There are 2 types of chefs. There’s the cook, who makes savory dishes adding “a dash of this” and “a sprinkle of that” and when you ask them how long it takes to cook, they say “until done”; then there’s the baker, who has an arsenal of measuring tools, a perfectly calibrated oven, and can memorize long lists of ingredients and directions. I am entirely a baker.
Not surprisingly, one of my favorite kitchen helpers is this handy food scale. I hardly ever use it for savory cooking, but since the majority of what I do falls under baking, it gets a lot of use. It’s crucial for making things like cookies or brownies to get just the right proportion of ingredients.
There’s an old adage that says no two cups of sugar are the same, meaning if you use a measuring cup, you’ll get inconsistent results. To test that, I weighed what I thought would be a cup of sugar, or 192 grams.
It weighed in at 156 grams, or almost 1/4 cup less than what I needed. That’s a big difference when you think about who it will affect the taste and texture of whatever you’re baking. A food scale doesn’t have to be expensive, either. Just look for one that measures grams and ounces and has a tare function. They’re about $20 at any Target.
What kind of cook are you?
I don’t have a food scale, but you make a good argument for one. Maybe I should put it on my Christmas list!
Aaah I’m a scales baker through and through! I get so frustrated with American recipes, when they say ‘a stick of butter’ or ‘1/8th of a cup’ – we don’t use those measurements here!! That’s the one good thing about english cooking 🙂 everything in grams 😀
I love my food scale and oftentimes find that when I measure a cup of oatmeal it is more then a cup in weight! Very deceiving.
I am obsessed with mine as well. Here is the thing Evan. Now there is a food scale SPOON. Hayo!
http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=203470389&pnr=M53&cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google-_-M53-_-203470389
another good use for a food scale: weighing your cat. kalin was very upset we didnt have a good food scale when she was back for thanksgiving because she was trying to weigh my cat lol
This is so true. Alton Brown beat this into my head with all the episodes of Good Eats I watch. The difference is really telling though.
Oh this post is fabulous!
I am a raw un-cook & baker, by and large. Basically whatever I make is never so precise that I can’t fudge it by 1/4 c here and there.
I use measuring cups…sometimes. I actually made a joke about it in the fudge post that’s up (glad you saw it:)) but I know with traditional baking, i.e. yeasts, flours, sugars, eggs, you HAVE to be PRECISE.
And in savory cooking, not as much.
In raw/vegan cooking and baking, there’s way more leaway, which is why that’s, by default, the kind of cook I have turned into 🙂
I do have a food scale..and never use it. Bought it for all the reasons you described but just never use it. I should though…
i use a food scale as well. i dont like to take any chances! lol
I love my food scale! Although I mainly just use it to give myself a little control when eating cheese 🙂
100% agree with the food scale! I went to culinary school and while cooking is about the senses and baking is about measurements…I measure EVERYTHING! I want consistency in my cooking. I think it is fine to add things after the fact, but I like to know I am making the same thing every time!
I used to be a “baker” but now I’m pretty sure I turned into “cook,” even when I’m baking! But if I were ever making something like artisan bread or some really fussy dessert, I’d use a food scale. If that’s what Alton Brown uses, I’m rolling with him…
Out of laziness, I don’t normally weigh ingredients when I bake. Every time I watch Alton Brown, though, he makes a big deal about weighing your ingredients, and I pretty much trust everything he says, so I probably should. My parents gave me a measuring cup with a built in scale for Christmas last year that I have yet to use, so this post has inspired me to FINALLY use it!