Must get a new scale
I have had a couple of disasters lately with recipes that I have had great success with in the past. Finally I realized my scale was malfunctioning and a new battery was obtained. I *thought* all was good till yesterday when my Sour Rye was a lot soupy. I tried to rescue it but I'm not gonna eat these bricks! It is time for a newer and hopefully better scale. I thought I was the problem but I am glad to know it was the scale. My bake today had to go by volume and no scale , which meant I had to do some math since the TFL recipe was all weights. I hate having to *think* when at home. LOL!
Any suggestions on a brand of reasonable scale that I can get some years of work out of that doesn't let flour get inside the back? I would like it if it could sit in a drawer of my bread table when not being used.
but I'd suggest you get one that uses AA batteries rather than more expensive coin cells.
-Gordon
It's pricey but I've had mine for thirty five years. It's primary use when I bought it was for weighing out photography chemicals but digital has eclipsed wet photography. I've used it for cooking for years and it has a supplemental weight set that allows one to weigh up to 2kg at a time. I use the simple polyethylene food containers as weigh boats, they are inexpensive and light. The positive side: it's fully mechanical and reliable. The down side: it's clunky and does not auto zero.
http://www.amazon.com/Salter-Aquatronic-Electronic-Kitchen-Scale/dp/B001DQOEDO
I keep mine in a gallon zip lock even while in use and still looks new and works well after 11 years.
I like my Escali A115S. I bought it and the 9 volt adapter after having my previous scale run out of batteries at inopportune times. It used AAA batteries which did not seem to last very long. My Escali has worked with all my containers, but I have thought a bigger tray would be nice.
I have this one and very happy with it.
http://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-KD-7000-Digital-Stainless/dp/B00MHSX0W8
I have been using a top loading platform scale for over 15 years with consistent results. My scale has a six inch rotating dial and 32 ounce capacity, with 1/4 ounce graduations. It is almost identical to the Detecto model PT-2R, which can be viewed at: http://www.detecto.com/cs_product/pt-series-6-dial/
I used to have one like that but I don't have the space for one like that now...my sons played it to death many years ago. LOL! They loved the springy thing.
I have used scales all my working life and there are definitely different scales that are more suited for the job. I think for weighing ingredients to a recipe it is hard to beat a digital scale, the tare function eliminates having to run a tally in your head as you add different ingredients. On the other hand if you are portioning out dough pieces a balance scale is better suited, after a while you get use to the speed the platform moves and know exactly how much to add or remove from a dough ball where that type intuitive work doesn't seem to develop when looking a numbers on a digital display. Another thing in favour of a balance scale is they don't need batteries or electricity and no need to worry about getting them wet during clean up.
Gerhard
Here is the simple way to check a scale's accuracy:
One U.S. nickel weighs 5 grams.
Being able to tare a digital scale is wonderful. Put your vessel on the platform, tare it out and weigh your ingredients.
I love my Jennings CJ4000. It comes with a plastic cover and an AC adapter.
Yeah, a nickle on my scale = 0 no matter where I set it.
I have two scales -- a 5 kilo, (11 pounds) that is in the kitchen and we use it for most everything and a 250 gram that I use for yeast, salt and other low level ingediants. Both are digital.
A good dealer is http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/ - no conection to me except I am a customer. Biggest problem with this dealer is he has every scale under the sun.
deblacksmith
What a laugh I got before I figured out that the link was for a bathroom scale...LOL! I saw the other scales at the bottom of the page after I realized the scale on the page was for folks under 550 lbs...HAHA! For a moment I thought...how the heck does he weight his dough on that scale and how accurate could it be??
I haven't tried it myself, but "Cook's Illustrated"'s test winner is OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display ($49.95), described as being "exceptionally intuitive" and practical, also for weighing bulkier items.
Like Ballroom Billy, I had and liked my Escali Primo Digital Kitchen Scale 11lb/5kg - it weighs even 1 gram without problem.
Unfortunately a Groupon deal tempted me to buy the sleek Arti Glass scale by the same maker, but the designer look and the easy to clean, larger surface came at a price. The platform is very low, so that it can easily happen that another kitchen tool on the counter accidentally touches it and adds its weight.
But much more annoying and aggravating is the fact that the scale often jumps by 2 grams at a time, and, also, changes the weight it displays by several grams, when you wait a few minutes. Unfortunately I gave my old Primo to my daughter, so there is no going back.
Karin
The pull-out display was very handy with larger bowls on the platform. The 5kg limit got to be, well, limiting when working with larger batches. It eventually developed some form of a digital Alzheimer's condition where part of the display stopped working and the weights were bouncing all over the place even when nothing was being added to the bowl. I sadly bid it adieu.
Its replacement is a MyWeigh KD-8000 with an 8kg capacity. I've had it just a few months but have found it to be very effective for my needs.
Paul
Since I'm not very happy with what I got and was thinking of replacing it.
Karin
The price is ok but I can tell it will drive me CRAAAAZY cause I wouldn't be able to put the display back without flour getting into all the little crevices...LOL! And I am old and less OCD than usual...but it would require me to polish that little cord to death. I might get one but I'd sure be reluctant to pull that display out.
You may ask how can someone with OCD be a baker or a nurse? Germs, Flour and Sugar are everywhere!
I like the looks of this one and the price is great...but now I must determine if there is an American made one. I would pay more if it is guaranteed American.
Here is a scale which comes with its own calibration weights:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SVQHWY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=BUK1DQLOWR4B&coliid=ILR9PIY33VHZU&psc=1
OK, so it is black and plastic and will show all sorts of flour and sugar and dust...BUT it has a cover and it has a large display AND I can calibrate it and that would help me figure out if the problem is the scale or the idiot reading the recipe. Dang I wish Amazon had a feature for comparing several models since I won't know till it arrives how it works for the digital display.
I would LOVE to have room for an old fashion platform cause I used one for years scaling rolls, but I don't have a huge kitchen now and room on my bench is at a premium when working. And I'm not butchering pigs and putting up meat for the freezer so I'd probably only use it for dough and weighing fruits for canning recipes.
I definitely do not want one with the coin batteries or a button on the bottom that you have to push to change to gms or lbs. It was NOT apparent till I opened the box that it had that stupid thing which of course gets flour into it. It is amazing how often I have to use that dang little button with sticky hands and which is touchy and I suspect the problem with my scale scrolling thru back and forth from gm to lbs to tare to water to milk to weight all on the same item and no help from me. LOL! Which is why I had issues with the recipes.
I definitely want a digital although I liked the old timey scales I used for years in the bakery in the 70's but it didn't have a tare function other than the worksheet. I guess if I had put the scale inside a plastic bag I could have kept it from getting too floury...but who thinks of those things till someone reminds you...;-) ?
I've been all over my small town and I can get something about as good as the one I got (Walmart) OR I have to order it on Amazon OR drive towards Seattle and look for a bakery supply or kitchen store. My usual cake supply shop in another town doesn't have one. I'd like to actually open the box and check it out...but not bad enough to drive 30 miles. HAHA!
I will definitely use that plastic bag idea...AND insist it takes AA batteries cause I have those in my WTSHTF storage.
Thanks for all the info...
to my earlier comment about using AA batteries. I forgot to mention the scales I use:
http://bakerybits.co.uk/bakery-equipment/scales-and-mixers/kd8000-bakery-scales.html
Not sure how internationally available they are though. They are a bit pricey but I needed something to go up to 8Kg in 1g increments. They also have a bakers percentage function - which I thought I might use, but never have.
The only down-side is that they are a bit light and the feet that come with them are a bit slippy on my workbench, but they're used 7 days a week and are still looking good.
-Gordon
name, number are identical. I'm interested in a new scale too!