Scissors

Kitchen scissors are one of those tools that you don’t realize you need until you need them. That sounds obvious, but they’re more versatile and necessary than you might think. You need them for so many tasks such as cutting open food packaging, cutting the twine off raw and cooked meats, cutting through lobster and crab shells, and much more.

If scissors are so important, why not go to the stationery store, buy a pair, and move on to the next thing? Because you need break apart (also called take-apart) scissors. What this means is that the two scissor halves come apart by opening them up all the way and separating them. This is crucial because it means that you can thoroughly clean and sharpen your scissors. This allows you to completely remove any raw or cooked food bits from the scissors’ hinge. Without this, you’d be exposing yourself to harmful bacteria that will quickly build up in the scissors. Some scissors sold in the kitchenware section of stores and markets are not designed to be broken apart, so be sure to check before you buy.

Also, kitchen scissors must be used exclusively for food. Just as you don’t want to use household scissors with food, you don’t want to use your kitchen scissors for other household projects. In addition to being unsanitary, this can also dull the scissors.