Weighing Ingredients

In another post j biesinger wrote:

"It'll change the way you cook. I'm converting my recipes into metric weights and it make things faster, more efficient, and easier to scale up and down.

When I used to make a batch of my sauce, I'd finish with a pile of dirty measuring spoons, measureing cups, spatulas and what not. Now I use one bowl on the scale and dump everything into it."

I've been wanting to do this for some time now, but never really had enough confidence in my scale to accurately measure very small weights (how much does 1/8 tsp. of garlic powder really weigh?). My scale is a Soehnle triple 8052, which I thought was a fairly decent one when I got it, but now have doubts. I just went to the kitchen, set the scale to grams, zeroed it and poured about 1/4 tsp of salt on the glass. It still read zero grams.

So, Jeff or anyone, what kind of scale does one need to accurately measure to tenths or even hundredths of a gram? Is it possible to "scale" recipes to this level without spending a small fortune?

Thanks,

JimT

I purchased this unit from amazon based on a recommendation from Bryan.

weigh blade

I used it for quantities smaller that 10g. It seems to work well but I have no way of knowing if its accurate or not. Be warned, the unit seems to be popular among people who enjoy certain illegal activities. Lets just say I was shocked when amazon hit me with "people who purchased this item also bought..."

I see the difference now! That unit measures up to 100 grams, in .01 gram increments. I checked the one I have, and it is designed for larger weights. It goes up to 5000 grams, and 2 gram increments (5 grams above 2500.)

Another addition to my Christmas list.

Thanks,

JimT

Wish I could remember to convert as I go, but most of my recipes are not on paper. That said I use the scales often.

I use a Taylor TE22 for everything down to .1 oz or 2 gram. I really like this scale because of the size, range, and features. It goes to 22lbs which covers most of what I do.

For the small stuff I use a weigh blade as well. I use the Blade-1000 model since the range meshs well with the TE22 ) It ranges from 1000g/2.2lb by .1 gram/.01oz.

Both measure metric and US very accurately.

Both were worth every cent IMHO and the TE22 always comes out when I'm cooking. I tend to tare with the big bowl and then add taking notice say of what the 1st portion of an ingredient goes, etc. Great for portioning instead of guessing.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> what kind of scale does one need to accurately measure to tenths or even hundredths of a gram? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jim, most electronic scales will accurately weigh ingredients down to a gram. I wouldn't worry about getting down to a hundreth of a gram. About the only time I use the scale is when I bake and even then if I'm off by a gram it really doesn't matter. Otherwise, precise amounts (down to a gram) don't seem critical IMO. I use a $25 Escali model with very good results. The tare feature is very handy when combining multiple ingredients.

Paul

Hold feature is great to have as well. When using say a large bowel or plate on the scale it can obscure the readout. The hold feature allows you to hold the measurement, and you can remove or move the bowel to read the display.

Both hold an tare function were key features I looked for.

I love my Oxo scale.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by r benash:
Hold feature is great to have as well. When using say a large bowel or plate on the scale it can obscure the readout. The hold feature allows you to hold the measurement, and you can remove or move the bowel to read the display.

Both hold an tare function were key features I looked for. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some (Oxo included) have a pull out display, which is great for large items blocking the view.

Yep, the OXO scales are very nice, and they also have a memory hold and tare functions as well. I liked the pull out display, but in the end didn't give me the range I was looking for on the high side. When I checked they only had 5lb and 11lb max models, I wanted something that would give me more capacity on the high end as well as give me the low end measurement I wanted. TE22 Taylor fit the spec for me. Otherwise the OXO 11lb was my second choice.

So I have scales that give me full range with the weigh blade mentioned above (aka gram scale), the taylor TE22. If I need to go over 22lbs I have a nice taylor glass bathroom scale that is great for stuff beyond the range of the TE22 and will go into a few hundred pounds in 1/10 lb increments.