Everyday Uses For Kitchen Shears & Reasons To Use ‘Em Instead Of Knives

Do you have a pair of kitchen shears in your kitchen?  

If you’re like most people, the last time you used scissors in the kitchen was probably to open the packaging that contained a food product. 

So, do you really need kitchen shears?

Pretty much any regular pair of scissors would work for opening packages, right?

Consider this…

 

Reasons To Use Kitchen Shears

Kitchen shears are a safer alternative than the sharp kitchen knives you would probably use to do the same task (like separating a whole chicken into pieces).

Most kitchen knives are so sharp that one small slip could end up costing you a finger!
 

The primary advantage of kitchen shears over normal scissors is that they’re more heavy duty and can handle a lot more cutting force.  Source

If you start with a good quality pair of kitchen shears, they will last forever. 

Here’s what to look for in a new pair of kitchen shears.

Two of the best things about kitchen shears:

• They’re easier to use than a food processor or knife & cutting board. You can even cut things up right in the bowl or in the pan.  (So there’s less to clean-up as well!)
• You can toss them in the dishwasher.  (Clean and disinfect at the same time!)

Keep in mind, kitchen shears are not the same as regular household scissors that are typically used for crafts and cutting paper.  Both the blades and the handles on kitchen shears are thicker, sturdier, and much more durable.  You have a lot more control with kitchen shears, and there are a lot more things you can do with a quality pair of kitchen shears.

Once you see the many ways you can use kitchen shears (below), I think you’ll be using them on a daily basis from now on!

 

Everyday Uses For Kitchen Shears

• Cut green onions
• Snip herbs
• Chop celery
• Slice pizza (or you could try these pizza cutting shears!)
• Cut meat (chicken, beef, etc) for stews, kabobs
• Shred cabbage
• Cut lettuce
• Gut fish
• Cut kids’ food into bite-sized pieces
• Trim fat from meat
• Cut bacon
• Make pita triangles
• Cut tomatoes
• Trim the crust off of bread
• Cut cooked pasta into bite-sized pieces
• Open bottles (many kitchen shears have a ridged area for grabbing and opening bottles)
• Cut the florets off broccoli and cauliflower
• Remove lobster tail from its shell
• Cut open crab legs
• Slice mushrooms for pizza
• Cut green peppers into slices
• Trim dough
• De-vein kale and collards
• Remove skin from chicken
• Cut waffles and pancakes into bite-sized pieces

As you can see, you can do a lot of everyday kitchen tasks and have a safer kitchen by leaving the sharp knives in their wooden storage block and using kitchen shears instead.

 

Caring For Your Kitchen Shears

To make it easier for you to reach for the kitchen shears over a knife each time is to:

• buy a quality pair of kitchen shears
• keep your kitchen shears sharp
• keep them within reach (but not in the kitchen junk drawer)

Your kitchen shears should be kept separate from other household scissors, and they should only be used for food-related tasks.  The junk drawer in the kitchen is definitely no place for your kitchen shears!

There is nothing more annoying than a pair of dull scissors.  This video shows you a quick and easy way to keep your kitchen shears in top cutting form:

 

 

Sources

10 Uses For Kitchen Shears

Messermeister Kitchen Shears Review

Do You Really Need Kitchen Shears?

Top 10 Kitchen Gadgets

Kitchen Scissors Tips

Do You Use Kitchen Shears?

My Sanity Saver: Kitchen Shears!