To a food lover, there is little more devastating than biting into a soft slice of watermelon, a soggy nacho or a limp scallion pancake. But, according to scientists, our love of crunchy food may be innate and independent of culture.
You know that loud cracking sound we hear when we bite into an apple? That signals to our brains that it has not begun to decompose and that it still has nutrients.
“I believe it has its roots in our evolutionary history,” said Megan Povey, a professor of food physics at the University of Leeds. “Crunchy foods were received as being fresh because the cells were still intact.”
But our perception of freshness isn’t limited to healthy fruits and veggies. In a 2004 study funded by Unilever, participants were asked to eat Pringles in a soundproof booth. When they heard a louder or higher frequency crunch sound as they were eating, they rated those chips as “fresher.” The participants did not know that researchers altered the sounds they heard, making them louder or softer.
Charles Spence, one of the study’s authors and the head of a research laboratory at the University of Oxford that explores sensory interactions, said our obsession with crunchy food is undeniable but still a mystery. (See: crunchmaxxing.) But he also offered the theory that noisy foods may simply be better at keeping our attention on the flavors in our mouth.
“We are aware of them for longer than if we are eating something silent,” he said.
In short, science can’t explain why these recipes taste — and sound — so good. But does it matter? You’ll enjoy them anyway. So get loud.
Credit…Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Ready in 10 minutes
Have you ever added too much cheese while making a quesadilla? This Melissa Clark recipe shows you how to harness its power to produce intentional crispiness. Use a nonstick pan over medium heat.
Recipe: Crispy-Edged Quesadilla
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Ready in 10 minutes
Crunchy-edged twice-fried green plantains are simple and fun to make with Kiera Wright-Ruiz’s recipe. First you’ll fry peeled and sliced plantain rounds for about a minute on each side. Flatten the fried slices on a cutting board, then fry them again.
Recipe: Tostones
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Ready in 20 minutes
In this popular dinner recipe, Eric Kim toasts cooked rice in rendered salmon fat until crispy. You’ll flatten the rice into a pancake at the bottom of a pan, keep the heat at medium and let it cook undisturbed for at least five minutes, then flip and cook a little longer for more crunch.
Recipe: Gochugaru Salmon With Crispy Rice
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Ready in 20 minutes
This Hetty Lui McKinnon recipe is a must-cook when corn season hits. And it’s great for a summer party because you make so much of it ahead of time. Mix the corn, black beans, cilantro and vinaigrette up to four hours ahead, then add the corn chips and avocado when it’s time to eat.
Recipe: Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad With Corn Chips
Credit…Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Ready in 20 minutes
Remember, in the early 2010s, when we all acted like we’d just discovered kale? Gwyneth Paltrow made kale chips with Ellen DeGeneres on live TV, a cookbook called “50 Shades of Kale” was published and Beyoncé wore a sweatshirt with “KALE” emblazoned across the front. And here we are, many years later, still making kale chips. This version, from Melissa Clark, is spicy and tangy with lime and chile.
Recipe: Crisp Kale Chips With Chile and Lime
6. Crunchy Ramen Broccoli Slaw
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Ready in 20 minutes
This recipe comes from J-Jaye Shackelford Hurley, who has made it for University of Mississippi tailgating parties since she was a freshman in 1992. It’s a welcome addition to a table full of heavy hitters like pulled pork, Rotel dip and deviled eggs. And it keeps for hours, so it’s perfect for an all-day hang.
Recipe: Crunchy Ramen Broccoli Slaw
Credit…Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Ready in 35 minutes
“Using wavy, thin-cut bacon in a BLT is kind of like putting potato chips in your sandwich,” says Ali Slagle about her recipe. Her strategy is to cook the bacon in the oven, then layer the slices in an irregular pattern to add ultimate texture contrast.
Recipe: Extra-Crispy BLT
Credit…Nico Schinco for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Ready in 35 minutes
Here, Ali Slagle has reimagined spicy tuna crispy rice, the popular sushi restaurant dish, as an affordable, simple dinner you can make with canned tuna. If you have a rice cooker, do as one reader does: “I made the rice in the rice cooker (with slightly less water than called for) and then transferred it to a skillet to crisp it up. Worked just fine.”
Recipe: Spicy Tuna Salad With Crispy Rice
Credit…Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Ready in 35 minutes
It feels remarkably sneaky and smart to turn three packets of instant ramen noodles into a nourishing vegetarian dinner, and Hetty Lui McKinnon does just that. The noodles become extremely crispy thanks to a sheet pan and a hot oven. Throw in hoisin-marinated tofu and a quick-cooking vegetable, and you’re in business.
Recipe: Crispy Sheet-Pan Noodles With Glazed Tofu
Credit…Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Ready in 30 minutes
Inspired by the Indian snack paapdi or papri chaat, this take on nachos from Priya Krishna delivers brightness and complexity with its crunch. It starts with tortilla chips, beans, layers of cheese, cilantro chutney and tamarind sauce. Then comes the chhonk, a fragrant sauce of melted ghee, cumin seeds and red chile powder that is drizzled over the top for even more flavor.
Recipe: Indian-ish Nachos With Cheddar, Black Beans, and Chutney
Credit…Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Ready in 45 minutes
Anyone who lives the crunch lifestyle recognizes Taco Bell’s Frisbee-shaped Crunchwrap Supreme as an icon. But Alexa Weibel’s at-home version has a more generous ratio of filling to tortilla, and cheaply and happily feeds a crowd.
Recipe: Crunchy Queso Wrap
Credit…Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Ready in 1 hour
There are many ways to make fatteh, a layered dish of crispy pita, toppings and yogurt-tahini sauce beloved across the Levant. This version was adapted from Sawsan Daana, the Palestinian chef of Matbakhi, a restaurant in Kuwait City. It makes an impressive centerpiece, with or without the meat.
Recipe: Chickpea Fatteh (Crispy Pita, Chickpeas and Yogurt)
Credit…Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Ready in 45 minutes
In my experience, a Frito pie happens when you open a bag of Frito chips, dump in chili, cheese and toppings, and eat it with a plastic fork. It has roots in both Texas and New Mexico and is called “walking taco” because you find it at fairs, flea markets and sporting events. This version from Kia Damon is possibly even better because it feeds a crowd and has extra Fritos scattered on top.
Recipe: Frito Pie
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Ready in 50 minutes
The phrase “crispy potato tacos” sparks joy and anticipation wherever it appears. Jocelyn Ramirez’s recipe delivers the perfect balance of creaminess and crunch. To save time, boil the potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to a week until ready to use.
Recipe: Tacos Dorados
Credit…Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen.
Ready in 1 hour
For the crispiest roasted potatoes, Kenji López-Alt has a few foolproof tips: 1. Boil potato chunks in a combination of water and baking soda to release their starch. 2. Toss the potatoes with Parmesan and butter to form a slurry that’ll coat the potatoes. Then, 3. Roast at a high heat to transform that slurry into a crispy, crackly shell.
Recipe: Extra-Crispy Parmesan-Crusted Roasted Potatoes
Credit…Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Ready in 45 minutes
For an irresistible vegan version of chicken nuggets, try this recipe adapted from “Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Vibes” by Jenné Claiborne. Home cooks love them: “I haven’t had a chicken nugget in over twenty years so I can’t speak to the replica aspect of this recipe but I will say this: It’s good,” one reader wrote.
Recipe: Crispy Tofu Nuggets
Credit…Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Ready in 1 hour 45 minutes
“The sandwich will crunch, audibly, as you smash it together, and again between your teeth as you eat it,” wrote Alexa Weibel about this recipe that she adapted from Sam Yoo, the owner and chef of Golden Diner in New York.
Recipe: Golden Diner’s Tuna Melt
Credit…Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Ready in 2 hours
Yangnyeom dak, or Korean fried chicken, is known for its crunch. Readers absolutely love this five-star recipe from Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, which was adapted by Julia Moskin. “The sauce on its own is a simple revelation,” wrote one.
Recipe: Korean Fried Chicken
Credit…Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Ready in 2 hours
This crisp, cheesy snack, which Kevin Pang first had during a trip to Recco, Italy, is often described as an Italian quesadilla, but it’s so much more than that. The creaminess of the tangy cheese and delicacy of the crisp dough inspired the Italian food authority Fred Plotkin to call it, “probably the most addictive food on the planet.” You’ll likely agree.
Recipe: Focaccia col Formaggio (Ligurian Crisp Cheese Flatbread)
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