Kitchen Scale Makes for Easier Cooking

Do you want to save time baking, have fewer dishes to wash, and measure ingredients with precision? Using a kitchen food scale instead of measuring cups is the answer. With a kitchen scale, you can pour ingredients such as flour and sugar straight from the container into your mixing bowl until the proper weight is achieved. All you need to get started is a kitchen scale and information about the weight of a cup of each ingredient.

For instance, if your recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, use the conversion chart below to find that 1 cup flour is equal to 125 grams. Place your bowl on the scale, tare it to zero, and pour in that much flour. No cups, no leveling, no mess.

gram weights of common recipe ingredients brown sugar, packed 220 110 55 brown sugar, unpacked 145 72.5 36.3 butter 227 113.5 56.8 cocoa, unsweetened 86 43 21.5 flour, white, all-purpose 125 62.5 31.3 flour, white, bread 137 68.5 34.3 flour, white, cake 137 68.5 34.3 flour, whole-wheat 120 60 30 honey 339 169.5 84.8 molasses 337 168.5 84.3 peanut butter 258 129 64.5 powdered sugar, unsifted 120 60 30 powdered sugar, sifted 100 50 25 shortening, household 205 102.5 51.3 sugar, granulated 200 100 50 water 237 118.5 59.3

Why should you use a kitchen scale?

1. Weights are more precise than volumes

Almost all U.S. recipes call for volumes of ingredients measured in cups, teaspoons and tablespoons, e.g., 1 cup flour. But the amount of flour in that cup depends on many things including how much the flour is compacted, how well you level the cup, and whether air pockets are present within the flour. More precision, and less work on your part, can be achieved with a kitchen food scale.

2. Fewer dishes to wash

It's breakfast time and you think about baking apple muffins or pancakes from scratch. Then you envision a messy, flour-covered counter and a sink full of dirty bowls and measuring cups. You quickly decide to open the cupboard for a box of cereal. But with a kitchen scale, you would use fewer measuring cups and the messy step of leveling the cup is unnecessary.

3. Even the messiest ingredients are a snap

Instead of wondering how much of a stubborn ingredient is still sticking to the measuring cup, honey, molasses and peanut butter are now easy - just pour or scoop out to the right weight.

4. Favorite recipes are always the same

Convert ingredients to grams once and go. Your favorite recipes will be easy and you can be assured that the dish will turn out the same each time!

Buying a Scale

Capacity and precision are important considerations when buying a kitchen food scale for baking. Capacity refers to the maximum weight that can be accurately measured. For basic family recipes, a 5-lb scale is useful. This scale can handle larger weights such as a piece of meat for stew and also the smaller weights needed for cups of ingredients. Consider an 11-lb capacity if you will need to weigh four or five pounds or more of a single ingredient.

Precision refers to the smallest amount that can be accurately weighed. A precision of 1g is great for baking. At a minimum, you want a scale that can precisely weigh a few grams or ¼ ounce or less.

There are three types of scales available: balance, mechanical, and digital. Several factors make the digital scale best suited for baking. One is the ease of reading a digital display compared to the visual estimates required for mechanical and balance scales. Next, digital scales often have a tare option available which allows you to 'zero' the scale after adding each ingredient. This lets you weigh any number of ingredients in the same bowl. Lastly, look for a digital scale that can display weights in either grams or pounds/ounces. This will give you the flexibility to weigh grams of flour and sugar using the conversion tables and also weigh meats, water, and butter in traditional units of pounds and ounces.

Tips for Baking with a Scale

• Scales are best for the larger-quantity main ingredients of a recipe such as flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, cocoa, chocolate, water, milk, etc. If ingredients are present at about ¼ cup or more, they are most likely candidates for weighing.

• Continue to use teaspoons and tablespoons for baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, and smaller quantities of ingredients.

• Keep a copy of common ingredient conversions in a handy place in your kitchen. You won't need to spend extra time looking up conversions.

• If you can't find an ingredient in the conversion chart provided here, there are online resources to help. Try the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12354500) and search for the ingredient, choose a volume measure such as 1 cup, and then look at the corresponding gram weight.

• If you feel confident with weighing ingredients, add ingredients successively in the same bowl, taring after each ingredient. Otherwise, use one bowl for measuring individual ingredients then add to a second bowl. That way, if you make a mistake or over-fill an ingredient, you can remove some without upsetting the other ingredients.

• Make sure your scale remains accurate. Calibrate your scale or test the weight of a cup of water periodically to make sure the scale is still functioning.