Folding away into a minuscule version of its unfolded self, this set has a remarkably small footprint, yet it’s not a compromise. Since these types of scales tend to be expensive and overwrought, with inferior apps and features that fall outside the realm of what most people need, we opted not to test them. For weighing very small amounts very precisely—such as espresso, spices, or leaveners—you’ll want to invest in a more sensitive digital pocket scale. After years of continuous use in the Serious Eats test kitchen and our homes, we can confidently say our top recommendations have stood the test of time. Although the makers claim it weighs from zero to 5kg in 1g increments, in our test it failed to register any weight under 2 grams.

The Escali scale has a simple design with an easy-to-use, two-button membraned interface and four rubber feet to hold it in place. g. flour and water, with a maximum capacity of 10kg, and one smaller scale ideal for weighing yeast, up to 200g. The best scales quickly show the gradual increase in weight when you’re measuring, which allows you to anticipate when to stop adding an ingredient to the bowl. Significant confusion already exists between ounces (a unit of mass) and fluid ounces (a unit of volume), and we felt that a scale displaying these fluid units would only aggravate the problem.

Conjuring up images of granny making apple pie in the Aga, they are sure to tempt you into creating your own culinary delights, particularly as they have useful modern twists such as a dishwasher-safe bowl which is a handy large size in case you need to cook for the whole family. The digital display panel may not have been the biggest or brightest we’ve seen but we still had no problem reading it.

The unit is powered by 2x AAA batteries (not included), in a plastic, but a durable body with swinging lid and a stainless steel weighing tray. The milligram scales, however, only read in milligrams and have much, much lower capacities, so we don’t recommend any in this guide. It’s no real surprise that Ooni would create its own kitchen scales, particularly as these ones are geared towards making dough. A perfect substitute to a measuring jug, the aquatronic feature accurately measures liquids and fluids in imperial/metric to suit you.We also like the fact that the bowl is shallow, making it easier for pouring ingredients in, and that you can pop it in the dishwasher afterwards too. Picking between them can be easier than it first appears, as long as you know what sort of cook you are and what you need the scale to do. Consistently accurate, with a functional design and practical extras, this OXO Stainless Steel Scale came out on top again and again in every round of testing.

This short distance, coupled with a low-profile design, made it extremely difficult to read the display with even a small mixing bowl on top. In other words, don’t try weighing a 7-pound bag of malted barley on the American Weigh LB-3000, which can tolerate about 6. We prefer those that read ounces in decimals rather than fractions, as it’s more precise and intuitive. Some of the slimmer scales in our test group, such as the Greater Goods Nourish Digital Precision Kitchen Scale, were difficult to read when we used large, oversized bowls.

These use the jug as your bowl, with the weight shown on a digital LCD display, usually found at the top of the handle. Specially designed to weigh small and precious items with ultimate precision, the compact scale can be fit into your pocket or bag for using on the go. Although most kitchen scales aren't designed to weigh minuscule quantities of ingredients, such as a teaspoon of salt or baking powder ( Stella has written about this in-depth), we decided to run a test to see if any of the scales could handle it, the assumption being that if a scale could accurately weigh a small amount, it would likely be more adept at measuring a pound of sugar. While in sleep mode, the scale retains the memory of what you last weighed until the 30-minute auto-shutoff point.