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9 best kitchen scissors

From tackling poultry to simply making salad prep extra-speedy, a good pair of scissors are a must. So, which ones make the cut?

Thursday 20 September 2018 12:51 BST

Happy snipping with your new set of scissors (Fiskars)

Every kitchen drawer should have some – these scissors will save the day when it comes to easy food preparation and tackling maintenance in the heart of the home.

Most styles withstand dishwasher cleaning, so are hygienic to use even on raw poultry. Try some dedicated kitchen shears instead reaching for the knife block and you may be surprised just how much time and effort you can save.

We kept a selection of shears to hand in a busy family kitchen to tackle everything from slicing through whole chicken carcasses to snipping chives.

Fiskars Classic Kitchen Scissors: £15.99, Robert Dyas

Immediately recognisable by their orange handles, Fiskars have been in business in Finland since 1649.

Their iconic kitchen scissors are also available for left-handers and at 18cm long are more compact than some of the others we tested, they fit nicely into the kitchen drawer.

Serrated edges make cutting food and tough packaging a breeze and the grip is comfortable too.

Good Grip Kitchen and Herb Scissors: £15.99, John Lewis

If you know the Good Grips range, you’ll be pleased to hear these are just as comfortable and efficient to use as other utensils in OXO’s line.

We particularly liked the herb stripper incorporated into the shears that meant it was quick and simple to tackle rosemary for roast lamb or coriander for curry.

Another ingenious touch was the separating blades for easy cleaning.

Victorinox Poultry Shears, £36.08: Alliance Online

These are seriously stylish shears that open wide to tackle poultry portioning, so best for larger hands. You’ll know Victorinox from their famous Swiss Army Knives, so the quality and functionality is a given.

These poultry shears have an expanding buffer spring mechanism to give a nicely-weighted and highly efficient cut, and they really look the business.

Dual Blade Salad Scissors: £11.99, Lakeland

Salad lovers, you need these in your life. Lakeland’s design makes these the easy way to chop through fresh ingredients straight in the serving bowl: just open the spring-loaded scissors wide and collect leaves or veggies into the scoop before easily slicing with the dual serrated blades.

These ones also have a safe locking mechanism for storage and a grippy, comfortable handle.

Creative Rhino Scissors: £7.99, Yes Please UK

You don’t have to pay a premium price for great design as these multi-purpose shears demonstrate. They’re dishwasher safe and the soft-grip handle is comfortable.

They whizz through kitchen and maintenance tasks, from stripping wire to crushing garlic, and can be used comfortably by left handers. Genius.

Brussels Herbs Station: £10.49, Bloomling

Now here’s an idea – not only do you have a planter to grow your own herbs, the dinky scissors to snip them are stored there, too.

Dutch company Elho are known for their plant containers and window boxes, but the attached three-blade herb scissors are also of good quality. They’re smaller than some of the others we tested but at least this way, they’re always to hand.

Signature Household Scissors and Stand: £28, Robert Welch

It’s so frustrating when you go to rummage in a kitchen drawer to find scissors when you realise they’ve gone missing. Keep your shears up on the worktop in a weighted stand where you can keep an eye on them.

These were super-sharp Japanese stainless steel so made delicate food prep to cutting down heavyweight recycling a cinch.

Judge Basics 4 Piece Scissor Set: £12.29, eBay

If you don’t particularly need herb or poultry scissors but do like always to have a pair handy for all manner of tasks in the kitchen, then this is the value set for you.

Judge supplies a selection of basic scissors including large kitchen shears, everyday household and pointed-blade sewing scissors. There’s a small thread snipper too, this set is great value for money.

Easy Speedy Cutter: £10, ProCook

These is another useful kitchen tool for when time isn’t on your side. We used this when prepping for a stir fry and it performed well on all our ingredients – from pak choi and water chestnuts to onion and carrots.

It was so much easier than assembling everything on a board to cut, we just washed and shook the veg then snipped straight into a prep bowl at top speed.

The Verdict: Best Kitchen Scissors

Fiskars are classics for a reason – they’re incredibly efficient, comfortable to use and affordable. They last for years without losing their sharpness. The coloured handle makes them easy to spot in chaotic kitchen drawers too.

Consider Victorinox’s poultry shears if you need a housewarming gift for a foodie friend. They’re lovely to look at as well as scarily sharp, it’s a present that will probably last longer than their mortgage.