Kitchen scales: what the tare function does

Useful to know

Kitchen scales measure ingredients by mass rather than by how tightly they fill a cup. King Arthur especially recommends weighing flour, whose measured volume can vary with the way it is scooped. [1]

The tare function resets the reading after placing a bowl on the scales, or between successive additions. This makes it possible to measure an ingredient without counting the container’s mass. Check the displayed unit and the scales’ capacity. Taring is a measuring aid, not a substitute for the quantities in the recipe.