The Potato Chip Bag-Sealing Hack You'll Wish You Knew About Sooner
Nothing ruins a snacking session quite like opening up a bag of potato chips and finding out that they've gone stale because you failed to seal them up properly. Make no mistake about it, air is the enemy of your chips and without a strong defense, those delicious chips have no hope of staying fresh. Sure, you could avoid this problem by eating those chips in one sitting, but unless you're trying to hit a new high score with your cholesterol, we don't recommend that.
Another solution is the chip clip or simply throwing a rubber band around the bag, but you may not always have those chip-saving tools handy. Not to worry, because the bag itself can be folded in such a way that your chips stay fresh and crispy until you're ready to snack again. Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi recently posted to Twitter a video of this chip-saving technique with the caption, "How am I just finding out about this now?" We don't know, Padma, but your chip snacking is surely better now because of it.
As for the secret, it's a pretty easy fold and roll technique that really does work well.
A few quick folds and your chips will stay fresh
It's not Lakshmi doing the chip folding in the video, but TikTok user Heidi Tuley, who told Today that she was shown the technique by a high school classmate while riding the bus to a sporting event. "I've been folding my bags of chips this way ever since and it blows people's minds every time." A lot of minds have been blown, too. The video's racked up an impressive 10 million+ views!
The food hack is so simple that Tuley demonstrates it in a mere 15 seconds. Make sure you get all the air out of the chip bag and then start by folding both corners of the chip bag to the center to make a triangular shape. Then roll the bottom of the fold up a couple of times and fold the top tip over to tuck it inside the pocket you've made. You should now have a tight seal to lock the air out and be able to flip the bag over without the chips falling out.
Should the chips fall out of the bag and onto the floor, this is a clear sign you've messed up and will need to start over and try again. If this method doesn't work, have no fear — several other folding methods may prove even easier and can keep your chips fresh and ready for snacking!
A variation on the classic Tuley method
If you have some trouble with the Heidi Tuley TikTok method that Padma Lakshmi shared on Twitter, you can try a few variations on this folding method to guarantee a crisp bag of chips. According to My Fridge Food, you can use an inverted roll technique that anyone can grasp after one or two practice tries. Start by placing the chip bag on a flat surface and smoothing out the top of the bag. Continue by folding the right and left corners of the bag towards the middle, allowing the corners to meet at the center, and fold the top of the bag down. Keep folding down till you reach the chips. Insert your thumbs under the flaps made and Invert the flaps over the top edge to perfectly seal your chips to snack on later!
This method resembles the first steps of Tuley's method, but instead of rolling the bag seal from the bottom up, this method requires that you roll from the top down, making it a bit easier for the novice chip sealer in all of us. A YouTube demonstration by Steve's Real World features a similar method, except after folding the corners to the middle of the bag, you roll the top of the bag backward and then fold the resulting flaps over the corners. If you crave another tight seal that can make any chip fanatic proud, we have something special in store for you.
The ultimate no-clip chip seal
For those of us ready to go pro, break out your chip bags, and get ready for the folding method that will change your world! Food and Cooking Guide shares a nifty technique demonstrated on YouTube by outlaw8117. Grabbing both top corners, roll the bag snugly down several times while holding onto the corners. Fold these corners forward and tuck them underneath the roll you made. Then tuck the whole fold back in on itself, using your thumbs to push the backs of the folded corners inward as you fold backward. You'll create a seal that can withstand the heaviest of shakes. Now you won't have an excuse to panic eat all your chips in hopes of not letting them go stale.
Sealing chips just right can prove challenging. You shouldn't have to worry about your snacks going bad, even if you don't have a free chip clip. With a bit of ingenuity and even more practice, you can save as many bags as you can get your hands on and keep your food fresh, no matter the challenge. Just make sure to save room in your pantry!