At long last, I think I am finally ready to buy a kitchen scale. My main use will be weighing ingredients for baking.
I’d like something that will store easily in a drawer and that cleans up nicely. I prefer my kitchen tools to be sturdy, simple, and functional—kind of like my Thermapen or (most) Oxo Good Grips stuff I’m fond of.
Might anyone have experience using a trusty kitchen scale that might be right for me?
Low profile, no bells and whistles to malfunction, accurate and travel handy ta boot. Oh and a FIVE yr warranty.
Thank you! Looks like my kind of design.
The bread baking class I’ve been enjoying recommended it. We use it everyday to measure things.
This is what I have. Easy to store in a drawer. Only disadvantage is larger plates cover the read out the plus is it is small and light.
I have this one from OXO. I like it because the display pulls out making it easy to read if you’re using a large bowl. It also comes in a smaller version, up to 5 lbs. Using a scale is what finally got me to bake something edible. I’m not good about measuring.
Awesome! I feel like I can make my selection in an informed way now.
Nice! All 3 weigh up too 11 lbs. i like features from all 3. Glad you asked.
Nobody’s good about measuring, when it’s loose pack-able dry ingredients done by volume. All the blather there used to be about the “proper” way to measure a cup of flour was pretty silly. A recipe asking for a cup of flour is similar to one that asks for an inch of water or a double-sized piece of butter - it’s fine to use those things if the measurement isn’t very important anyway, but if the right amount matters then the scale really helps.
For a lot of things, exact measurements aren’t needed. I’d never notice if my pancakes accidentally had 0.92 or 1.09 cups of flour, so I don’t bother trying hard.
If you take a few minutes to weigh each of your most-used cups and bowls when they’re empty, you can weigh pretty much everything after that. 
+1
I’ve had a cheaper one, and eventually it shorted out from cleaning the top. The top on the OXO completely removes (it’s magnetic, so pull hard) - no risk of water damage to the electronics. Also like that this has a large, clear display, tares easily, and flips between metric and imperial simply. It was/is also the favorite many years running for America’s Test Kitchen.
I like the OXO for all the reasons ChristinaM mentions but you should be aware that there is a three second countdown when you turn it on before you can use it. It is not really a big deal but it did bother me a bit when I first got it. The easy way it changes from metric to imperial and the ease of cleaning it won me over. The pull out display also comes in handy.
For kitchen scales, I’ve 3. The mechanical one is mainly for decoration these days, it has a nice retro look, not much use as it’s rather approximative. Bought it long time ago.
The Beurer KS42 is mostly used. It’s very thin, good for storage, easy to clean.
My third scale I got it this year from the food professional store Metro. Stil 4733 is a tiny scale that one can slip in a pocket for traveling. It can mesure up to 0.01g, which is becoming essential for baking, yeast weighing etc when I need things to be as precise as 0.5g. Quite happy with it, sensitive even to movement and wind.
Both electronic ones can display in metric and imperial systems.
@Rainycatcooks, @naf—so helpful to have specific pros and cons to consider based on your first-hand experiences.
Appreciate your detailed insights!
I love that one so much more than what I currently use.
I’m not good as in I really don’t like to measure and I look for ways to avoid it. Weighing doesn’t bother me at all. I think the tare function is one of the best inventions.
HOLY GUACAMOLE!!! I’ve had my scale for years and I never knew this. Thank you. I usually use a damp paper towel to clean mine which is fine but washing is so much better.
I have this one, and I like it fine.
I use clear, glass mixing bowls and can read the digital weight right through the glass no matter what size bowl I use. This was highlighted in my bread class as one useful feature. I have never seen a pull out drawer on a scale before; that’s cool. Whatever you buy, accuracy would matter most imho. There’s clearly a scale for every budget.
