Cooking For Engineers

[markkubis]

My 240 dollar electronic balance is on its way to the battery division of Panasonic for investigation and repair/replacement because of corrosion caused by a leaking Panasonic battery that made a mess inside the battery compartment of the balance. The battery had a 'use by' date of October 2009.

I've now got my previous 7 dollar plastic mechanical scale out of retirement that I purchased 20 years ago. I've been using it today to mix a variety of ingredients and cannot believe how much more efficient and how much time it saves compared with the high-tech digital type:

1) Immediate read-out of weight.
2) No start-up time delay
3) No waiting for the reading to stabilise.
4) Old style mechanical pointer against a printed scale easier to visualise that digital read-out
5) No batteries required.

What about accuracy? I have just put the special calibration weight that came with the electronic balance (50g) onto the 7 dollar scale and was surprised to find it's needle is on 50g exactly. Even if it were 10% out I doubt that any person would be able detect it in the food that they eat.

[Long Island Cook]

Last couple of years been using an Escali Digital Multifunctional Scale
It has 11 Lb or 5 Kg capacity Resolution: 0.1 oz or 1 gram, and displays in: Ounces, Pounds/Ounces and Grams
Uses two AA batteries with automatic shut-off feature to ensure long battery life.
But the tare feature that allows zeroing the scale with an empty container allowing for the subtraction the container's weight to obtain the weight of its contents, is one of the best features.
All these features I bought for just over $20. Saw them recently for just under $25 on Amazon were there are also posted close to 200 5-star reviews.
Great scale, great buy!!

[Antilope]

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[counter]

Yes, I agree that in many case cheaper and basic things are better than luxury and expensive ones....