Your Air Fryer Is The Secret To Reviving Stale Chips

A staple snack if ever there was one, chips often have a permanent place in our pantries. However, tortilla chips, potato chips, and other chip varieties have a downside in that they become far less appealing after getting stale. And sadly, chip quality will decrease in as little as one week, at which point this beloved snack may not be as tasty thanks to the softer texture and missing crunch.

Fortunately, there's a way to restore the crispiness to stale chips and spare the heartache of discarding a bag before it's been depleted. In an effort to restore their leftover Qdoba chips, a TikToker found that the air fryer is the perfect vehicle for reintroducing crunchiness to tortilla chips. According to the creator of the clip, the air-fried day-old chips were superior to the fresh version. Per the video, the chips should be cooked for three minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit with just a dash of salt. To elevate the flavor of your restored chips even further, there are some factors to consider before pairing snacks with different dips.

According to The Washington Post, the starch molecules inside chips are deprived of moisture thanks to the high heat used during the cooking process. However, these same molecules are quite adept at absorbing moisture, which they can pull from the air after the chip bag has been opened. This is what causes chips to become stale, which creates an unwanted chewy texture, as opposed to the crispness you desire.

@cooklikeamother

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♬ Backyard Boy – Claire Rosinkranz

As seen in the TikTok clip, placing chips in the air fryer capably restores crunchiness because it eliminates the excess moisture acquired due to air exposure. The video also shows the benefits of adding seasonings, in this case salt, to enhance the flavor. Salt works well on all manner of chips, but with tortilla chips, chili powder, paprika, and onion powder also pair well. As for potato chips, the new crispy texture will mesh deliciously with add-ons like grated parmesan cheese, black pepper, and a drizzling of olive oil for a more substantial snack.

While it's good to have a reliable method for restoring the crunch to stale chips, you can also stop chips from becoming stale with a few neat tricks. One storage hack sure to keep chips fresh and crispy entails placing a silica gel packet in the bag to wick away moisture from the chips (despite dire warnings not to eat packets due to the choking hazard; silica gel is not toxic). Another method involves relocating the chips to some kind of sealable container or bag. While chip clips do prevent some air exposure, they can't rival the protection offered by a freezer bag or a container with a sealing lid.

You can also opt to store your opened bag of chips in an unlikely place: The freezer. Unlike other foods, chips carry a relatively low risk of developing freezer burn since they don't contain much moisture (remember that moisture loss is the scientific reason why freezer burn occurs). Also, the optimal storage environment for chips is a cool area of the home, and you can't get much cooler than the freezer. And if you can't stop staleness from impacting your chips, you now have a reliable method of reviving them.