Lucy loves cooking and baking at home with her family, so has personal experience of putting a variety of kitchen utensils through their paces. If you prefer the look and feel of a traditional kitchen scale over a digital option, then the retro-style KitchenCraft Living Nostalgia Mechanical Kitchen Scale may just be what you’re looking for. Not only is it precise and functional, but it also looks particularly attractive on any kitchen countertop with a choice of colours including Antique Cream, French Grey and Vintage Blue. Type: Digital | Dimensions: ‎24.13 x 18.1 x 3.18cm‎ | Weight of unit: 816g | Weight capacity: 5kg What we like

Accuracy of results - How accurate are the scales? What is the lowest weight they can register and in what increments? For measuring finer, lighter ingredients such as yeast or salt, you may want to consider scales with precision accuracy, that offer the ability to register small increments in weight. Type: Digital | Dimensions: ‎21.34 x 21.34 x 12.19cm‎ | Weight of unit: 150g | Weight capacity: 5kg What we like Brilliant for recipes that require a specific amount of chopped ingredients, this scale saves you the bother of having to pull out a chopping board first as you can chop directly onto the platform. While it's not super precise at very low measurements, it does include an aquatronic feature, meaning you can also weigh wet ingredients with ease. With an extra-large glass platform to accommodate even the largest mixing bowls, you can weigh up to 15kg directly on the platform or in a bowl. Slim and compact, you can then neatly store the unit as you would a chopping board and simply wipe it clean after use. There’s often an ‘add and weigh’ (also called ‘tare’) function which resets your scales to zero when you need to add more ingredients – and with many of them, you can use your own bowl or jug.Type: Balance | Dimensions: ‎6.69 x 4.72 x 8.66cm | Weight of unit: 800g | Weight capacity: 1kg What we like Year 3: Add and subtract numbers mentally, including: a three-digit number and ones; a three-digit number and tens; a three-digit number and hundreds Many digital scales also offer added extras, such as doubling up as a chopping board or allowing you to weigh both wet and dry ingredients. The only downsides? You’ll need batteries and the weight capacity is often more limited than with other types of scales. Balance scales There’s no doubt that balance scales will last years with no need for batteries, but they are time-consuming and less accurate than more modern scales when it comes to minute amounts. Jug scales

Type: Digital | Dimensions: ‎26 x 17 x 1.5cm‎ | Weight of unit: 800g | Weight capacity: 10kg What we like Considered to be the traditional way to measure weight. These work by adding ingredients, and therefore weight, to the bowl, which activates a spring that moves the dial on the display to reflect the correct weight. The high-capacity platform measures in as little as 1g increments to a maximum of 10kg, while the second smaller precision platform has 0.1g increments up to 200g, making weighing fine and lightweight ingredients like fresh yeast an absolute cinch.Type: Digital | Dimensions: ‎19 x 22.5cm | Weight of unit: 400g | Weight capacity: 15kg What we like The old-fashioned type that works a bit like a seesaw in that you pop the weights on one side and the ingredients in the bowl on the other, then wait for them to balance. Unlike some traditional kitchen scales, the Salter Disc comes with an aquatronic option, too - allowing you to measure liquids without needing to use a measuring jug. It is worth noting, however, that the accuracy is higher on dry ingredients.

We love the easy-to-read metric and imperial dial, stylish simple-to-clean base and the battery-free operation. Whilst there’s a maximum weight of 4kg, there’s plenty of space in the large dishwasher-safe stainless steel bowl for ingredients. Not all of us are blessed with kitchens that have a copious amount of worktop space, which makes this cleverly designed scale by Joseph Joseph ideal for cooks who have more bijou kitchens or are somewhat limited on storage. It’s also a brand that Mumsnetters love, with high praise for everything from their chopping boards to their salt and pepper grinders. There are several ways you can test whether your kitchen scales are accurate. Here are a few suggestions:Year 2: Recall and use addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently, and derive and use related facts up to 100 Plus, if you’re looking for more handy cooking staples, we’ve also rounded up the best knife sharpeners and saucepans to add to your kitchen. Best kitchen scale 2023: at a glance I have these and they're fab. The first set lasted about five years until they got dropped one too many times. Replaced immediately with another identical set!" (Rated by Mumsnet user MrsWidgerysLodger) Our verdict