Years ago I wrote an short article about a technique I used to buy chips in bulk and keep them fresh for as long as you need, because those huge bags they sell at warehouse stores do save money – but not if they are thrown out (or not enjoyed, or have to be reheated/crisped in the oven) as the last 1/3 often went stale. It’s still one of my favorite kitchen hacks that I use monthly when we get our organic tortilla chips from Costco (to eat with our favorite salsa or pico de gallo, of course), so of course you know I’d want to share and make sure everyone who buys big bags of chips knows about this.
Instead of just reposting the article, though, Brian and I decided to start a mini series on our You Tube channel of some of the kitchen tips I use all the time, starting with our little bulk-chip-buying-tip. Obviously, it’s not that long – you can watch me share my silly little tip here:
This works with any chip, by the way, not just tortilla chips. We just don’t regularly buy other chips – organic tortilla chips make a great snack with salsa, lunch as nachos, and dinner as a base for haystack-type dinners. Even though we do like homemade tortilla chips, which don’t take a lot of time, it’s still nice to have this one convenience food around. And if they’re well-made, inexpensive, and there’s no waste involved I feel good about it!
I’m pretty sure lots of other people do this – and it works with other bulk foods, too – so tell me, have you ever done this? Or do you have any other kitchen tips you use and love?
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Lee Hernandez says
What fun to see you on a video for the first time! Great tip. I use it when I buy big packages of meat, like chicken breasts, to then make smaller packages for freezer storage.
Jami says
Thanks, Lee! I should’ve put the duck teapot on the stove just for you. 😉
I’ve always done that with meat, too, an in fact it’s what gave me the idea to try this with chips even though I wasn’t freezing them.
Dee says
Good idea. What brand ziplock bags do you think have the best seal? Not all keep a tight seal over time.
Jami says
I use Ziplock, mainly because I can get them for a good price at Costco and the package lasts for a year, so I don’t have to think about buying them, ha! They seem to hold okay, though the seal isn’t as tight as at first when we use them – it’s enough to keep the chips fresh, so I’m good with it. 🙂
Jackie says
This is a great idea, However I will probably choose to divide mine up AFTER opening bag to use in a meal or whatever the case may be. Might as well take advantage of the mfg packaging and expiration date as long as possible. Thanks for the video!
Jami says
Oh, I don’t open the bag until we’re planning to use some, Jackie, either. I just meant in the video that you needed to separate the bags as soon as you did open the bag – meaning don’t open it and then let it sit for days before dividing the chips up, cause they’ll already be a little stale. 🙂
Jen says
That’s great. My grandma taught me to do that with foods I’m freezing in ziplock bags.
Something I started doing since my husband got me a vacuum sealer in the last couple of years is saving pretzel bags and using those (they aren’t greasy so they don’t get rancid like other snack bags do). Then I divide up the tortilla chips like you did and vacuum seal them with my food saver.
Jami says
So you can use other bags with a vacuum sealer? I thought you could only use the bags manufactured for the machine! That is a good idea, Jen. 🙂
Jen says
Yes, my vacuum sealer mentioned in the instructions that you can reseal chip bags, so we were doing that after each use for a while. But that got old. 🙂 it can also be used on Mylar bags, which I found on Amazon. I plan to try using those to save some of my garden seeds in.
Jami says
I had no idea, Jen. That sounds like a good idea for the garden seeds, too!