It’s hard overstate the convenience of a solid kitchen scale. Digital scales open up a new world of possibilities when it comes to improving your cooking or baking, allowing for precision in ingredient measurement, consistency in recipes, and efficiency in the kitchen. As more and more recipes are converted to grams (my favorite measurement metric), there’s no reason to put off investing in a digital scale, especially considering how affordable they can be.
Most come with AA or AAA batteries and are very easy to use. Unlike a mechanical scale, a digital scale allows you to tare (we explain later what this means) the weight to 0 when weighing an ingredient. You don’t need multiple measuring spoons and cups, so a scale reduces the number of plates. The biggest benefit is the ability to measure ingredients by weight instead of volume. This is particularly important when baking. Ask a group of bakers to scoop and level a cup of flour and results will vary. Ask them to measure 120 grams of flour (the equivalent of one cup) and each will produce the same amount. A kitchen scale is useful for everyone, baker or not, and these are my favorites.
Be sure to check out our other kitchen guides, including the best chef knives, best cookware and tools for small kitchens, best food processors, and best stand mixers.
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How we test kitchen scales
As a former chocolatier of seven years, I’m a big proponent of measuring recipes by weight. Even for basic recipe conversion needs, like doubling or halving, a kitchen scale can come to the rescue. Don’t want to rack your brain to figure out how to halve 3⅓ cups of flour by volume? Simply weigh the amount on your scale and divide by two.
I tested several digital scales while baking my family’s tried-and-true banana bread recipe (which I converted to grams). If I was weighing flour, for example, I would weigh the same amount on several scales to see what gram each one was up to. I also measured the ingredients into various bowls and ramekins to test their convenience and durability. For each, I look at their special functions and what circumstances they are ideal for.
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