great for peanut butter and any other foods that are in jars. Just weigh the jar, remove the product et voila, do the math!
  • itsthehumidity
    itsthehumidity Posts: 351 Member
    Scales aren't precise enough to register changes in weight under a certain amount.

    Take Cheerios for example. If you dump a bunch in the bowl all at once, you'll get a pretty good idea of how many grams that is. If you add each Cheerio individually to the scale, you'll be way off by the time you fill the bowl.

    Suggestion: crumble the cheese first and add it all at once, rather than one tiny piece at a time that the scale is unlikely to register.
  • Fayecg89
    Fayecg89 Posts: 35 Member
    Buy more accurate scales, for example

    http://www.banggood.com/1kg0_1g-Digital-Postal-Cooking-Food-Diet-Grams-Kitchen-Scale-p-78362.html?currency=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_content=lola&utm_campaign=pla-home1-uk-kitchen&gclid=CJbwvfmwyssCFRUTGwodNQ8IqQ

    It will weight food down to 0.1g
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
    nordlead2005 wrote: »
    If my scale doesn't register after I put something on it I will touch the scale so it jumps up and then settles back down. This will cause something registering as 9g to correct to 10-11g. Otherwise my scale works fine and it is a cheap $12 scale from amazon.

    This is what I do and it always works for me.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    Your scale is stupid. I mean, who hates cheese? Get a new scale, yours is obviously delusional.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    When I weigh out chia seeds into my smoothie I can't use the smoothie cup instead I have to use the little scoop from the chia container. For some reason it doesn't like adding something so light to something heavier on my scale. Maybe yours has the same issue? Maybe try weighing on a paper towel or something instead of directly into your salad?

    Same thing with chia seeds:

    1. Put the container of chia seeds on the scale
    2. Zero the scale
    3. Scoop out your seeds

    The negative number is their weight.

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