# Do you have a kitchen scale? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651 "2026-06-05T20:47:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/81 "2026-06-07T14:22:40Z")
I mean, it is always the same size, right? That’s the point of a measuring cup, to always get the same volume. If that’s a useful volume, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same as anyone else’s ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/82 "2026-06-07T14:28:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Or, as wise ~~men~~ persons of either gender have often said, cooking is an art, not a science! The slight variations due to inexact measurements are part of the charm and authenticity. And might even be an improvement, to be incorporated into future recipes! Supposedly less true of baking, where more precision is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/83 "2026-06-07T14:45:42Z")
Before i started weighing the fruit for my pies, i had a measuring bowl. That is, i had a bowl that held about the right volume of apple slices for a pie. But it wasn’t the right size, it was just close, and i find “almost 3 pounds” an easier measure to hit. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/84 "2026-06-07T15:37:20Z")
American with a scale here. It’s used frequently but not for everything. My Oxo is great, and I’ve had it so long I don’t remember where or when we bought it. I can handle weight based recipes, but most are volume based. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/85 "2026-06-07T15:42:09Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I replied “I am European and I own a kitchen scale”, but in fact I own three. One is mechanical and two require batteries. How can you live without one? Three possibilities just off the top of my head: 1. don’t cook 2. don’t cook things that require measurements 3. don’t care about measuring things that could be measured. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/86 "2026-06-07T15:54:07Z")
I originally bought it because I got tired of doing conversions for recipes that were by weight only. Later, after some surgery, I had to keep track of fluid and protein intake for a few days, and it was useful for that. But I use it for lots of stuff. I find that once or twice a month, I want to know the weight of something small enough that the kitchen scale is the best option. Once I was divvying up air-dry modeling clay for a preschool class, and I had so many ounces and so many kids. Since I already had the scale, and I wanted to use all the clay, I decided to weigh portions rather than eyeball them, because I knew that if I eyeballed, I’d end up with too much or too little at the end. I’ve also measured dough when making bagels. When I’m making a lot for a pitch-in or company, or something, I weigh. They look better being all uniform and neat, and I use all the dough without the last one being oddly sized, and thus over or undercooked. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/87 "2026-06-07T15:55:26Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > > I replied “I am European and I own a kitchen scale”, but in fact I own three. One is mechanical and two require batteries. How can you live without one? > > Three possibilities just off the top of my head: > > 1. don’t cook > 2. don’t cook things that require measurements > 3. don’t care about measuring things that could be measured. Lol, i take it you reject, “i measure things by volume”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/88 "2026-06-07T16:33:43Z")
I own two: one for bigger weights, like a kilo to two, and another like drug dealers use (for very small amounts.) I don’t need them, but I like having them around if I’m trying to reproduce something consistently. Like I like my pizza doughs at around 70-75% hydration, and that’s pretty simple to dial in with a little math and a scale. I’ve cooked maybe 8000 meals in my life, so I could go without any sort of measurement tool for pretty much anything I make, but it takes some of the guesswork out of it for more finicky things. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/89 "2026-06-07T16:41:13Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > and a measuring cup like this: > > Any German home is incomplete without a Messbecher! And 80% of them were made by Fackelmann™! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/90 "2026-06-07T19:52:40Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Every recipe I’ve ever had that calls for carrots says something like “3 medium carrots” Ok just did a quick test. _All_ the recipes that came up when I googled “carrot cake recipe” gave carrots as cups of grated carrots (although some did also give a number of carrots or weight)… > - 2 cups white sugar > > - 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil > > - 4 large eggs > > - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract > > - 2 cups all-purpose flour > > - 2 teaspoons baking soda > > - 2 teaspoons baking powder > > - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon > > - ½ teaspoon salt > > - 3 cups grated carrots > > - 1 cup chopped pecans [https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7402/carrot-cake-iii/](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7402/carrot-cake-iii/) When i google a recipe I will usually add “BBC” to get the BBC good food recipe that will always give weight in grams 😉 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651/91 "2026-06-07T20:21:18Z")
I admit I’ve never made carrot cake, and i did say i might expect carrots in baked goods to be given by weight. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Wtf? Every recipe I’ve ever had that calls for carrots says something like “3 medium carrots”. I’m not going to chop ¾ of a carrot in any event, I’m going to round up. Unless maybe, possibly, it was carrot cake (in which case I’d prefer weight.) But for anything else, how much can it possibly matter? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kitchen-scale/1030651.md?page=4)