Did you calibrate your food scale before using?

Kimblesnbits13

I've had my food scale for years, but I never "calibrated" it. I just opened the box and used it right away. I've weighed things like bread to compare the weight and what's on the nutrition label, and I THINK it's pretty spot on, but then I'll do some protein bars, and they're off. Did you all calibrate yours before using it?

Unknown

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StaciMarie1974

Did not calibrate. NOt even sure that was an option.

If you weigh the bar and its not spot on, did you consider that food contents can be off by 20% and still meet USDA guidelines? That not every English muffin in the pack is actually 61g precisely?

I recently added a 2nd food scale to my kitchen, one with higher capacity so I can weigh a finished product in the slow cooker pot. The pot alone weighs a good bit. Anyhow, I did compare it to my other food scale and got the same results, within 1g. So I'd assume the likelihood of them both being accurate was greater than the chance they were both inaccurate to the same extent.

VintageFeline

Packaged food can legally be off 20% in US (I've never looked at the number in the UK!). So it often won't match the nutrition label. More likely the food is off than the scale.

malibu927

I've never calibrated mine, but the difference in the protein bar is the exact reason we suggest to weigh prepackaged foods as well. Manufacturers are legally allowed to be up to 20% off in the size.

annacole94

If you want to check it, weigh some water. 1 g per ml.

californiagirl2012

Everything is estimates. But if you feel like calibrating go ahead, or some weigh some water or whatever. Weighing does help you with accuracy even though everything is an estimate. Good job even getting a food scale!!!!

annacole94

Well, technically a scale actually measures, rather than estimating. The estimate is that every gram of food has the same energy and nutritional content.

I use a non-digital scale, so it's not that precise. I'm not that into precision, though.

StaciMarie1974

For what its worth, I was quite shocked that a whole bag of mini bagels was at or under the serving size grams per each. And this morning's English muffin was exactly 61g as intended. But slices of bread are almost always 4-8 grams too high per pair.

Out of curiosity I've started weighing things I would normally not. Like the 15 ounce package of low fat ricotta cheese that went into my baked pasta dish the other night. It was high by 15-20 grams but I figured some of it sticks to the side of the mixing bowl, after I combine the pasta/cheeese/etc.

I don't know if I should be happy or annoyed that Halo Top ice cream when weighed tends to have an extra 1/3 serving in grams per pint.

Jruzer

I never calibrated mine until we used it for the Pinewood Derby. Then one of the parents complained to me that it was reading higher than the scale at the post office and hence must be wrong. Sigh.

I went and got a 5 ounce NIST-traceable calibration weight, and my scale was dead nuts.

middlehaitch

I used a Salter balance scale, with 2 sets of weights, grams and ounces, for most of my weight loss. When I did get a digital scale I played around comparing the different weights 1oz=1oz, 5g=5g.
I did it for fun, but it did mean I knew my new scale was as accurate as my old one and that was good enough for me.

With a loaf, slices of bread are averaged. The middle one usually weighs more than the end one.
With prepackaged goods, as already stated they can be over.

Cheers, h.

jennybearlv

I never calibrated mine, but I use it to ship packages and it's always the same as the post office. I didn't even know it could be calibrated until I was cleaning it and it started acting all weird. Apparently, if I move the platform forward it opens the calibration menu. I thought I broke my scale and had to dig out my manual to get back to the normal screen.

CaffeinatedRats

I didn't know it needed to be calibrated. When I bought mine I put a nickel on it to test it. It weighed 5 grams, as a nickel should.

lilawolf

I have never worried if my scale was off by a couple percent, about the +/-20% on prepackaged foods or how much servings at a restaurant are off from the website (which I'm sure is way worse)....always lost right on or a touch higher than the rate I expect. I think it all evens out with all of the walking/NEAT that I don't log. YMMV. If I worried about all of that, I'd get terribly OCD. I occasionally already have issues, particularly when I prelog.

livingleanlivingclean

I have a 200g weight.... I put that on the scale periodically to check that it's weighing properly...

Purplebunnysarah

Jruzer wrote: »

I never calibrated mine until we used it for the Pinewood Derby. Then one of the parents complained to me that it was reading higher than the scale at the post office and hence must be wrong. Sigh.

I went and got a 5 ounce NIST-traceable calibration weight, and my scale was dead nuts.

A single point verification won't tell you much except that your balance is correct at 5g.

Given that the caloric values of food are themselves estimations, I don't think you need to 'calibrate' your scale. The uncertainty associated with variation in the food's composition is likely orders of magnitude greater than the uncertainty of the balance.

Theo166

Remember a mfg wants a happy customer, and for most that means giving more weight or volume (value) than promised on the packaging. Customers can get irate when they think they are shortchanged.

When the subway foot long wan't 12 inches, they were sued.

CattOfTheGarage

I don't think mine allows itself to be calibrated. Kitchen scales are pretty accurate in my experience, certainly accurate enough for the purpose. Even a 2% error would only be 2g out in 100g, which most people would consider unimportant (by contrast with a bathroom scale, where we get all upset if it's 4lb out when weighing 200lb).

DanniB423

No. I just weigh a nickel every couple weeks to make sure it says 5g and call it close enough.

Jruzer

sarahthes wrote: »

Jruzer wrote: »

I never calibrated mine until we used it for the Pinewood Derby. Then one of the parents complained to me that it was reading higher than the scale at the post office and hence must be wrong. Sigh.

I went and got a 5 ounce NIST-traceable calibration weight, and my scale was dead nuts.

A single point verification won't tell you much except that your balance is correct at 5g.

Given that the caloric values of food are themselves estimations, I don't think you need to 'calibrate' your scale. The uncertainty associated with variation in the food's composition is likely orders of magnitude greater than the uncertainty of the balance.

I take it you've never dealt with angry parents at a Pinewood Derby?

Queenmunchy

DanniB423 wrote: »

No. I just weigh a nickel every couple weeks to make sure it says 5g and call it close enough.

Yep, this.