Snip-snip with herb scissors

A good friend gave me a pair of herb scissors for Christmas last year. They are so useful for quick herb chopping! I later saw that we carry them here at Blackhawk on the wall in the Housewares Department.

The stainless steel scissors have 5 blades so they are efficient and perform quadruple the work with each snip.

[And I love the lime green color!]

They come with a protective sheath so that your hands are protected as you dig in your utensil drawer.

I grow my herbs in pots right outside the kitchen door so they are easy to access when I need some for a dish or for a garnish.

Last night, I made spaghetti sauce with snipped oregano to add Italian flavor. I used a few snipped chives as a garnish.

I photographed a few other herbs after chopping. A bunny ate my parsley, so none of that to show off, but it does chop very well with the scissors. I have also snipped the green stalks of spring onions many a time.

Oh – and one thing you do NOT want to do. Do NOT wipe the herbs off the blades with your fingers. The blades are uber sharp. I had 4 parallel cuts in my finger the one and only time I attempted this!

Shown here are some of our pretty ikat linens, also found in our Housewares Department.

Tip: how to have fresh herbs in the winter

Herbs freeze well in a Ziploc in your freezer. Throughout the winter months, dip into your supply for a taste of summer. Before the first frost gets ‘em, harvest your herbs. Wash and pat dry, then snip them with your herb scissors and store in a labeled baggie.

This is a great way to freeze fresh basil. Wash the leaves and carefully pat dry. Place whole bunches with the leaves intact into a large Ziploc and freeze them. When ready to use, simply pull out a sprig. The leaves will be crisp and frozen. Just crumble them with your hands into the dish you’re cooking. They will not keep their fresh green color, but the flavor will still be there.

I froze a sprig of basil overnight. When I opened the baggie, the leaves fell right off the stalk. They were crisp-frozen and I was able to crumble them into some ravioli.