Kitchen Shears: The Underrated Tool Every Cook Needs
Most home kitchens have one drawer filled with random shears that barely work. Professional kitchens use specific shears for specific tasks.
In my kitchen, I have four different shears for four different jobs. Most home kitchens have one drawer filled with random shears that barely work—and that limits what you can do. Here's what I've learned about choosing and using the right shears, after twenty years of needing the right tool for every job.
The difference between kitchen shears and regular scissors is huge. Kitchen shears have a flat blade that separates for cleaning, they're built to cut through anything, and they have better ergonomics for kitchen work. A good pair of kitchen shears is one of the most underrated tools in a kitchen.
The Shears I Use Daily
1. Kitchen Shears (The Workhorse)
This is the most important shear in your kitchen. Not scissors—kitchen shears. The difference is huge: kitchen shears have blades that separate for cleaning and are designed for food tasks.
I use the OXO Good Grips Kitchen Shears because they're sharp, dishwasher safe, and the blades separate for easy cleaning. At about fifteen dollars, they're a no-brainer. I've been using the same pair for five years.
Uses: cutting herbs (faster than chopping—just snip directly into the pot), opening packaging, trimming chicken skin, cutting pizza, snipping twine, breaking down whole chickens, cutting dried fruit and nuts, trimming bacon, cutting fresh pasta. These do everything.
2. Poultry Shears
Longer blades, curved for cutting through cartilage and bones. These are essential for anyone who cooks whole birds. A regular knife can't do what these do—they're designed for the specific task of breaking down poultry.
The ChefRemo Professional Poultry Shears are spring-loaded, come apart for cleaning, and have a built-in bone remover. Heavy-duty and worth the investment if you cook whole birds. I've used mine for hundreds of chickens, turkeys, and ducks.
3. Herb Scissors
Multiple blades mean you cut multiple stems at once. If you cook with fresh herbs regularly—lots of parsley, cilantro, chives—these are a revelation. Instead of chopping which bruises the leaves, you get clean cuts that look professional and release more flavor.
The KitchenAid 5-Blade Herb Scissors comes with a cleaning brush to get between the blades. I use these for parsley, cilantro, chives, and basil. The time savings is enormous, and the cuts are cleaner than chopping.
4. Thread/Nylon Cutters
Small and precise, these are for cutting kitchen twine, thread, and anything delicate. They're not for cutting through meat or bone—they're for fine work.
The FastCap Kapton Shears were originally designed for electronics work but are perfect for kitchen use. They're precise, sharp, and the small size gives you complete control.
Maintenance
Keep your shears sharp—yes, they need sharpening too, just like knives. I use a shear sharpener every few months. Clean and dry after use—she rust easily, especially if you cut acidic things like tomatoes or citrus.
The key to kitchen shears is keeping them separate from household scissors. Use them only for food-related tasks, and they'll last for years. When you use kitchen shears to cut through packaging and other junk, they get dull and can rust from the residue.
If you only buy one pair, make it good kitchen shears. The OXO Good Grips will handle ninety percent of what you need. It's the single most useful shear for most home cooks.
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