Food scale recommendations?

savanaburen

Thinking about buying a food scale, for apples and bananas and tofu, etc.- not for every little thing. What are some that aren't too pricy, and what should I look for when buying one?

lynn_glenmont

Look for one that measures in grams (or both grams and ounces), that has a tare button (resets to zero after you put a bowl or plate, or after each food you put on the plate), and that is easy to clean. I do not recommend one with its own bowl -- it's much easier and less stuff to clean if you just use whatever bowl or plate you're going to eat from.

Another handy feature, although not necessary, is a display panel that can be removed (still attached by a cord) to make it easier to see if you put a large plate on the scale. But you could always put an inverted bowl down first and put your plate on top of it, so you can see around it.

Two last things to consider: (1) maximum weight the scale can measure (mine can handle up to 11 lbs or 5 kg, which has always been enough for me) and (2) power source. All the scales I've seen run on batteries, but if you see one's that plug-in, think about whether that's the best choice for you (do you have an outlet where you want to use it?). Some scales use ordinary batteries (mine uses AA) that you can find in any grocery store, drug store, or hardware store. Others use specialty batteries (flat discs like watch batteries) that might not be as easy to find, so think about whether that will be a problem for you. Finally, I've seen some people complain that their scales go through batteries very quickly, so you might want to read customer reviews for whatever model you're considering.

I'm very happy with mine. I've had it for years (I used it for baking before I started using it to log food on MFP about three years ago). It has all the features I mentioned above, and the batteries last a long time. It's an OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display, 11-Pound, which apparently is still in production and being sold on Amazon for just under $50, which looks to be the high-end for scales. If you're sure you're only going to be weighing things like tofu and single servings of produce, you could easily go for a 5-lb scale (the higher capacity is needed if you weigh things like finished pots of chili, stew, soup, casseroles), which gets you down to about $30 in the OXO line, plus there are lots of scales in the $10 to $20 range, both online and at stores with houseware departments, like Target.