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You are here: Home / Tips & Techniques / Weight vs Volume

Weight vs Volume

September 11, 2020

Weight vs Volume

The history of scales goes back to the beginning of time. Relics of the balance scale have been found dating back to 2000 BC. The spring action scale was in use around 1770 and since 1970 we have had the digital kitchen scale.

You might ask, why use a scale rather than cups and teaspoons. The answer is quite simply that weight is extremely accurate and volume is not. Baking is an art, a science and a craft. One can certainly be creative, but there are rules that you won’t find in cooking. Rules you must follow in order for your baked goods to consistently meet expectations. You’re not going to have any problems is you add a bit more vanilla extract, or an extra spoonful of raisins, but you will run into trouble if you add more or less flour, sugar, or baking powder. Dry ingredients are greatly affected by the atmosphere, or how loosely or how compacted they are in your measuring cup. This does not happen on a scale. In measuring in grams, or ounces you will have consistency every time you make that cake or that loaf of bread.

Kitchen scales have become affordable and accessible. You can find a perfectly good scale for about $20.00, either battery charged or plugin. Most will go up to about 11 pounds and will have both ounce and gram capability.

All of the recipes on this site will have both cups and spoons along with grams, but I strongly encourage the use of a scale. Either way, the most important thing is to have fun baking.

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