1. Cut pizza into slices
You can divide a piping hot, topping-heavy pizza into as many slices as you like, without having to saw through pepperoni or crust. Try it with just-cooked quesadillas too.
2. Cut cooked skirt steak or chicken cutlets into strips
Whether you’re making fajitas, topping a salad, or prepping a kid’s plate, kitchen shears will get the job done easily.
3. Chop herb leaves and scallion greens
Hold a bunch of parsley upside down by the stems and snip off the leaves. Stack, roll, and thinly slice basil leaves (a technique called chiffonade) or cut scallion or chive greens into even pieces.
4. Cut whole canned tomatoes
Need to dice whole canned tomatoes? No need to strain the juice or make a mess on your cutting board. Open the can, insert the shears standing up, and snip the tomatoes in their juices to break down.
5. Trim and cut vegetables
Grab a head of broccoli by its trunk and cut off florets to the size you want. You can also trim the tough ends off asparagus or remove the stems from chard and kale.
6. Cut dried fruit into even pieces
Dried fruit is naturally chewy and sticky, making it hard to get even pieces when chopped. Kitchen shears cut right through dried apples or apricots.
7. Neatly trim pie crust
Snipping away the overhanging dough from the edges of a pie shell is so fast and easy with shears (the dough would clog up standard scissors).
8. Cut prosciutto or salami into pieces
Delicate, thinly sliced prosciutto or salami can slip and bunch up beneath a knife blade. Instead, use your shears to cut into smaller pieces or even fun shapes.