Kitchen Weighing Scales

A good set of kitchen weighing scales is one of the keys to successful cooking, allowing the cook to get the balance of flavours and ingredients just right. Whilst looks may be relatively important, it is far more significant that a set of scales is accurate, easy to read and can hold all the food that you need to weigh.

Balance Scales

A traditional balance scale is attractive to look at and, as there is no complicated mechanism to wear out, should last you a lifetime. The food is placed in a pan on one side of the balance, and a combination of brass or cast iron weights on the other. When the weights on the two sides match exactly, a pointer lines up with a central marker on the fulcrum.

Although extremely accurate, some people may find it a chore to work out the exact combination of weights to add. You may also find that you need two sets of weights: one for metric and another for imperial measurements.

When buying a balance scale, choose one with a pear-shaped bowl; this will enable you to tip the contents neatly into a mixing bowl or saucepan.

Spring-Balance Scales

In this type of scale, the food is place on a platform or in a pan and the weight is registered on a calibrated dial, usually marked with both metric and imperial measures. Some versions will measure on a rotating disk, which may be reset to zero at any time, allowing you to add more than one ingredient in the bowl at the same time - this feature is termed as 'add-and-weigh'.

The amount you'll be able to weigh is limited by the power of the spring, standard versions will have a capacity of around 2.2 kg (5 lb), whilst high capacity models may weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb). Choose one that will best suit your weighing needs; although you may be able to weigh more on a high capacity model, the increments on the dial will be closer together, making it more difficult to read.

Spring balance scales have a tendency to wander out of true, so it is important to select a model that has an adjustment screw to restore accuracy when the scales are at rest. Add-and-weigh scales use a dial that may be reset to zero at any time, so do not need to have this additional feature.

Electronic Scales

Electronic scales are extremely accurate, with a digital display that shows either metric or imperial weights. The reading may be reset to zero at any point, allowing you to weigh more than one ingredient in the bowl at the same time.

However, one disadvantage with these scales is that they are battery-operated, so there is always the danger that they will run out of power at a critical time. Always make sure you have a couple of spare batteries handy.

Scales are available as 'platform-only' styles, which allow you to weigh the food directly on the scales or into your own container, or they may come with their own weighing bowl. For the greatest accuracy, choose scales that weigh in increments of 1g (0.1 oz) rather than 5g (0.5 oz).