I’m not a perfectionist in the kitchen by any means. In fact, I’m quite the opposite. Cooking, to me, is more like jazz than Mozart. Little riffs, spin-offs, and experimentation is where my joy of cooking comes from, regardless of the result. Even still, to experiment the way I want, I need a dependent variable, something that remains stable while I play around with other techniques and tricks and other weird gadgets. And this is why I think every kitchen needs a good counter scale. Because there are some things in the kitchen that need a little precision, whether it’s a morning pour over, a DIY salad dressing, or baking (bake by weight, people!). Measuring things out perfectly means I can romp around the kitchen like Emeril the rest of the time.
The Escali Primo Food Scale is a beautiful addition to any countertop. It comes in a variety of colors and has a sleek LCD display that measures out in grams and ounces, and has a nifty “tare” feature. This subtracts the weight of the bowl or plate on your scale from the measurement, so you’re always starting at zero with no math involved. The one thing I wish it had is a timer. This sounds unnecessary, but you can never have too many timers, and they only become more useful when a recipe says “boil for 10 minutes,” and you forget. Still, I choose this scale over others because it won’t break, since the buttons, display, and wiring is well-sealed off to protect from accidental spills (I spill on mine almost daily).
There’s something about owning a machine for a long-time and going through hardship, adventure, and mishaps that bonds you together. Whether it’s a car you’ve taken on wild adventures, or a coffee scale that has seen you at your lowest, (i.e. sobbing in the kitchen because the soufflé did not rise), it’s important to love the machines we choose to surround ourselves with. The Escali has been in my life for five years and still works as well as the day I bought it. The day it does break will be a sad one. But at least I’ll know which scale I’m going to get to serve in its place.
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