2 out of 5
I would like to thank Crio Brü Australia for giving me the opportunity to review this device. I was sent a free Drop Scale and, in exchange, I will be posting four reviews after putting it through its paces. This is my first of the four.
Please note that my rating for this product may change in each review as I get to know the device more, learn the tips and tricks and so on. For now, the rating is 2 out of 5.
I can see the rating will most likely go higher; I simply haven’t had the time to try my new kitchen baby that much. My review today will be more a ‘first impressions’ opinion.
Before we start, people might be asking who Crio Brü are. Well, besides being amazing and selling THE BEST drinking chocolate… you can find out more of the official stuff here at their own website.
Next you will be saying “hey Janis, what IS a Drop Scale?” and I COULD go on about how it is a kitchen scale you can connect, via Bluetooth, to your iOS or Android tablet and creating some amazing recipes… or you could just go here to their website, watch the video, get excited and see what it’s all about. I mean, who DOESN’T get excited about new kitchen appliances? 😉
First Impressions:
Okay, I opened the box and went “gosh it’s small” when comparing it to my existing hi-tech electronic kitchen scales. And, after browsing through the recipes in the app, I was worried how something that small could hold a big saucepan and a whole heap of ingredients and accurately weigh it all and, well it can… sort of.
My next impression was: “Oh, I have an Android device and so not all those amazing features are actually available to me”. Yup, if using an Android device, don’t get too excited over the ingredient swap or recipe modification options, as you simply don’t have them. I will add that I am pretty sure they will be appearing in a later update – according to the Drop Scale website – but as I write this first review they are NOT available to me and so I can’t review these functions for you!
I have to say that the array of recipes available to you for free does make up for the lack of promised features. Sweet, savoury, all meal types, food allergies catered for – it’s all in there and looking really yum. And they are improving it all the time too. Example: When I first got the Drop Scale a few weeks ago I wanted to find some date recipes (recipes that use dates people!) and so typed in “dates” and got zero results. But if I typed in “date” I got 19 results. Today I did the same search, “dates” and “date” returned the same results. See, they are fixing issues as they come!
But I do have to admit I find the search function rather messy and confusing, especially as the scales come with no instructions or walk through for how to use the app. I mean, I figured out how to use it and I do love how you can turn refinements off and on… but the “view results” option hidden up the top was a little hard to find at first and I still forget it sometimes and, when in a hurry, just tend to give up and resort to the old fashioned cook book, google or Pinterest search for a recipe. If Drop Scale wants to be THE go to place to search recipes, they may want to make that option less cluttered and more inviting to use. Or maybe it’s just me?
I did try a recipe already, it is called “Everything-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies” and they are a good one for anyone with a grain, wheat, or dairy intolerance or someone who is vegan. If you have a nut allergy or issue with oranges – this is not the recipe for you! 😉
Oh, and speaking of the oranges in this recipe – they are not listed on the front ingredients list AT ALL but does come up in a search for the ingredient “orange” – “oranges” returns zero results. See my comment on dates.
And 200g of orange zest?! I feel that is an incredibly large amount of zest for a recipe. I did a quick google and discovered the “average” – does not mention size or weight – orange can give up to 57 grams of orange zest. I do raise a cynical eyebrow at this as I swear you would need more oranges… or maybe I just don’t zest as much off as I can? Then again, as I can’t eat citrus without a reaction I skipped that ingredient all together. I added 40 grams of dried raspberries and the grounds from my morning’s Crio and that was just fine. I did like how I could just skip that step too, even though the scales didn’t record the right amount. I was worried and DID try and fool them by weighing 200 grams of things into it… couldn’t do it. So just moved to the next step manually and it was all good.
The biscuits were delicious – looked like this.
Overall though I was rather unimpressed with the recipe as it was rather sparse in information, especially when it came to the size of balls you roll the dough into and roughly how many cookies it made. All it says at the front of the recipe is “Serves 12 people” but does that mean it make 12 really big cookies? Who knows!
But the cookies were super easy to make, tasted good and the scent of coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla warming in a pot on the stove made my house smell DIVINE.
And I will say the scales are rather sensitive. When I was measuring things out, if I then placed say my jar of coconut back on the bench (gently of course) the scales would actually change the amount they were initially showing. Super sensitive! My other electronic scales are not that sensitive and do come with other measurement options too.
Would I recommend this product to others?
At this stage I am not too sure. I feel I need to play with it a bit more first. But I will say from my first impression of the Drop Scale is it is probably better suited to a beginner cook. I have other devices in my kitchen that can weigh out ingredients that I find far easier to use. And I am also a bit more free flowing with my work than the Drop Scale allowed me to be. But I have been cooking and baking for 30 years or so now. Someone without as much experience may find the Drop Scale a time and life saver as it give step by step help for those not too sure on how to navigate the whole kitchen scene. 😉
Would I buy this device for myself?
Again, too early to say. I do love the variety of recipes, but do feel a little cheated that my Android app doesn’t have all the bells and whistles for the Drop Scale that it would have if I used an iOS device. Maybe if the Android app improves and includes all the same features, then the chances of me buying it would be higher?
In summary: An interesting and innovating new way to make, bake and create delicious looking dishes.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 