Tips on How To Choose Kitchen Scissors

Keyword: types of kitchen scissors, kitchen scissors uses and functions, poultry shears, purpose of kitchen shears

Kitchen scissors are essential for chefs, homemakers, and just about anyone dealing with food preparation. However, they are often overlooked and considered an afterthought despite their multi-functionalities. That is why not many resources are available to help consumers and retailers find and choose good kitchen scissors.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about choosing kitchen scissors and shears.

Who needs kitchen scissors and shears?

Everyone usually keeps a pair of scissors in the kitchen - whether it is for home or professional cooking and food prep. However, the average craft or office scissors won’t cut it. Having a good set of kitchen scissors and shears helps anyone perform various tasks like slicing meat and vegetables or opening food packages.

Why use kitchen scissors instead of a knife?

Some people might wonder why they should use kitchen scissors when using the good old kitchen knife for their cutting tasks works. However, having good kitchen scissors is not just an “optional” or “additional” necessary cooking equipment. It is a kitchen multitool that makes quick work of tasks that are otherwise slow or tedious.

For example, using a knife to carve meat from the bone might blunt its blade. It is also dangerous as bone is hard, so the user risks slipping and cutting their arm instead when exerting force. Trickier cutting jobs like cleaning shrimps, cutting leaves off hardy greens, and cutting bone are worth investing in a set of kitchen shears. It even eliminates the need to use a chopping board.

How to choose kitchen scissors?

Kitchen scissors have more functions than regular ones. Hence, shoppers look at additional elements when buying them. Listed below are some helpful tips to guide you and your customers on what features they should look for in kitchen shears and scissors:

Pick the correct type

Kitchen scissors come in different types to serve various purposes. Using the right pair of kitchen scissors to its designed task makes the process safer, easier, and quicker. The user can perform the cutting job without exerting as much effort while ensuring they will not hurt themselves. With that, here are some of the common types of kitchen scissors to choose from:

1. Poultry scissors - Built to cut through poultry and for deboning, poultry shears are very sharp to cut through meat and bone.

2. Seafood scissors - Commonly have curved blades to crack, cut, and open seafood like shrimp, crab, and lobster.

3. Herb scissors - Sharp scissors made to snip herbs without bruising to get their natural flavor when cooking. Some have a triple-blade design to chop herbs and stems finely.

4. Pizza scissors - Helps cut a pizza into equal parts. They often have a non-stick nylon base to cut through dough easily without making a mess.

Find the right size

Kitchen scissors are often big enough to provide leverage in performing more heavy-duty kitchen tasks. However, it should also not be too large that the user will have difficulty managing it. The average size of kitchen scissors is between 8 to 9 inches long. The user should determine if they need longer or shorter scissors based on their hand size, strength, and cutting purpose.

Look for good material

People keep food shears in the kitchen, where the environment is usually humid. They also need to be washed often to ensure sanitation. This factor makes scissors prone to corrosion and rust. Hence, kitchen shears must be made from a rigid material to resist corrosion. Look for kitchen scissors made in high-grade stainless steel like this Multipurpose Stainless Steel Kitchen Scissors.

Stainless steel is highly rust-resistant so that it can stand up to humidity well. It is a hard metal (harder than carbon steel), so it stays sharp longer. With it, anyone can regularly wash the scissors, and it is low maintenance as well.

Consider separable blades

Hygiene is a significant concern for anyone who buys kitchen scissors. Food preparation requires cleanliness, from the ingredients down to the tools they use. Kitchen scissors must be easy to clean and made of suitable materials to withstand rust and corrosion.

It is also better to hand wash the scissors to protect the blade from damage. Consumers might want to consider scissors they can disassemble like this Heavy Duty Multipurpose Come Apart Kitchen Shears. These scissors come apart at the pivot, usually by removing the screw. The user can wash them and remove the tiny dirt and dust that got stuck in the crevices. Additionally, it makes sharpening the blades easier once they become dull.

Examine its comfort

Consumers shop kitchen scissors for big and tedious tasks. Multipurpose kitchen scissors can crack crab shells and open bottle lids or caps. As the user needs to exert a good amount of force, they should be easy to handle for safety reasons. Handles that are slippery when wet or with sharp edges or seams are dangerous to use. It could slip from the user’s grip and accidentally cut the user or someone else. Scissors that are not ergonomically designed can also be painful and uncomfortable to use.

Scissors designed for comfort and efficiency are essential. Textured or rubberized handles add cushion and grip, giving the user enough grasp on the scissors without experiencing pain and difficulty.

Explore other kitchen scissors uses and functions

The primary purpose of kitchen shears is cutting down poultry, snipping herbs, and opening food packages. But today’s kitchen scissors are made to be multipurpose, and they can do so much more. Here are just some of the functionalities that help cooking and food preparation more manageable with these kitchen scissors uses:

1. Bottle opener - Some scissors come with a built-in bottle opener on their inner handles. It removes the need for additional kitchen tools like bottle openers and corkscrews.

2. Screwcap and jar lid opener -  The pliers-like grippers found on the scissor’s inner handles can unscrew bottle caps. Depending on the size, it can also open jar lids.

3. Nut and shell cracker - The same grippers can also double to crack nuts and shells. It is a handy kitchen tool to crack open walnuts, crabs, and lobsters.

Conclusion

Households and restaurants need to equip the right cooking tools to save time and effort. Using kitchen scissors and shears is an upgrade from utilizing knives for all cutting and chopping tasks. However, consumers don’t need to buy all types of kitchen scissors in the market. Hence, it is essential to know which one fits their needs best and identify the right factors to consider when buying scissors.