This $7 Kitchen Tool Will Change the Way You Prep, Cook and Serve Your Food

I'm a huge fan of testing out new kitchen tools. Whether it's a tool that makes preparing artichokes easier or one that minces garlic in seconds, I'm always on the lookout for items that will make my prep and cook time more efficient. But the one kitchen tool that I'm constantly turning to is kitchen shears.

Kitchen shears are the perfect, multifunctional tool for prepping ingredients (to buy: $7; amazon.com). Compared to a knife, kitchen shears give you more control when cutting ingredients like fresh herbs or scallions into thin pieces. Plus, you can use the shears to trim dark, leafy greens from your garden like kale or collard greens or to remove the tops from produce like beets and turnips.

You can also utilize kitchen shears when preparing proteins like chicken, lobster, or sausage. With chicken, kitchen shears are handy for trimming fat or spatchcocking the bird (try it with our Lemon-Herb Roasted Spatchcock Chicken & Potatoes and see our guide to cutting up a whole chicken). With lobster, kitchen shears make it easier to cut the claws and tail to access the meat (check out our step-by-step guide on cooking lobster) and with sausage, kitchen shears are great for getting even slices from links. We suggest having two pairs of shears, one for raw meat and one for cooked foods, so there's no worry about cross-contamination.

But the wonders of kitchen shears extend beyond preparing ingredients! Kitchen shears are also great with cooked foods like pizza or long noodles like chow fun. Plus, you can use the shears to remove those pesky plastic rings from olive oil bottles or soy sauce bottles.

Kitchen shears have so many uses, and they'll quickly become your most-used item. I love these shears from KitchenAid because they're durable, dishwasher-safe, and come in over 10 color options (to buy: $7, amazon.com). Once you try a pair for yourself, you'll see that they're a cut above other kitchen tools.

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