For those that like to cook or bake, a set of decent kitchen scales is an essential piece of equipment for the kitchen.
In this article we will take a quick look at three different style kitchen scales that have been designed to weigh up to 5kgs of ingredients. They cost from about £15 upwards and all have good reviews on the UK Amazon website.
Salter Slim Design Kitchen Scale
Let’s begin by looking at the cheapest kitchen scales that we have chosen for this comparison, the Salter Slim Design Electronic Platform Kitchen Scale in Black. These kitchen scales measure up to 5kgs in weight in increments of 1g, very useful for being accurate with your quantities. They are slimline in form and modern and attractive to look at. I would guess that they are easy to store due to their slim design and I like the stainless steel platform and the LCD display looks easy to read.
Salter have a long history in the weights and measures business and the reviews of this kitchen scale are generally favourable although the biggest gripe that people have with these scales is that they only tend to last a year or less before packing in. This is certainly not ideal but perhaps you get what you pay for? Although Slater offer a 15 year manufacturers guarantee on these scales, for the most part it probably isn’t worth the hassle of sending them away for a refund if they have broken. A common problem with these scales seems to be that they are susceptible to water damage so using large quantities of liquids on or near them is not recommended. Damage by liquids would probably not be covered by guarantee anyway.
These Salter Kitchen Scales are also available in white and silver:
- Salter Slim Design Electronic Platform Kitchen Scale, White.
- Salter Slim Design Electronic Platform Kitchen Scale, Silver.
Duronic KS5000 Kitchen Scales
Next we have the Duronic KS5000 Large Digital Display 5KG Kitchen Scales. The RRP of these kitchen scales is £50 but often they are available to purchase at about half that price. As with the other kitchen scales compared here, they have a maximum weight capacity of 5kgs and measure in 1 gram increments. I love the very clear round display and the way that it shows the weight being measured with large numbers. It looks very sci-fi to me! It is supplied with a lovely stainless steel mixing bowl which makes the price of these scales great value. These scales have a zero/tare function and auto switch-off to save battery power.
Reviews by Amazon.co.uk users are mostly excellent. There are a couple of complaints of customers receiving a faulty product and some mention that the bowl and scales seem a little flimsy, but the overall feeling is that these really are top notch scales with great features at an excellent price.
Morphy Richards 3-in-1 Digital Kitchen Scales
Finally we come to the Morphy Richards 3-in-1 Digital Kitchen Scales. Morphy Richards are a very well known and respected name in the home and they make a wide range of electronic products for the kitchen so let’s see how these scales compare to the Salter and Duronic makes, shall we?
As you can see, these scales are a different design to the others on this page however they too can weigh a maximum of 5kg. The bowl is part of the scale itself meaning that with the tare feature which includes a fluid volume indicator, you can conveniently weigh all your ingredients in the same bowl. How useful this is, I’m not sure. Morphy Richards says it saves time, saves using lots of different bowls and saves on the washing up, and perhaps your measuring is more accurate, but this is only true if the function works well.
The digital jug scale has a choice of measuring options with both solid and liquid conversion features due to the integrated water, milk and oil volume indicators. The stainless steel bowl looks great and detaches from the scale with the click of a button, however some people say this is a little stiff so it might be a problem if you have a disability in this area. The other biggest complaint is that you have to squat or bend down a little to see the digital readout clearly. This too can be a problem for those with mobility issues.
The Morphy Richards Kitchen Scales seen here are red but they are also available in black and graphite:
- Morphy Richards 3-in-1 Digital Kitchen Scales, Black.
- Morphy Richards 3-in-1 Digital Kitchen Scales, Graphite.
Which would we buy?
For me, the answer is simple. Although the Morphy Richards 3-in-1 Digital Kitchen Scales are well rated and look great, I would opt for the Duronic KS5000 Kitchen Scales. The reviews tell me that this is a decent product and I love the design. Personally, I would be wary of buying the Salter Kitchen Scales mostly due to the negative reviews it has got regarding breakdowns but it is the cheapest scale here so it might be worth the risk.
You can view these three kitchen scales plus some others that are also highly rated on our Storefront on Amazon.
Essential Reading:
If you are reading this kitchen scales product comparison article, I am guessing that you might be a person that likes to bake or is thinking about baking. If so, then below we have three highly regarded books about baking that you might be interested in. They are available on Kindle devices and in traditional print. Enjoy your baking!
