Commercial Kitchen Scales

A bench scale covers prep: dough, mixes, batching. A portion scale on the line weighs plates and protein. A receiving scale sits at the back door and checks what arrived.

Most kitchens need two of the three. The bench scale is the one that does the most work, so buy that one properly and economise on the others if you must. See commercial planetary mixers for what the bench scale usually feeds.

Only if you sell goods by weight to the customer — a deli counter, a butcher, a bulk-food shop. Trade measurement rules in Australia apply to the transaction, not to prep.

For prep and portion control, an ordinary commercial scale is fine. If you are weighing to sell, check the requirement with the National Measurement Institute before you buy, because a non-approved scale cannot be used for trade. See deli display fridges for the counter side of that setup.

Fine enough for the smallest thing you weigh, which is usually a spice or a raising agent rather than a portion of meat. A scale with a large capacity and coarse graduations is useless for the small end.

That is why kitchens hold two: a large-capacity scale for batching and a fine one for small weights. Each product page states the capacity and graduation; our specifications page explains how we list them.

Splash resistance is the thing to check and it is stated per model rather than assumed. A sealed membrane keypad and a stainless platform that lifts off is what makes a scale survive a kitchen.

No scale should be hosed down or put through a commercial dishwasher. Lift the platform off, wash that, and wipe the body.

Mains for anything that sits in one place and is used constantly, because flat batteries mid-service are the most common scale complaint. Battery for a receiving scale or anything that moves.

Dual-power models solve it, and are worth the small premium on a bench scale. A scale on a trolley has to be battery by definition.

A big display angled toward the operator, a tare button that is the largest key, and a platform wide enough for the plate you actually use. Everything else is secondary.

Site it where the plate is built, not beside it. If it has to be reached across, it will be skipped — the same problem as badly placed kitchen rubbish bins.

Keep it on a level, solid surface away from vibration, and recalibrate to the manufacturer's instructions. A scale on a bench next to a working mixer will read unstably.

Also keep the platform clear. Dried product under the platform is the most common cause of a scale that will not zero. A quick wipe with surface cleaner each shift prevents it.

Commercial food scales, professional kitchen scales, industrial kitchen scale, catering scales, portion scales and bench scales all cover the same ground with different emphasis.

Compare capacity, graduation, platform size and whether it is splash resistant, not the name. The rest of the range is in commercial kitchen tools.