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Tackling multiple jobs in the kitchen
Multi-purpose kitchen shears like the Hoei Stainless Steal Kitchen Shears are a workhorse in the kitchen. Need to open a package? Use shears. Need to cut some string for roasting meat? Shears. Need to cut open a bag of pasta or coffee? Shears. The Hoei shears have a built in bottle opener, nut cracker, and wedges for unsealing tough cans or vacuum packed jar lids, making them useful in a surprising array of activities.
In fact, you probably don't want to use your nice, extra sharp knives on tasks like those. The advantage that kitchen shears have is that we really don't have an emotional attachment to them that we can have to nicer, more expensive kitchen knives. You probably wouldn't consider using $300 knives to open your latest Amazon purchase. Instead, you're likely to reach for your shears. You can "save" your nice knives for bigger, more important jobs.
But shears aren't just for your typical scissor jobs. Shears can get down and dirty like your knives can. While they aren't a substitute for some nice, sharp knives, shears are good for quick and simple jobs that knives can be considered overkill for.
No cutting board necessary
While we at Globalkitchen Japan are great appreciators of high-quality cutting boards, sometimes it feels a bit overkill to whip out the big guns for little jobs. What if you just want a little chopped green onions to top your soup? What if you just want to quarter a piece of chicken for your young ones? A pair of kitchen shears can make quick work of both jobs, and you won't need to clean any surfaces afterward or pull out a fork to get the job done. It's satisfying to just snip snip your problems away, you know?
Cutting chicken
Cutting up a bit of chicken for your children is fine, but what about cutting up raw chicken?
If you're cutting up skin-on chicken, unless you have very sharp knives, you notice that the skin can be quite stubborn. Applying pressure to cut thorough slipper chicken skins can be dangerous (hence why you want sharp knives). With the Hoei kitchen shears, that stubborn skin is no longer a problem, and you can even give the job to a child who isn't quite ready to handle sharp knives.
They are also excellent tools for processing large pieces of meat. Cutting up whole chicken, even powering through certain bones, is a job well suited to kitchen shears.
Cleaning
Cleaning these kitchen shears is simple. The two blades and handles can be separated and cleaned thoroughly. One thing to keep in mind: although they are stainless steel, you still don't want them exposed to water for long periods of time. Once you clean them, you should dry them off as soon as possible. That's why we recommend not cleaning them in the dishwasher.
Ever-reliable kitchen workhorses
While kitchen shears like the Hoei won't replace your nice knives, for a variety of odd jobs, shears can't be beat. If you're in the market for a pair and are a lover of Japanese steel, then considering picking up a pair of Hoei kitchen shears.
