This kitchen tool is a cut above

A recent guest post by Kerri Conan on Mark Bittman’s Substack caught my attention. It was about scissors in the kitchen, but was for subscribers only so I was not able to read the whole article. However, it got me thinking about how often I use scissors in the kitchen, and why I always have more than one pair at the ready.

The Bittman article provided recommendations for brands, which I am sure are great, but I will throw in my two cents’ worth: buy at least one pair of cheap scissors. To be clear I’m not talking about kitchen shears, which are the focus of the article – sturdy scissors meant for tough tasks like cutting small bones. For those it makes sense to invest in a good pair. What I am talking about is a disposable pair of scissors you can use with abandon. I purchased a set of two from IKEA for next to nothing and have used them on a daily basis for well over a year, but if they break I won’t be heartbroken (and I’ll have an excuse to get more lingonberry preserves).

For common kitchen tasks, a precision cutting edge isn’t necessary and it would be a shame to ruin a nice pair with such bludgeoning as opening stubborn plastic and cardboard packages – heresy with expensive scissors. I sew, and if anyone used my Ginghers to open a molded plastic package, it might be the second-to-last thing they were used for. Other things I use scissors for are cutting herbs (especially chives), trimming edges of pie and cookie dough, cutting parchment paper, snipping twine, cutting German soup dumplings (knoephla), snipping fresh flowers and herbs, and cutting dried fruit like apricots, which cling stubbornly to the edge of a knife. I will even confess that if I have to cut just one or two pieces of bacon I’ll reach for scissors instead of a knife, because I can just toss the scissors into the dishwasher.

Tossing them in the dishwasher is the beauty part of the cheap scissors equation. You can wash them by hand, of course, and they will probably last longer, but for me the convenience of tossing them in the basket makes up for a slightly shorter lifespan. You can keep cheap scissors relatively sharp by cutting fine sandpaper (600+ grit) once in a while. They are the epitome of useful, inexpensive kitchen tools.