TIL my kitchen scale was lying to me about water weight

I was reading an old baking book from the library and it said a cup of water should weigh 236 grams. My scale said 250 grams for the same cup. I tested it with a known 100g weight and sure enough, my scale was off by about 15 grams. I've been using it for every recipe for months. Has anyone else had a cheap kitchen scale drift on them like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

max47213d ago

Actually water weight can vary a lot based on temperature and even air pressure. Your 236 gram figure is for water at a specific temp, and your tap water is probably colder. Also, are you sure you're using the exact same cup measure? Those can be way off between brands. My money is on the baking book using an old standard and your scale being fine.

vera_sanchez13d agoTop Commenter

Oh man, the cup thing is so real. I had two "one cup" measures from different stores and they were off by like 20 grams of flour. Now I just use the scale for everything, even water. That book is probably using the old "a cup of water is 8 ounces" rule, which is close but not perfect for baking.