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Kitchen Scale Recipes Food Cooking International Guide

Kitchen Scale Is Your Secret Tool

By Patrick D Kelly

Kitchen scale is used in different parts of the world for different reasons. I use a kitchen scale to measure all my ingredients, to make sure I have the right amounts by weight and volume of all the ingredients as stated on a recipe.

I have found using a kitchen scale has virtually assured me of a successful outcome, after making a review of my options to prepare a perfect meal, when following a recipe. Especially when it is a new recipe.

My Secret Kitchen Tool

As long as I follow all the weights and volumes as detailed in the recipe, in my favourite cook book, I am assured to create a delicious meal. My friends and family think I am a master cook, but they don’t know about my secret kitchen tool, my kitchen scale.

Some people use a kitchen scale for reasons other than just following a recipe.

Weigh Your Ingredients For Recipes

When you think of a kitchen scale, it may appear in your mind as a diet device for weighing portions of food. Yes, this is legitimate, but there’s a more practical and even romantic side to the kitchen scale.

In America, a kitchen scale usually does mean something to limit your intake of this or that portion. In Europe, a kitchen scale is used to weigh ingredients for recipes. European cook books and recipe magazines mark ingredients by weight rather than volume. You may well wonder why.

Six Juicy Apples Make For A Better Apple Pie

Let’s say you’re making an apple pie. An American recipe may call for “six medium green Granny apples”. This description does not take into account the juiciness or dryness of those apples.

A European recipe instructs you to use “1.5 kilograms of green Granny apples”. What’s the difference? Six dry apples may produce a dry apple pie. Six juicy apples will produce an entirely different result.

For Consistent Results

By weighing the apples, using a kitchen scale, the element of moisture and water weight is addressed and you’ll achieve a consistent result by weighing. Using volume measurements produces inconsistent results in the finished dish.

A kitchen scale is most important in baking recipes if you desire consistent results. With changes in humidity, a volume measure of a cup of flour weighs more or less from one day to the next.

A Range Of Kitchen Scales

Even if the kitchen scale were not a model of accuracy, it has a certain aesthetic appeal that can’t be denied. There are fancy stainless steel models, old-fashioned spoon styles, brass accented, shiny digitals and modern styled plastic kitchen scales that are quite attractive. Prices vary, but they all do the job.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on a good kitchen scale. Even an inexpensive scale can be calibrated with a twist of your thumb, delivering an accurate weight.

How To Test The Accuracy Of The Kitchen Scale

A candy bar is a good test, as the package is marked with the precise weight. Calibrate the scale to zero, then weigh the candy bar. Adjust the scale as necessary to get an accurate weight. You’re now ready to weigh ingredients.

All you need is a cookbook that lists ingredients both by weight and volume. Do an experiment that will convince you of the merits of the scale.

First weigh the ingredients, such as flour. Then take your weighed ingredients and carefully spoon the flour into a measuring cup. Which measurement comes closest to the recipe requirements? With that,I rest my case.

Experimenting With A New Recipe

I have always found it easier to measure all my ingredients using the kitchen scale. This is especially useful when trying a new recipe and you are not sure of the outcome of your efforts.

By using a kitchen scale to measure all the amounts of ingredients used in making up the meal, I know that I have put the exact amount of ingredients as stated in the recipe. So if the meal does not come out looking good, I will know that it wasn’t the amount of ingredients that I used.

There was a time when I was not using the kitchen scale to make measurements and I was getting variations in the meals I was making. Since I have included the use of kitchen scale, I have been able to achieve consistent results.

Lowers Risk Of A Bad Outcome

This has taken the risk out of trying a new recipe when variations in measurements may affect the end result. The kitchen scale has proved to be an essential tool in my preparation of meals when experimenting with new recipes.

I have found more often than not, success in the kitchen is assured when using a kitchen scale.

About the Author:
Patrick D Kelly has written a number of articles on kitchen equipment, food and cooking including Can Opener, Kitchen Equipment, Sabatier Knives, Wood Bread Box, Food Storage, Groceries Online, Crock Pot Soup, Fruit Juice, Grocery Shopping.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.

Did You Know This About Cookware?

No one wants to go into the kitchen to prepare a meal only to find out that you do not have the right utensils, pots or pans. It can be disastrous trying to prepare a meal this way.

Unless you eat out for every meal or eat prepackaged foods you are going to need the right cookware for the job. Most sets are now extremely affordable and are made of durable materials that heat and cook quite well. Some can even go from stove top to oven without being damaged.


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