Keep Chips Fresh for Months With This Hack

Do you find yourself with leftover bags of chips in the cabinet that are stale and bland? Movie nights, friend get-togethers, and band rehearsals with teens can mean that these expired snack bags start to add up in the dark corners of the kitchen. The bags get opened, poured into a bowl for movie night, and shoved back into the cabinet. But the next person to find the sort-of closed bag and think it is a score for snacktime will dive in and find chips that are past their prime.

Many of us find ourselves taking stock of these half-eaten bags of chips and wondering if there is a better way to avoid the inevitable. Who wants to waste that kind of money and snack goodness?

There is a solution that involves storing the half-full (or half-empty?) bag of chips in a completely different location in the kitchen. The freezer!

Store Your Opened Bags of Chips in the Freezer

According to a discussion over at Men's Health, storing your chips in the freezer will result in chips that stay crispy and maintain a crunch. Why would this super chilly environment be a better place for storage to help avoid the dreaded bag of chips that have gone stale?

Read the storage instructions for keeping a bag of chips fresh and it will include storing them in a cool location for maximum freshness. The moment a potato chip bag is opened it is exposed to air, light, and moisture, and this causes the contents to start to lose their flavor and texture. The freezer will prevent this process. And don't worry: Chip bags placed in the freezer won't totally freeze — they will simply get really cold.

Why the Freezer Works to Keep Chips Fresh

When chips are cooked for commercial packaging most of the moisture is cooked out of the potato or corn. The small amount of water that is left behind in the cooking process is enough to prevent the starches from breaking down. Since most of the moisture is cooked out of the potato, there's little risk of chips getting soggy, limp, and unappetizing. This method works for chips that are unopened or a bag that has been opened but needs to be resealed and stored for a short period of time.

Putting potato chips in the freezer extends their freshness from a matter of days to months when stored properly in a sealed, air-tight bag. So when the instructions on the bag say to store in a cool, dry place, your freezer provides all that!

When you are looking to have some chips again simply pull the bag from the freezer and allow the crisps to come to room temperature.