Comments on: Best kitchen scales

Question: Best kitchen scales

smangosbubbles — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:03:22 -0800

Looking for kitchen scale recommendations.

I'm getting my SO a food scale for Christmas (it's a wanted gift), but looking at the options is overwhelming me.

My wishlist for said scale:
-Durability (I'd like to not have to buy him another one next Christmas)
-Ease of cleaning (it's going to be used primarily for measuring meat)
-Reasonably accurate and precise
-AA or AAA batteries (I'd like to avoid button cells, because they're the only battery type I don't keep extras of)
-Budget of maybe $50

Right now I'm leaning towards this, but I feel I'm being swayed by looks rather than any logical decision-making process.

I'll take both positive and negative reviews of your existing kitchen scale or kitchen scale maker as well, or any additional things I haven't thought of.

By: jroybal

jroybal — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:21:04 -0800

I lovelovelove my Oxo kitchen scale. The display can be pulled out a bit when you're weighing a larger dish that might obscure the display from above. The top panel pops off for cleaning. My partner gave it to me about four years and I just replaced the original batteries (AAA) a month or two ago. Metric/English measurements, taring feature, and simple, straightforward buttons. It's "Highly Recommended" by Cook's Illustrated. Definitely a good scale.

By: Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:21:30 -0800

I sure do love my Oxo Kitchen Scale. This was one recommended by Cooks Illustrated and, as usual, their recommendation didn't disappoint. I like the pull-out, easy to read display and I'm happy with all the other functionality, too. The metal plate comes off for easy cleaning.

By: Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:22:18 -0800

Or, on non-preview, basically what jroybal said.

By: catlet

catlet — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:32:23 -0800

Another Oxo lover here - the pull-out bit is the most wondrous part of it; the scale adapts to your container, not the other way around.

As for your link, I had a Salter scale before I got the Oxo. It felt a bit flimsy and never seemed balanced.

By: janell

janell — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 22:17:44 -0800

I have a Soehnle kitchen balance and I've been very happy with it. It's easy to clean, well balanced, and easy to store. The tare is stable -- it runs up to 11 pounds.

It's similar, but not identical, to this. The thing that is great about it is that the display isn't occulted by the bowl or bucket or paper that I'm using to hold whatever I'm weighing out.

By: flaterik

flaterik — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:55:12 -0800

I also like my Oxo!

By: Namlit

Namlit — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:37:33 -0800

We have a Soehnle. My SO loves it! Looks like an iPad (which was important before she got a real one) is totally easily wipeable offable, doesn't fail you...grams and ounces...

By: iviken

iviken — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:13:37 -0800

I like my IKEA Ordning scale, $24.99. Stainless steel, slide-in display, still working after +3 years in use. It uses two AAA batteries. Max load: 6 lb 10 oz (3 kg).

Some other opinions:
"Exhibit A, below, is the most reliable, moderately priced (A$40) set I've found in recent years. The IKEA Ordning kitchen scale is simple, reasonably robust, and fairly reliable."

"You can buy a fancy scale if you want, but we think the $25 no-frills Ordning IKEA scale does the trick."

By: jon1270

jon1270 — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:26:14 -0800

The one Salter digital scale I've used seemed very sturdy, but had a shortcoming that the OXO scale seems to share: partial ounces represented as fractions instead of decimals. I find decimals easier to work with, especially when I'm using a spreadsheet to scale recipes. In case you care about that, the Salter model you're considering goes the decimal route.

By: hungrybruno

hungrybruno — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 06:36:59 -0800

I have an old Escali that I don't love but can't toss because it still works just fine. I covet the Oxo recommended above, though, mostly for the easy clean and pull out display features. Oh and regarding cleanup; I usually cover mine with a layer of plastic wrap if there's no bowl available to keep the mess a little more contained. Definitely go for something with at least 11lb load capacity, that's what mine has, but sometimes when using a heavier bowl or making large batches (I bake almost exclusively by weight now) I go over the max and it makes me boooonkers.

By: TedW

TedW — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 06:59:09 -0800

I don't own it myself (I should ask for it for Xmas), but Cooking for Engineers recommends My Weigh i5500, which looks very nice and just within your price range. One consideration if it will be used for meat is the capacity, if it will be used for larger cuts.

By: zamboni

zamboni — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:00:53 -0800

I'm still a huge fan of my KD-8000. It's a little big, but everything else is fantastic, particularly the percentage weighing function.

By: librarina

librarina — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:25:26 -0800

My life/business partner and I researched this pretty constantly for a couple of years. We also use a scale for meat, since we farm and sell chicken and turkey, as well as doing our own sausage-making and charcuterie. What we found is that nearly everything under ~$50 had only an 11-lb capacity (not enough!), and the next step up was like 50-lb capacity and $150 (too much!).

Then we found the My Weight KD8000, which has a 17-lb capacity and is ~$40. (We found it via Michael Ruhlman, whose books on charcuterie, salumi, and cooking with ratios you should track down if you don't have them already.)

It comes with a plastic flip-up guard for the buttons, which can be removed for cleaning; the stainless-steel weighing plate (? don't know what this is called) is also removable.

It is literally the only thing we found under $50 with a capacity greater than 11 lbs. We have been very happy with it.

I've had it for a year or so, so I don't know about durability, but it has a 30-year manufacturer warranty, so that seems promising.

By: epanalepsis

epanalepsis — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:31:21 -0800

I have an Escali Primo and like it quite a bit. The tare function works well--if you put your container on before turning the scale on, it will start up at 0.00. It's easy to clean and if all you weigh is small amounts of ingredients, postage, and occasionally a small pet (yep) it's perfect. That all said, I would get an Oxo if I wanted to weigh whole recipes, cuts of meat, and other larger items.

By: jon1270

jon1270 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:32:54 -0800

I owned the My Weigh i5000H, same as the 5000 but with the body made from a hemp-based plastic. The electronics of the scale were decent, but the hemp plastic parts were junk. Also, My Weigh's customer service is terrible. The "30-year" warranty is meaningless; you pay for return shipping, which rivals the cost of a new scale after you've done it a couple of times. I returned my scale 3 times before I gave up on it. I would never buy from them again.

By: librarina

librarina — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:53:01 -0800

It's worth noting that My Weigh and My Weight appear, confusingly, to be different brands.

By: smangosbubbles

smangosbubbles — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 10:35:17 -0800

Based on the overwhelming love for the Oxo, I'm going to go with that. Hopefully it will serve him well!

By: anaelith

anaelith — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:35:19 -0800

I just got the KD8000 based on the recommendations in this thread. It was cheaper than the Oxo and I'm intrigued by the percentage weighing function, since I'll be using it in my baking. So far I have weighed my breakfast and my grandfather's cat (12 pounds and 6 ounces--she's only supposed to weigh 9 pounds!).