ottawa foodies

I am in the market for a new kitchen scale. The one I've been using is a cheap one my Mom had given me when I first moved out on my own and I'm not sure how accurate it is. I would like to use it to measure out smaller ingredients so I would like something that can measure an ounce or two with some accuracy. Does anyone have any favourite scales they could recommend?

The Starfit one that goes on sale at Canadian Tire a few times a year. Even at the regular price of 30 bucks it is a good deal but it often goes on sale for 15 or even 10.

Hmmm, the original one is no longer there but this looks like an updated version of it. I know literally dozens of homebrewers with this scale and it is always accurate and durable

www.canadiantire.ca

Thanks zy. I think I've seen those scales at XScargo but I'm not sure if they are as cheap as Canadian Tire. I'll be near XScargo tomorrow so will have to investigate.

I can wholeheartedly second Zym's recommendation. We bought ours a couple of years ago, and it's been a workhorse. I don't think we've ever changed the battery in it.

That's funny - the 2nd picture they show is of the old one :-)

p.s. personally not sure I'd trust anything from XS Cargo ... get it from Crappy Tire IMO

I have never bought anything from XS Cargo - any bad experiences I should know about?

XS Cargo sold me a completely crap slicer that they would only exchange. No refunds or credits. Much of the time their products are " refurbished" manufacturers ' returns. Avoid.

Thanks zymurgist and Momomoto for the recommendations and thanks to zymurgist and Tree Pug for the warnings about XS Cargo. I will pursue the Canadian Tire option.

Depends what you're buying at XSCargo.

Take whatever it is you are buying out of the box for a quick inspection, if all is intact and the price is right, then make the purchase.

I have purchased many items without issue.

I bought a really cool toaster at XS Cargo once. cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca

It was incredible technology, able to make toast in about a minute! And only $20 or so!

It died 6 weeks after I bought it. 30 day warranty no longer applied. I'm just glad my house didn't burn down. :-)

Methinks the cargo is "XS" for a reason...

I'll third the Starfrit rec from zym. I like the older model better than the newer flatter model which is harder to read if you are weighing on a dinner plate. I use 2 of them in kitchen and coffee roasting center in basement and have given them away as Xmas prezzies to friends who wonder now how they lived without them. Far better than spring scales and accurate to 1 gr I think.

If accuracy and a means to calibrate and/or check the scale ... then the local Head Shoppe will hook you up.

smokesessionsdepot.com

I buy everything at Lee Valley, so it's no surprise that I have both the scales they sell:

www.leevalley.com,40733,40734
$15 - a bargoon.

www.leevalley.com,40733,44734,45691
$35 - SS and a real beauty.

Pasta lover - another reason I like this model: stable space-saving vertical storage option!

A decent scale will run you at least $50. There's usually no getting around it. Consider that some of the bigger digital scales go for hundreds and some in the thousands.
Springing $50 to $70 on a decent digital scale with both metric and imperial, a corded/cordless option, and at least a 6 kilo weight maximum will be one of those purchases where you won't believe you ever managed without one before. It should also have at least 2 decimal places.

If you want what the big boys have, and don't mind going over $100, make your way to either the commercial section of Paradis or over to Russel Food to take a look at/try one of the heavy duty ones.

I have the Starfrit and really like it. I paid $10. There's another brand at Costco that I saw today for $20. I can't recall the brand but it was recognizable...Salton, possibly? It seemed to have the same specs as the Starfrit but looked like it had a larger surface, which may or may not be preferred.

The Starfrit is rated to 5kg, easy to zero out, metric/imperial, is cordless, and easy to tuck away in a cupboard. Aside from buying a more respected/expensive brand, I think you'd have a hard time beating this scale.

I have the starfrit one as well bought regular price around 20-25$ a couple of years ago at Canadian Tire. Works great and digital tend to be accurate.

The one Bobby Filet is referring to from Costco is a Polder. Just picked one up :)

It has a nice big surface and the readout is in a good position.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I went to Costco last weekend and had to bypass the scales that visit since I had already had lots of stuff to carry home. I will most likely make a return visit in a couple of weeks time so will bump the scale to the top of my list. If all else fails I will make a trip to Canadian Tire.

Honest Tooth Thanks for the tip but I think those scales are a little too fancy for what I am looking for. The scale I have is a really cheap one and doesn't seem to measure small amounts very well and I am doubting it's accuracy altogether. But I am looking for something strictly for home use and don't need it to be that accurate... I think the Star Frit or Salton ones should do the trick.

I tried my new one out tonight making pasta. The readout is much better than my old round shaped Salton that went through batteries every 15 minutes.

The only thing I don't like, so far, is that it doesn't do partial measures. I'm going to lay on another bacon cure this weekend and getting those x.34 measurements of cure will be hard to do on this scale. I might have to resort to converting the partial measures to tablespoons, which I don't like doing on something that has botulism as a potential outcome of making a mistake.

Cook's Illustrated - Highly Recommended - OXO Food Scale

Exceptionally intuitive. The super-clear display offers an optional backlight, four easy-to-read buttons, and, unique to OXO, can be pulled out from the large, removable (i.e. washable) platform when weighing bulky items.

I am now bumping this thread since I finally bought a kitchen scale. I decided on the Starfrit one because of the favourable comments here and it wasn't too expensive. I bought it at Canadian Tire and they actually had two styles to pick from - one with a flat surface like the one in zy's link, and the other with a bowl. I chose the bowl model since I often weigh beans and would need something to contain the beans. Thanks again everyone for the suggestions.

An accurate one . . . :-) I tried one from the dollar store once and it was not accurate. Also I bought a dollar store ruler once and the cm scale was off . . . really !

It depends on you that how much you can pay for that. I like any digital kitchen scale that have enough features with a beautiful shape and long life battery. I see many scales with different features but don't find any which have all features with a reasonable price.

The Star Frite ones from crappy tire are good and usually go on sale for 10 or 15 bucks. Not sure what features you need but it switches between 3 different units and has a "tare" feature - that's pretty much all I need.

Agreed. I was leery of the Starfrit, but it's been everything I'll ever need. If not that scale, I'd get the Costco one.

I just bought a kitchen scale at Costco for $19.99. It's a model similar to the Polder (flat surface), weighs in oz and grams and has the tare and zero features. Nice size. All stainless.