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Belated Tea Tuesday: IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale

August 3, 2016 · Leave a Comment

IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale

IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale

The StyleChicks have our share of kitchen gadgets geared towards foodies, and a high-quality digital food scale ranks amongst them because the ability to get precise measurements can make or break a cocktail, an amuse-bouche, or favorite dessert recipe. If you use gourmet specialty ingredients or connoisseur collection items in your food and drink, such as truffles, rare mushrooms or caviar, or high-end Matcha, teas, specialty oils, salts or cocoa powders, precision can be crucial. Not only are these ingredients costly, but small amounts go a long way in the overall taste of a recipe, and too much of a good thing can ruin an otherwise tasty dish.

ABOUT THE IDAODAN DIGITAL DISPLAY KITCHEN SCALE

Suitable for measuring both liquids and solids in a wide variety of units of measurement, I like that this Idaodan food scale has a large enough chrome plate to be able to place a mixing bowl directly on it for ingredient and combined ingredient measuring purposes. Using the “Tare” feature, the scale automatically subtracts the weight of the container or bowl holding the ingredients, which is especially useful to me when combining multiple ingredients. There is no point in prepping a pan or pot to cook your ingredients only to find out the combined weight or volume of your ingredients won’t fit. It is a versatile scale as it can weigh from 1 gram to 11 pounds. That is far superior to my previous food scale that had a weighing surface of about the size of a larger mug, which is limited in practicality when weighing anything that does not fit squarely into a measuring cup. This scale meets my needs from measuring delicate teas to preparing larger entree items.

USES FOR AN EXACTING PRECISE SCALE

EXACT MEASUREMENT RECIPES
Pinterest and other recipe websites are filled with tempting yet delicate recipes that are not, in fact, all that ambitious do but require VERY precise measurements, such as Macaroons. Many a macaroon attempt fails, and the aspiring Martha Stewart DIY Baker is left to wonder why. It is not that macaroons are that difficult to make, but your measurements must be very accurate: there is no “guess-estimating” in macaroons. A scale such as this one is capable of these very exacting measurements as it is more sensitive than your typical kitchen scale.

Another type of precise measurement recipe would be delicate white and green teas, notably matcha. A high-quality matcha comes in a smaller tin; it is highly concentrated, and a little too much quickly makes for a bitter drink. If the Matcha in your recipes, smoothies or tea seems too bitter despite correct brewing practices, consider measuring matcha by weight on a precise scale.

If you enjoy making copycat versions of restaurant or coffeehouse style drinks and foods at home, these often require precise measurements of key ingredients to emulate the exact taste of your restaurant favorites. For example, I find my at-home version of Starbucks drinks taste much more authentic when I precisely measure the flavored syrups and supporting ingredients.

PORTION CONTROL
This scale is also very useful to those who are concerned with portion control for weight loss or health-related food restrictions. When I was trying to lose a few pounds, I had limited success and couldn’t understand why. I thought I was consuming appropriate portion sizes until I started to measure them and found out I was way off in my estimations of portion sizing. It turned out, I was eating 2-3 times the predetermined portion size, especially on meats and starches. If like me, you feel you are adhering to a diet but you’re just not making progress, a precise kitchen scale to measure portion size is a sound investment for both your appearance and health.

GIFT IDEA
The scale has an easy to read, large LED screen display, and it comes with batteries, so it is an easy-to-use and convenient gift for your favorite foodies, bakers, and cooks.

OTHER EXACT MEASUREMENT USES
Thinking of trying some of the at-home DIY beauty recipes for hair conditioners, moisturizers, and creams you see online? These often require exact ratios of product to work. And while intended as a food scale, those with a home business or who sell items on eBay and Etsy may find the precise weighing capabilities an asset for knowing exact postage costs.

DIGITAL SCALE USE REMINDERS

1) Electron currents can interfere with the scales’ ability to calibrate and weight. This means no cell phones or microwaves immediately adjacent to the scale.

2) When you are not weighing, do not leave the bowl on the scale for extended periods of time.

CONCLUSION: The IDAODAN Digital Kitchen Food Scale is very useful kitchen item for precisely measuring portion size, for exact measurements of small increments of ingredients such as matchas, cocoas, specialty salts and oils, and for exact ratio measuring. The Tare feature is very useful as well as the ability to measure liquids and solids quickly and precisely.

Find it at Amazon.com. Style Chicks readers get an extra 10% off with code IDAODAN2 at checkout!

IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale

IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale

I received this product in exchange for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Food, Tea
Tagged: IDAODAN Accurate Digital Kitchen Food Scale, Matcha, Scale, Tea

Natures Nectar Ultra Premium Natural Organic Matcha Green Tea

May 20, 2016 · Leave a Comment

The Style Chicks have long enjoyed a good cup of green tea: a tasty warm treat that does wonders for the skin, metabolism, and energy. Green Tea aids in hair growth. Green Tea contains Vitamin B, and its’ anti-inflammatory properties are significant. To get skin glowing the day before an event, we started drinking a minimum of 2-3 cups of green tea per day as was recommended in Dr. Nicholas Perricone’s 3-day “Anti-inflammatory Diet.” When you drink 3 cups of green tea in a day, your skin is luminous, dewy and glowing.

But sometimes it is tough to consume 3 cups of green tea a day when I really feel like I just want a double espresso with whip to get over my afternoon energy slump. An easy fix for this problem is to drink Matcha. Matcha tea has about half the caffeine of an espresso shot. AND it makes you extra pretty.

WHAT IS MATCHA & WHY SHOULD I DRINK IT?
Matcha is ground tea leaves which make for an intensely concentrated tea, something of a super tea, which has more than 100 times as much Polyphenols as regular green tea. One cup of matcha tea per day is enough for a jitter-free time released energy boost, glowing skin, weight management, increased metabolism and maximum health benefits. Matcha has highly concentrated green tea benefits, but you can get too much of a good thing. Drinking too much of any green, white or black tea can deplete iron in the blood, and all natural tea leaves, like anything else grown in soil, can have minuscule traces of lead. After one cup of matcha per day, you have gained all the Polyphenols, Amino Acids, and metabolism boost that you need.

A cup of Matcha in the afternoon can be an easy alternative to drinking multiple cups of green tea or a coffee substitute when you need some energy. Personally, I can use as much caffeine as I can get, but I do enjoy the energy boost from a good cup of Matcha because there is no “crash” from it like I get from some other caffeinated drinks.

HOW TO MAKE MATCHA TEA
To make Matcha tea, add 1 gram (just shy of a 1/4 teaspoon, .20 of a teaspoon to be exact) of Matcha powder to 6-8 ounces of hot but not boiling water and whisk until the powder dissolves. If you don’t have a matcha whisk, use the smallest whisk you have. Whisk the tea until you have a light froth, probably 30 seconds to a minute. To froth, quickly move your whisk in an M motion (remember: “M” for Matcha!)

A RECOMMENDED MATCHA TEA FOR DRINKING
Nature’s Nectar Ultra Premium Natural Matcha Green Tea is a ceremonial grade Matcha that is delicate and sweet without tasting artificially sweet. If you already drink green tea, you will notice it has a superior flavor of not tasting ‘vegetable-y’ or bitter, just a warm and delicate flavoring. The intensity can be richer depending on the amount of powder and water used, but this tin is a 30 day supply, 1 gram a day. Some brands are an entire teaspoon of Matcha per cup; that is too much powder for a fine grade Matcha such as this one. There is no need to over-do it with this Matcha as it has 137 times more Polyphenols than regular green tea, so you don’t need more any powder than suggested to optimize your green tea benefits. Nature’s Nectar Matcha is also organic and gluten free.

Something else I noticed about Nature’s Nectar Matcha is it is a much brighter green than the other Matcha’s I have. When I select a Matcha, I look for the most vivid green I can get not just because it makes for a prettier cup of Matcha but the colorful green means it is also packed with Amino Acids.

While this Matcha can be added to smoothies and drinks, but since it is such a high-grade matcha, I only drink it straight as a tea and use my less tasty Matchas for including in Matcha-based beverages.

DRINKING GRADE VERSES BAKING GRADE
Here is where Matcha can get tricky: a Matcha powder suitable for drinking as a tea should be a pure and high-quality matcha powder with an intentional blend of green tea leaf varieties. These Nature’s Nectar Matcha leaves are the preferred “first harvest” leaves which make the freshest tea and the highest levels of green tea benefits. A quality Matcha is often labeled as “ceremonial grade”. These Matcha powders often come packaged in a relatively smaller tin than those sold in bulk or bagged. They are also more expensive than those intended for making beverages featuring Matcha. For example, Trader Joe’s Matcha Green Tea Latte Mix is a larger container of powder best suited for use in lattes and recipes because the Matcha is pre-mixed with sugar cane, coconut and milk powders. Good in a DIY latte but not suitable as a matcha powder for tea. A pure matcha suited for drinking as a Matcha tea can be pricey but costs far less per cup than an afternoon run to a coffeehouse for a double espresso. And it is super simple to make.

Matcha TIPS and HACKS:

Once opened, store matcha in the refrigerator to maintain its fresh taste and vibrant green color.

Is your Matcha tea too bitter? Bring water to only a near boil, or wait for one to two minutes after boiling before pouring the water into your cup. Water at 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 Celsius) and below will produce sweeter Matcha tea than when mixed with boiling water.

Need an extra brain power boost? The lower the temperature of the hot water, the more Theanine that brews. Theanine is the part of green tea that causes brain focusing and mental alertness. Can you tolerate a little extra bitterness for the sake of beauty? Then brew up a nice extra hot cup.

Matcha makes for a great pre-workout caffeine boost that will give you sustained energy without the mid-workout crash.

Natures Nectar Ultra Premium Natural Organic Matcha Green Tea

Natures Nectar Ultra Premium Natural Organic Matcha Green Tea

Posted by Style Chicks / Filed In: Beauty, Food, Gifts, Skincare, Tea
Tagged: Green Tea, Matcha, Skin

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