How accurate are kitchen scales?

I read about weighing coffee to the 0.5 gram, but what's the margin of error for a typical 5kg/11lb kitchen scale?

Best Answer

Every scale should indicate its accuracy in its manual.

A good guess if you have no manual is that the accuracy is approximately half of the size of the smallest unit it reports (for example, my digital scale reports down to grams, so its accuracy is probably within about 1/2 gram). If the scale is analog, you can get an idea by the smallest interval on the dial or indicator.

Still, only the manual will tell you for sure.

Scales that go up to 5 kg are unlikely to be good for measuring 0.5 gram quantities like coffee. You will want a scale specialized for that level of quantity.

The exception is laboratory quality scales, which have higher accuracies and greater accurate ranges, but they are not pretty and are expensive.

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Quick Answer about "How accurate are kitchen scales?"

Measures in 0.1-gram increments: Most digital food scales weigh in whole grams (or eighths of an ounce), and that level of accuracy is fine for most recipes. However, a pocket scale that can read in 0.1-gram increments can be useful for measuring coffee (especially for pour-over or espresso) or leavener for baking.

How do I know if my kitchen scale is accurate?

Best Overall: Escali Primo Digital Scale The Escali scale was one of the most accurate of those we tested, maintaining a steady, exact read no matter where an object was placed on the surface.

Which kitchen scale is most accurate?

Scales actually makes cooking cleaner and faster in addition to making measurements more precise. (Think of all the dishes you won't have to wash!) There's a reason those who get scales don't regret the purchase. (If you're clutzy, don't fret: our new model is waterproof!)

Is a kitchen scale worth it?

This is a measure of how well a scale can be read. For an analogue scale, the uncertainty is \xb1 half of the smallest scale division. For a digital scale, the uncertainty is \xb1 1 in the least significant digit.

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More answers regarding how accurate are kitchen scales?

Answer 2

You'll need a sub-gram scale for that such as this one by Jennings:

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The bigger scales' are at best accurate to a gram or two (the expensive german one in our kitchen is good to 2 grams). That defeats the point of weighing coffee given that amounts effect on the result.

Answer 3

Mine gets it right to the nearest gram.

It's easy enough to test the accuracy of your scale using water. For tiny increments, you can use coins. A US quarter weighs 5.67 grams, a nickel weighs 5.0 grams, a dime weighs 2.268 grams. I'm pleased with mine. It doesn't do fractions of a gram, but when I weigh 2 quarters it comes up 11 grams occasionally bouncing up to 12 grams. I can't imagine any kitchen application (outside of molecular gastronomy) that needs more accuracy than that. My scale is "typical" as it has a capacity of 5 kilos.

EDIT: I've been meaning to do this anyway, the following will demonstrate just how accurate kitchen scales can (and should) be. This will also soon be a rave review on Amazon, especially since I only paid $16 for the scale.

Big pan of cans