Science Reveals the Scientific “Trick” Behind Perfectly Crunchy Potato Chips

Potato chips are one of the world's most beloved snacks, but their irresistibility isn't limited to their simple salty taste or crunchy texture: what makes this food so appealing is the result of a complex combination of chemical and sensory factors. Ever-deepening scientific studies are revealing the mechanisms that transform a simple fried tuber into a food we literally can't stop eating. The main reason we can't resist potato chips is the combination of fats, salts, and sugars, but there's more. The real secret lies in the sound: to break perfectly crispy chips, we need a force of 276 millibars, a level of pressure that produces the crunchy sound and which our brain associates with the goodness of a food.

Fats, Salts and Sugars: Pleasure Turns Into Addiction

The first factor contributing to the allure of French fries is the combination of fat, salt, and sugar present in them. A study conducted by Yale University's Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center demonstrated that the interaction between fat and salt powerfully stimulates the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.

This dopaminergic effect makes eating potato chips comparable, in some respects, to taking certain psychotropic substances. Once ingested, the compounds present in the chips trigger a signal that, starting in the mouth, passes through the nervous system and reaches the intestine, where an increase in the production of endocannabinoids occurs. These compounds, similar to cannabis alkaloids, further amplify the sense of pleasure, making it difficult to stop eating. Essentially, potato chips aren't just tasty: they're "designed" to be biologically irresistible, exploiting deep neurological mechanisms linked to reward.

Beyond taste and chemical effects, the sound of potato chips also plays a crucial role in their tastiness. This aspect was explored by researchers Massimiliano Zampini and Charles Spence, experts in multisensory perception, in a work that has received widespread recognition in the scientific community. According to their studies, the sound produced by food during chewing, called auditory crunchiness, is closely linked to the perception of pleasure. In the case of potato chips, the optimal sound, the one that most gratifies us, is achieved with a pressure of 276 millibars.

But what does this measurement mean in practice? The 276 millibars correspond to the force needed to crack a perfectly crispy potato chip. This level of pressure produces that classic "scronch" that our brain instinctively associates with the freshness and quality of food. The perfection of the sound is no accident: potato chip manufacturers work with advanced technologies to adjust the thickness, texture, and even the degree of frying of the chips to achieve the ideal pressure that triggers maximum sensory satisfaction. Zampini and Spence's work has shown that the sound of food can actually amplify the perceived taste. In experiments conducted with headphones, participants rated the chips as fresher and tastier when the crunching sound was amplified. This multisensory mechanism is one of the reasons why, once you open a bag of chips, it's hard to resist.

But how do companies exploit this scientific research? Food engineering applied to the product is constantly pushed to the highest levels by multinational snack companies, which use sophisticated machinery to control the thickness of the chips, usually between 1.2 and 2 millimeters, to ensure the right crunchiness; frying at around 355°F/180°C; and uniform distribution of salt and flavorings, which enhances the flavor uniformly across each piece.