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The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Toilet Seat Scale Makes You Feel Five Pounds Lighter
"iPhone" Shaped Pocket Scale Should Win Over Drug Dealers

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drewdrawshashtags
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
The only thing more surprising than seeing Ruhlman posting on Giz is that I 100% agree with everything he says.

This Gizmodo food week has made abundantly clear where my life should be heading - food tech.
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dufus
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
A friend of mine went to buy a scale like this one, and the sales lady told us, "You can't use this to measure cocaine.".

I'm not sure WHY she came out and told us that, but she was right. They're only accurate to half a gram. My friend was trying to perfect a recipe for large batches of bbq sauce, and the difference between 1.5, and 2 grams of cayenne pepper can be huge, so these scales didn't work for him.

In the end, he wound up with a standard triple beam balance scale just like you used in chem lab at school.
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SEDAGIVE?!
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Michael,

Thanks for weighing in on this important tool! I'll certainly consider making it a part of my kitchen arsenal...
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spider2544
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
i think next to the knife, thermometer and the pan the scale is one of the best tools to have in the kitchen.

if you ever want to cook consistently, and develop your own recipes a scale is an absolute must
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Bat21
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
The only type of cooking where mass measurements is significantly better than volume is pastry baking.

Cake flour:
1 cup = 4 ounces = 115 grams

All-purpose flour:
1 cup = 5 ounces = 144 grams
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tazm0n
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Yep, all the restaurants I've worked in- California and Paris- had a very well used scale. Anything over a tablespoon was weighed not measured in a measuring cup. Compensate for the weight of a mixing bowl, paper cup.. anything and fill it with what you're using (have to know volume weights- 8 oz to a cup, etc.) to get the proper amount. Anyone who's done their time behind the line knows how much more efficient this is.
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The Lab
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Great article, so well written. One question: When I bake, I follow recipes closely, but they are almost always in volumes. Poster Chris Boyle suggested culinary school books. Is this the best way to get mass-based recipes? Other sources?
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Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.
09/01/09

@The Lab:
I would pick up Ruhlman's book "Ratio". I fixed a recipe for my wife that she got from a cook book for a cake that called for 3 times the flour because of a typo.

You could also probably fine good recipes online for specific things you're making, which have the volume measurements already.

Lastly, the book "Ratio" is designed to break you from recipes, and starting baking on your own. Baking is science, and science can involve experimentation. Knowing how things work together, and how items can be swapped out adds a lot of creativity and fun.
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The Lab
09/01/09

@Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.: Thanks, picked this up on Amazon today!
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Cash907Censored
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Real chef's don't need scales... they can tell weight just by the feel of the food. They also don't need measuring cups either.
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RichoVonBlack
08/31/09

@Cash907Censored: Dude, I'm a Chef, trust me on some of the fine dessert recipes YOU NEED SCALES!, unless you bang out the same item in the same volume every day, eg choux pastry, bavouis etc, when te volume of product changes you need to ajust accordingly,
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BarclayMacross
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
The Professional Chef by the American Culinary Institute...pretty much the only cookbook I ever use. They also have a baking and pastry book. French recipe books usually are metric, Larousse Gastronomique is a great one.
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witeowl
08/31/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
The digital food scale is also indispensable for the dieter. A tablespoon of peanut butter is dangerously nebulous, but 16 grams of peanut butter is insanely precise. (Put the jar on the scale, tare it, and take out 16 g.)

It makes everything so much easier and I use less utensils. I even use it to measure out cereal and milk. Bowl on the scale. Tare. 37 grams of cereal. Tare. ~112 grams of silk soymilk. Done.
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yungjerry703
08/30/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
tanita makes some good scales. i always throw a dollar bill on top and make sure it reads 1 gram. you don't want miss a single gram of "white flour".
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/31/09

@yungjerry703: Remember that a $10 roll of US Quarters weighs exactly .5 lbs.
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LazyPanda
08/30/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
Which My Weigh scale uses ratios?
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sammy baby
08/30/09

@LazyPanda: That would be the KD 8000.
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LazyPanda
08/30/09

@sammy baby: Thanks!
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
08/30/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
I found a old Hobart scale on the side of the road which had a loose wire inside, but couldn't be opened because of some lead seals. I managed to open them and recconnect the wire and now have a deli scale accurate to .01 lb up to 30 lbs. Awesome tool!
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Islandkiwi
08/30/09

In reply to The Kitchen Scale, Unsung Hero of Great Cooking
I started using a digital scale for baking last year, and I have finally achieved consistent, easily repeatable results.

My new gripe are recipes that don't use weight...and most cookbooks don't use weight.

Any cookbook recommendations that use weight (aside from Alton?)
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OMG! Ponies!
01/07/09

In reply to Toilet Seat Scale Makes You Feel Five Pounds Lighter
Bigger question:

Why does this image exist?

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OMG! Ponies!
01/07/09

@OMG! Ponies!: It's like he's sad, then surprised, and then angry. But angry in love.

With his own poop.

And what if the bunny is a she? Why is there a cartoon of a fem-bunny taking a poop? I know it's the internet but still...

Someone drew this. Someone drew this thinking that it would help sell a product.
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