Food Scales!

My Accuweight scale has served me well for about 6 years now, cost about $13 on Amazon. It even fell off the counter and fell apart, I just stuck it back together and it kept on ticking.

The only thing I’ll look for in a different scale is one that weighs for smaller than 4 or 5 gram minimum, but that’s pretty minor. Once you meet that minimum it’s been very accurate. And I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.

I've been using the Salter 'Arc' scale for almost 2 yrs. It takes a CR2032 button battery which I think I have replaced once, so let's say average 1 battery/year. It's easy to switch between ounces or grams, and can measure as low as one gram (or less than one ounce). Not sure what's the max weight capacity as I'm not usually weighing very large things. The scale itself is not very large, doesn't take up a lot of space to store.
Looks like Amazon still carries this model --
https://www.amazon.com/Salter-1066WHDR15-Electronic-Kitchen-Scale/dp/B0024OB072

[note a lot of reviews complain it doesn't measure ml but don't most of us use measuring cups to measure liquids anyways?]

RIght now I have the GeekClick Digital Food Scale, which is $18.99 on Amazon. It's fine.

I don't think scale choice is a profoundly nuanced decision, personally. Lots of models are fine, and some of the issue is personal preference.

Features I think are important:
* Weighs in grams (fine if it does ounces/pounds, too)
* Can handle a relatively high weight (heaviest frequently-used pot plus contents - many I see now do up to 22 pounds)
* Easy tare function to zero the scale with weight on it, not so easy that one does it accidentally
* Will display negative weights (very important so I can, say, put the peanut butter jar on the scale, tare, take a spoonful, read the negative as the amount I took out). Extra nice if it can handle larger negative weights - some have a high positive weight capability, smaller negative capability
* Repeatable/consistent (hard to tell pre-purchase)
* Durable (hard to tell pre-purchase, but reviews may help)
* Accurate to fine gradation (the specs supposedly tell the resolution, but hard to tell pre-purchase IMO)
* Manageable batteries/power (personal preference, I like batteries for which I always have spares for general household use - here, the stores can be out of some of the button batteries more often than out of AA/AAA, too).
* For home use, large enough weighing surface to be stable for fairly big stuff (for ultra-big, I put a bowl on the scale - and tare, of course - to raise the cookie sheet or whatever, so the display is still visible)
* Easy to clean (crevices are annoying)
* Auto shut-off
* Easy to read display, that will be visible when weighing common things (the bowl trick applies here, too, but I don't want to be doing that for routine items, just extra big ones).

I leave mine out on the counter all the time. For some people, that would mean looks matter. I honestly don't care, but the current one is pretty sleek/modern looking.

katvg17 wrote: »

I've been using the Salter 'Arc' scale for almost 2 yrs. It takes a CR2032 button battery which I think I have replaced once, so let's say average 1 battery/year. It's easy to switch between ounces or grams, and can measure as low as one gram (or less than one ounce). Not sure what's the max weight capacity as I'm not usually weighing very large things. The scale itself is not very large, doesn't take up a lot of space to store.
Looks like Amazon still carries this model --
https://www.amazon.com/Salter-1066WHDR15-Electronic-Kitchen-Scale/dp/B0024OB072

[note a lot of reviews complain it doesn't measure ml but don't most of us use measuring cups to measure liquids anyways?]

Yes, because the ml reading is just grams, not ml - ml is a volume measure. Things with the specific gravity (density) of water will weigh one gram per milliliter. A scale can't measure volume, just weight.

Water's specific gravity is 1. 1 milliliter of water weighs 1 gram.
Just to pick a few random other liquid foods:
Honey's specific gravity is 1.43. 1 milliliter of honey weighs 1.43 grams.
Pure olive oil's specific gravity is 0.91. 1 milliliter of pure olive oil weighs 0.96 grams.

In calorie-dense things used in significant quantities, it can make a difference in calories.

Specific gravities are from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/npc/Pages/specific-gravities.aspx