Thursday, May 31, 2007
Product Review: Salter Nutri Weigh and Go Scale
One good reason to have a kitchen scale is to weigh stuff. Yes, I know that sounds obvious, but I'd guess that most kitchens don't have one, even though it's the most accurate way to measure for baking. Guess that's what bakery chains and Krispy Kreme doughnut shops are for.
But another reason for a scale is if you're dieting and need to keep track of just how many calories and how much fat you're putting into yourself. The Salter Nutri Weigh and Go scale is supposed to help with that. You put the food on the scale, punch in one of the 1440 foods and liquids stored in the device, and you get a nutritional read-out. The company’s PR firm sent one over for me to test.
First step was taking some items and weighing them both on this scale and on the Tanita KD 400 that I reviewed in February. I noticed pretty quickly that the two would generally differ by about 1 or 2 percent of weight. That’s not surprising, because no measurement instruments are completely accurate, but it’s a sobering reminder that even exactitude in the kitchen is so much vapor from a boiling pot of spaghetti. That becomes a bit more critical if you’re measuring for nutritional content, but it’s probably close enough for eating work.
You can dial in a weight of food or a liquid measurement – handy, because you’re more likely to pour a half cup of milk than some number of grams. Of course the scale has a tare setting, so you can remove the weight of the container from the equation and get the values for the food alone. I put an 868 gram/1 lb. 14.5 ounce raw butternut squash on the scale. Next, I used the display keys to spell out the food, and then noted the results:
The scale folds up for more compact storage and comes with a slip cover that shuts with a Velcro closure. Suggested list price of the scale is $59.99. If you can deal with the uncertainty, this is probably going to be faster to use than going to a reference book or web site.
But another reason for a scale is if you're dieting and need to keep track of just how many calories and how much fat you're putting into yourself. The Salter Nutri Weigh and Go scale is supposed to help with that. You put the food on the scale, punch in one of the 1440 foods and liquids stored in the device, and you get a nutritional read-out. The company’s PR firm sent one over for me to test.
First step was taking some items and weighing them both on this scale and on the Tanita KD 400 that I reviewed in February. I noticed pretty quickly that the two would generally differ by about 1 or 2 percent of weight. That’s not surprising, because no measurement instruments are completely accurate, but it’s a sobering reminder that even exactitude in the kitchen is so much vapor from a boiling pot of spaghetti. That becomes a bit more critical if you’re measuring for nutritional content, but it’s probably close enough for eating work.
You can dial in a weight of food or a liquid measurement – handy, because you’re more likely to pour a half cup of milk than some number of grams. Of course the scale has a tare setting, so you can remove the weight of the container from the equation and get the values for the food alone. I put an 868 gram/1 lb. 14.5 ounce raw butternut squash on the scale. Next, I used the display keys to spell out the food, and then noted the results:
- 391 calories
- 8.7 grams protein
- 101.5 grams carbohydrates
- 19.1 grams sugar
- .9 grams fat
- .2 grams saturated fat
- 17.4 grams fiber
- 35 milligrams sodium
- 0 milligrams cholesterol
- 84.1 grams net carbohydrates
- low GI value
- 2% calories from fat
- 390.6 calories
- 8.68 grams protein
- 101.68 grams carbohydrates
- 19.22 grams sugar
- .62 grams fat
- 0 grams saturated fat
- 17.36 grams fiber
- 34.72 milligrams sodium
- 0 milligrams cholesterol
- .098 calories from fat, or 2.5%
The scale folds up for more compact storage and comes with a slip cover that shuts with a Velcro closure. Suggested list price of the scale is $59.99. If you can deal with the uncertainty, this is probably going to be faster to use than going to a reference book or web site.
