So I have now gone through an impressive number of kitchen scissors.

I have tried the sublime – Wüsthof – costing some £20 odd. But they came apart for easy cleaning…. and easy losing…

I have tried the ridiculous – this was a very cheap pair costing only a couple of quid. These came apart as well, but in a different way. They simply broke on the first use.

Another pair rusted, and came apart….

So the search was on for the optimum scissors, I wanted a pair that would become Old Faithful.

What do you need to consider when buying kitchen scissors?

• They need to be able to do all kinds of jobs – it’s not just about different types of food, snipping herbs and spring onions or derinding bacon. They need to be able to cut string, or shape baking paper.

• The Saucy Dressings’ Chief Taster is left-handed, whilst I am right-handed. The scissors need to be useable by both of us.

• They need to last, I don’t want to be replacing them every two seconds, I want Old Faithfuls.

• I live by the sea where it’s very humid – they shouldn’t rust.

• I need to be able to find them quickly – so they should have coloured handles.

• The scissors just need to do the job – they don’t necessarily need to be excessively expensive. I don’t think I got value out of my Wüsthof pair, even if I’d been able to hang on to more than half of them…

So what did I buy after some research?

I bought a pair of Sabatier all purpose scissors. These satisfied all the conditions above, costing just under £11, with burgundy coloured handles and a 25 year guarantee.

Looking after your kitchen scissors – DON’T

• Leave them to stand in the dishwasher, either at the beginning, or the end of the cycle
• Use Vim or steel wool, or anything abrasive