Best Kitchen Scales

Best food scales for ease of use and accuracy

Digital kitchen scales must, above all, be accurate. Whether it's made of stainless steel, plastic or glass, a food scale is worthless unless its readout is correct. Experts recommend scales calibrated to 0.1 ounces and one gram, and they prefer a capacity of at least five pounds, or 2,000 grams.

Scales commonly come with tare (which adjusts the measurement to deduct the weight of the container holding the ingredient) and auto shutoff functions along with grams-to-ounces switches. After placing a container atop a scale, pressing the tare button resets it to zero. This allows you to weigh ingredients without mentally subtracting the weight of the container. Auto shutoff preserves battery life, though owners say this function can be irritating if it engages too soon. Finally, a kitchen scale should be compact, so that it can be stored easily in a cabinet; otherwise, it should be attractive enough to leave out on the countertop.

The OXO Good Grips Food Scale with Pull-Out Display (*Est. $50) has all the features testers look for in a kitchen scale: accuracy; a large, sturdy platform that's removable for washing; an 11-pound capacity; and a bright readout. In fact, the OXO food scale has a unique display that pulls out from the scale, which guarantees that the readout cannot be obscured by a large bowl or platter. The OXO kitchen scale earns the highest recommendation in the largest comparison review we found. User reviews for the OXO kitchen scale are favorable, but we did read a few complaints about the display, which uses fractions instead of decimals. Professionals generally prefer decimals, while home cooks usually favor fractions. You should choose the type of readout you prefer.

Although it's not included in professional tests, the Escali Primo Digital Multifunctional Scale (*Est. $25) garners hundreds of positive reviews on consumer websites. This affordable scale comes in a range of colors, including red, navy blue and pink. This scale measures in decimals, not fractions. Some owners gripe that it's plastic, not stainless steel, but most owners like the Primo for its accuracy and 11-pound capacity. They also like the automatic shut-off feature, which turns the scale off after four minutes. Some owners wish the platform were removable for cleaning, but most owners say they simply wipe this scale down with a damp cloth. This food scale is also less expensive that the top-rated OXO kitchen scale.

Reviews say that the Soehnle 65055 Level Digital Scale (*Est. $40) is precise and well priced, but its 9-inch platform is so large that this food scale can be tough to store. It's shown to be accurate in professional reviews, and owners posting to Amazon say it's sleek, with an easy-to-read display. A few, however, find the multifunction button on the front irritating and wish that there were different buttons for each function. This scale has an 11-pound capacity, stainless steel platform and a decimal readout.

Those on special diets should consider the EatSmart Digital Nutrition Scale (*Est. $75). This glass and stainless steel scale has a tare function, auto shutoff and a two-year warranty. The main advantage it offers over other food scales, however, is its nutrition calculator, which allows users to calculate the amount of carbohydrates, fiber, fat, cholesterol and protein in the foods they eat. The EatSmart scales doesn't perform some kind of analysis on the foods being measured; rather, its digital memory includes such data on thousands of packaged and unprocessed foods, and data on other foods can be entered and stored. Owners say that the EatSmart is accurate and easy to use. Several owners complain about the backlight, which is not very bright. This food scale comes with a 44-page handbook that covers diabetes, weight control and general nutrition.