Tom's Guide Verdict
These SMEG Contemporary Kitchen Scales look majestic and perform magnificently too, although they are not 100% reliable for weighing small amounts, such as yeast. However, you won't find another kitchen scale that looks this good.
Pros
- +
Beautiful design
- +
Easy to read display
- +
Intuitive to use
- +
Easy to clean
- +
Large capacity bowl
- +
Solid and robust
Cons
- -
Not accurate for small quantities
- -
Bowl can be tricky to remove
- -
Expensive
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No matter how little or how much your cook and bake, there's one piece of kitchen equipment you'll find in almost everyone's kitchen. Owning one of the best kitchen scales will mean you'll not need to second-guess how much butter or flour to add to your cake, or how much rice to add to your risotto.
Model: KSC01WHM
Bowl: Yes
Material: Plastic outer bowl, stainless steel inner bowl
Display: LED
Power: USB
Weight range: 0.1-11 lb
Tare function: Yes
Size: 8.75 (L) x 10.5 (W) x 12.4 (H) inch
Although measuring cups have their place, they won't give you the accuracy that kitchen scales deliver, or the guarantee (hopefully) that whatever you are cooking has got the correct balance of ingredients. By using a reliable pair of kitchen scales you'll be able to look forward to a presenting a cake that's light and fluffy and a risotto that's a delight to eat.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Price and Availability
Your heart may skip a beat when you discover how much these SMEG Contemporary Scales cost. But, don't let that put you off. When you buy a SMEG product you are investing in a modern design, even if it does have a retro vibe. These SMEG kitchen scales are available in matte white for $149 (£139) at Amazon.
They are also available in matte white and black for $149 at Williams Sonoma and Crate and Barrel. And if you fancy a change from the monotone colorways, you can find an emerald green version at Wayfair for $149.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Design
You get a first hint at the caliber of the design when you unpack these kitchen scales. Inside the box you'll find the bowl and base tucked up in soft covers. The USB cable is also housed in its own box.
I dare you to hide these away in a cupboard
The scales are based on a contemporary design, with the classic retro edge that SMEG is well known for. You'll see a similarity to the styling of Smeg's Retro Kitchen Scales and the familiar SMEG name emblazoned on the front of the bowl.
I tested the kitchen scales in black, but as already mentioned above they are also available in white and emerald green. While the removable bowl is made of polished stainless steel, the top section of the base is brushed stainless steel.
The most fitting word to describe their overall appearance is 'majestic'. They are simply stunning. I dare you to hide these away in a cupboard!
They're also majestic in design and size. If you have a compact kitchen and limited countertop space, something else might have to be sacrificed for these to fit — but I reckon they are worth it. What's more, you can't turn the bowl upside down for storage, but why would you want to? They're made to be seen.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Ease of Use
There's no difficult steps to take before you can start using these kitchen scales. Although they are charged using a USB cable, when I got them out of their box, they were ready to go. Plus, SMEG says the battery will hold its charge for 36 hours — which gives you plenty of use. You'll also see a battery status icon on the LED display, so you'll have notice before they need a recharge. They can also be used while charging, but I wouldn't recommend this, especially if you're measuring liquids.
The cable is connected at the back of the base and and is simple to use. I particularly liked the feature, as you don't need a tiny screwdriver to open the battery casing, or to rely on having a store of batteries to swap over when the your kitchen scales run out of juice.
I found the LED display clear, and the bowl didn't get in the way of the view. The tare function is also super handy and allows you to weigh one ingredient and reset the scale before adding another. It's also simple to change the measurement if you want to swap between metric and imperial.
There's also an on/off switch at the back of the base, although it is quite tiny and a bit tricky to use. I had to rely on my nails to move it, rather than my fingertips.
The main downside I found with these kitchen scales is that the stainless steel bowl can sometimes be awkward to remove from the base. This isn't ideal when you've got a bowl full of ingredients. It can be harder if you fingers are sticky, which is often the case when measuring ingredients.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Accuracy
Despite their pleasing aesthetic, the real crunch comes when judging their accuracy. I carried out various tests to check how they performed.
The manual states that they will measure ingredients to a resolution of 2-5,000g. I found this to be accurate. While they wouldn't register a 1g weight, they measured anything above. And when using a combination of weights to measure 171g, they performed perfectly.
Apart from placing the weights within the center of the bowl, I also moved them about. Despite the lighter weights taking a few moments to fluctuate between a gram or two, they quite quickly rested on the final measurement.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these kitchen scales, but if you want to measure fine amounts of ingredients, such a yeast and spices, I would opt for a kitchen scale with greater precision when measuring minute amounts.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Cleaning
Having a stainless steel bowl to clean can make it hard to get sparkling, so I recommend using a microfiber cloth to keep it pristine. But, apart from cleaning the main body of the scales with a damp cloth, there are no awkward nooks and crannies for ingredients to worm their way into.
SMEG contemporary Kitchen Scales: Verdict
These SMEG Contemporary Kitchen Scales aren't faultless but they did come out exceptionally well when testing. However, if you want to measure minute amounts or lack storage space, these kitchen scales probably aren't for you.
The design is exquisite and they are one of the best kitchen scales in terms of design. So, if you use your kitchen scales regularly and want to keep them on display, you can't go far wrong with this model.
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