Give Stale Chips Their Satisfying Crunch Back Using Your Microwave

Look, obviously no one intends to let chips go stale, but it happens. Sometimes you're three handfuls into a big bag of sour cream and onion then you get distracted, abandon them on the counter overnight, and before you know it, you're met with stale regret the next day. But there's a theory that those lifeless limp chips can apparently actually be fixed with your microwave. So I took it to the test.

Here's what I did: First I grabbed a microwave-safe plate topped with some paper towels and I spread my sad chips out in a single layer with as little overlap as possible. Then, I microwaved them for 30 seconds, gave them a little shuffle, then did another 30 seconds. At this point when I removed them from the microwave, they were warm but still a bit soft and bendy. Patience is truly a virtue, however, because after I let them cool for a couple minutes, they had their crunch back. And I mean a proper and real "from a fresh new bag of chips" crunch. My first attempt was with potato chips, so I tried again the next day with tortilla chips and yes, it works on the best store bought tortilla chips too. This super simple little hack doesn't just "salvage" your chips, it actually resurrects them back to life. 

As far as cooking goes, microwaves aren't usually heroes, but in this instance, the blast of heat they provide is exactly all your soggy chips need. Basically, chips become stale when they're exposed to too much air and the air's moisture slowly softens them. So by heating them in quick, intense bursts, all that unwanted moisture can evaporate and what is left is the original crunch.

So then I thought: If this trick revives stale chips, can it also give them a little facelift too? For example — could you turn stale salted chips into spicy ranch chips by simply microwaving them, allowing to cool, then tossing with some ranch powder and cayenne? I couldn't find a reason why not. I decided to give it a go by crisping up some old chips then topping them with garlic powder and nutritional yeast for an altogether new cheesy flavor explosion. And it worked. My only advice is not to use any oily toppings post-microwave, because too much moisture was the original stale-making problem, so keep the toppings dry just to be safe.

And if you're thinking it could also be a good idea to reheat stale chips with toppings for a two-in-one-nacho-salvation, I'll warn you against that too, it'll only result in a melting mistake that will ruin your nachos. For nachos, first focus on heating up your chips and then focus on heating the toppings and finally melting the cheese on top.