NutritionTerms

Dietary Assessment

Zero Function

Also known as: zero button, reset-to-zero

The button on a digital kitchen scale that resets the display to zero — usually the same as "tare," though some scales distinguish the two.

By Nina Alvarez · NASM-CPT, Nutrition Coach ·

Key takeaways

  • On most scales, "Zero" and "Tare" are the same button — they both reset the display to 0.
  • Some laboratory-style scales distinguish them: "Zero" resets a drifted baseline with nothing on the platform; "Tare" subtracts a container weight with something on the platform.
  • For kitchen use, the distinction rarely matters — one button, one behavior.
  • If the scale reads a small non-zero value with nothing on it, a Zero press corrects the drift.

The zero function on a kitchen scale resets the display to 0. On most consumer kitchen scales it's the same physical button as tare, and for day-to-day logging the two words mean the same thing: press the button, the display goes to 0, start fresh.

The technical distinction (and why you probably don't care)

On precision laboratory scales, zero and tare are separate operations:

  • Zero is used when the scale platform is empty but the display reads, say, 0.3g. You press Zero to reset the baseline back to 0. This corrects for drift from temperature changes, vibration, or dust.
  • Tare is used when you have a container on the scale and want the weight of what you'll put into the container, not the container itself.

For a kitchen scale, one button does both jobs. Manufacturers label it "Tare," "Zero," or "T" — same function.

When the zero function actually matters

If you turn on your scale and the empty platform reads something other than 0 (maybe 0.1g, maybe 3g), the scale is drifting. A quick Zero press fixes it before you start weighing. Causes of drift:

  • The scale was stored on an angle.
  • Humidity or temperature shifted overnight.
  • Crumbs or liquid on the platform.
  • Low batteries.

If zeroing doesn't fix it, clean the platform, check the surface is flat, or swap batteries.

"Negative zero"

If you tare a bowl, then remove the bowl, the scale reads a negative number (the bowl's weight, now missing). That's not a bug — it's the scale honestly telling you something the size of the bowl has disappeared from its worldview. Press Zero/Tare again to reset.

Zero on non-kitchen scales

Bathroom scales and luggage scales have zero buttons too, with the same meaning — calibrate the baseline. The distinction between zero and tare is mostly a lab-vs-consumer vocabulary gap. In the kitchen, one button, one concept.

Practical note

If this is your first kitchen scale, don't overthink the terminology. Press the big button when the display says something other than the number you want to start from. That's the whole operating system.

References

  1. "NIST Handbook 44 — Weighing and Measuring Devices". National Institute of Standards and Technology .
  2. "Calibration and traceability in weighing instruments". NIST .
  3. "Dietary Assessment Primer — weighed records". National Cancer Institute .
  4. "Home weighing for portion control". Mayo Clinic .

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