We’re all passionate consumers of fried foods, whether we’d like to admit it or not. Donuts, fried chicken, churros, french fries, whatever the delicacy is, they’re the best when they’re fresh out of the fryer.

But sometimes, you’re left with a bunch of soggy leftovers, remnants of your crispy dinner the previous night, and other times, the takeaway dish turns into a sad mess in just 5 minutes, which isn’t very appetizing. In some cases, even when just a couple of minutes out of the fryer, fried foods can lose the crunch and transform into a disaster if not stored properly.

Fortunately, there are some neat tips and tricks that we’ve learned to keep that satisfying crunch alive a bit longer, so keep reading to find out the best ways to keep that crunch crunching.

Why Fried Food Gets Soggy in the First Place

When fried food is taken out of your home fryer, most of it is full of steam. The food is piping hot, moist on the inside, and crispy on the outside. That excess moisture inside will evaporate in the form of steam and turn into the water if there’s nowhere else to escape. In other words, if you pack it in an airtight container, as many of us do when we’re in a rush.

The key to keeping fried foods crispy after removing them from the fryer is finding a way to ventilate that excess steam. If the fried food isn’t properly ventilated, the steam will cause all that crispy goodness to become soggy and unappetizing.

In plain terms, water and heat are the main enemies of crispy foods. The best way to keep the crunch crunching is to cool the food down while not allowing the steam to turn into water on top of the crispy layer and ruin it.

Learn From the Crispy Food Masters

Before you’ve cooked your own fried food, you must have visited some well-known crispy food restaurants for a dine-in or a takeaway meal. Well, the emphasis is on the takeaway meal. During our research, we visited crispy fried food specialists like KFC and Popeyes and looked at their delivery methods.

KFC delivers their meals in cardboard buckets with holes on top to let out the steam coming from their famed Kentucky fried chicken, while Popeyes uses cardboard boxes with big holes on every side. These packaging methods make good use of two important factors – ventilation and absorption.

Ventilation

When fried food leaves the fryer, it releases moisture in the form of steam, so it’s very important to make sure there’s space for it to escape and not condense and turn into water.

So, let’s say you’re making tomorrow’s dinner and frying something tasty. The best way to prevent your fresh-out-of-the-fryer crispy food from getting soggy is to place it on a cooling wire rack until it has cooled off instead of sealing it in a container while it’s still hot.

If you absolutely have to pack it while steaming hot, it’s best to use a container with holes. The smell of fried food might fill your car or your fridge with its unmistakable aroma and make you salivate, but it will be worth it when you finally taste the goodness.

Absorption

Absorption plays a key role as well when it comes to perfect crispness. When you remove your food from the fryer, it’s best to lay it on top of some paper towels or even a kitchen cloth. If you want to take your food on the go, you can place paper towels on the bottom of your ventilation container.

Why is this recommended? Well, since the moisture from the hot food will condense on the sides of your container, you need something to absorb the unwanted moisture and prevent it from making the edge of your crisp soggy, and a paper towel does just that. Remember, better to have a soggy paper towel than soggy fried food.

How to Actually Keep Fried Food From Getting Soggy

Now that you’ve learned what the fried food giants do to keep the crisp crisping, let’s see some other methods for preventing your next meal from getting soggy.

Cooling Mechanics

Fried food doesn’t get soggy when it’s reasonably cooled down before it’s stored in any container. If you need to take crispy fried food on the go, the best way is to let it cool on a rack for at least half an hour before putting it in a container. The cooling mechanics will not allow steam to form on the crispy bits, and you can always reheat crispy food when you’ve reached your destination.

Heated Containers

One way to keep crispy food fresh at home can be by placing it on a wire rack and keeping it in the oven on low heat. When you’re on the go, though, this effect can be emulated in your container by placing a pizza stone or some other passive heating item. The pizza stone combined with a well-ventilated container lined with paper towels or cloths will ensure that your fried food will stay warm and crispy wherever you take it, like your office, for example.

Just imagine how stunned your coworkers would be when you whip out a piece of fresh, hot, and crispy chicken for lunch despite the long trip from home. Well, it’s a secret only you know!

Preventing Soggy Takeout Food

Many places that serve fried takeout food will most likely pack it in a styrofoam container. The styrofoam container is great for keeping food warm, but it makes it soggy in just a couple of minutes. If you’re planning to order takeaway, it’s best to invest in  vented Tupperware container. It’s not the most practical solution, but it’s perfect for preserving the crispiness.

With that being said, vacuum-sealed containers should have no business with hot crispy food. Remember our trick with the paper towels on the bottom? Exactly! It’s to ensure that the crispness stays intact, so make sure to do this. Tupperware containers are also a great choice as they don’t pollute the environment like single-use styrofoam containers that soggy up your food.

Wrapping Crispy Food

If you’ve prepared different fried foods like french fries, onion rings, and a couple of churros for the sweet tooth but only have one container, then you have no choice but to wrap them up separately. Wrapping food is a great way to separate fragrances and flavors, but the most common mistake you can make is to wrap your food too tightly.

There is a common misconception that wrapping food tightly will keep it warm and fresh, and while it’s true to some extent, it doesn’t apply to crispness. If you want to retain that crispy edge and moist center, you must wrap your food very lightly. Tight wraps only seal the moisture inside the food, and after a few minutes, you’ll end up with multiple soggy dishes. Wrap the food lightly, and make sure you use a vented container. Cooling your fried food for a couple of minutes before wrapping will also help you retain a crispy bite

Following that, most people make mistakes when choosing the wrong wrapping material. Plastic or aluminum-based wrappers can create moisture that will soggy up your crispy food in no time. They are great for retaining heat but not so good at retaining a crisp. As we mentioned before, crispy food can be reheated but not de-soggyfied, so if you want your crisp to last, you should only wrap crispy foods in paper wrappers.

The Way to Keep Fried Food Crispy

Like it or not, the best way to enjoy your fried foods is to eat them fresh out of the fryer while they’re still crispy. Fresh crispy food is a delight to eat while it’s sizzling, but sometimes we don’t have the luxury of time, and we have to take our food on the go or store the leftovers for the following day.

Storing is crucial for keeping the crisp from becoming a soggy mess, so remember to store your food in ventilated containers lined with paper towels or kitchen cloths to keep the moisture away from the crispy bits.

Whatever you decide to do, keep in mind that crispy food can be reheated, but there is no way to get that crisp back if it becomes soggy. If you keep to our guide on perfectly retaining a crispy bite when transporting or storing crispy food, then you’ll bite into a satisfying crispy piece of food.

what kind of a container is this?

Plastic container with vents to let the steam out.

If you find yourself on a vacation in Italy, it’s not very likely that you’ll find the term ‘Italian sausage’ on the restaurant menu. You may simply see a ‘salsiccia’ on the menu, although, there are many different types on Italian menus. However, if you’re looking for a place to eat a delicious sausage somewhere in the cities of North America, you may find yourself intrigued by a special type of pork sausage, commonly referred to as ‘the Italian sausage’.

This type of sausage is also known as ‘Sweet Italian Sausage’, ‘Mild Italian Sausage’, but also ‘Hot Italian Sausage. The terms ‘sweet’ and ‘mild’ you may use interchangeably, as they usually refer to the same type of Italian sausage.

In most cases, we are talking about a pork sausage made with anis, fennel seeds, and in the case of hot sausage, some hot spice is expected as well (e.g. minced hot peppers), according to preference.

If you’re an Italian food lover, you must have run into this type of sausage when ordering pasta, pizza, and many other meat-containing Italian dishes.

Also, if you have a recipe that requires a hot Italian sausage, but you have only found the mild/sweet one, all you need to do is add some crushed pepper, chili, or minced hot paprikas, and you’re good to go.

If you find yourself in Italy, and there is a ‘sasiccia fresca’ or ‘fresh sausage’ offered in the restaurant or supermarket, and if its primary seasoning is with fennel, you can rest assured that you are dealing with Italian sausage.

History of the Italian Sausage

This may be a bit unexpected, but the evidence of the Italian sausage as we know it today dates back all the way to the 1st century before Christ.

The recipe and the dish were first described by the Roman historian Marco Terenzio Varrone. Thanks to him two thousand years later, we are still able to enjoy this delicious meal. And the best part is that today it’s not only available and known in Italy and countries that previously belonged to the Roman Empire, but everywhere in the world.

In his writings, Varrone called this delicates dish ‘lucanica’. It is possible that the sausage was previously called also ‘luganega’. Lucanica is how the Roman soldiers who were the first ones to learn how to prepare it, used to call it. Lucanica was a dish made of minced meat that was packed into a case and well seasoned. According to Martial and Cicero, the sausage was named by the region of its origin – the Italian Lucania.

In the US, thanks to the rich cultural mix in most parts of the country, along with the people migrating from Italy, came also the famous Italian sausage… and since it’s so good, it stuck around for quite some time.

Now, let’s dive a bit deeper into the topic: what is this sausage made of exactly, and is it possible for you to make it at home?

What Is Italian Sausage Made Of?

Making an Italian sausage at home is possible, as it doesn’t require any kind of special machinery. Of course, everything is much easier to make with industrial machines, however, it’s also less tasty, and you have no control over the ratio of ingredients as you have when you’re preparing your food at home.

However, stuffing sausages at home can be quite demanding, so many people prefer to avoid going through all the trouble, and simply purchase them at the local shop. On the other hand, if you are buying bulk sausage from your local butcher or you plan to use crumbled meat from a casing to prepare a dish, you can simply buy ground pork too and season it with your own seasoning.

The original Italian sausage usually contains:

• Fennel (but also ground fennel seeds);
• Parsley;
• Onion;
• Basil;
• Crushed red pepper;
• Garlic;
• Oregano;
• Sweet paprika;
• Salt;
• Black pepper;
• Dried thyme;
• Anis;
• Red wine vinegar.

A good thing about the Italian sausage is that you don’t have to use all the ingredients if you don’t like something. Even if you lose an ingredient or replace some of them, it will likely preserve its original taste.

If you don’t want to bother with buying each of these ingredients individually, you can for sure find an ‘Italian seasoning blend’ in your supermarket, buy a few bags of those, and take a shortcut.

Also, if you don’t consume pork meat, you can still prepare the Italian sausage using others types of meat, such as chicken, or cow. The secret is in the seasoning and the spices, so although the type of meat does change the taste of the dish, it’s not crucial for it to be pork.300

For achieving the best results with your Italian sausage, we strongly recommend purchasing the ingredients from the local fresh market.

For example, it’s really important that you find some fresh fennel, as this celery-like vegetable from the carrot family can taste really bad otherwise. The same goes for sweet paprikas, as these are the richest with flavor if they are organically grown and fresh.

When it comes to parsley, it’s always nicer to use fresh leaves, however, if you can’t find any, dried leaves will do the trick too. For those of you who are sensitive or dislike the strong taste of garlic, you can either put less fresh garlic or use the dried ones. Red wine vinegar is optional.

The process of preparing is something that not everybody likes to do. You basically need to knead the pork meat with red wine vinegar and the spices, until it’s evenly distributed through the sausage.

You can add the spices according to your preferences, and simply use more of what you like to taste.

After you’re done with the kneading, you should split the sausage into three pieces, and wrap them in plastic foil. Then, you can either freeze them or store them in the fridge before use.

Another option is to smoke the sausages. To do this, you need to separate the meat pieces to make sure that the air will circulate between them. This is why you can often see meat hanging from a rack when being dried. If you don’t have the conditions for this way of drying, you can also put them on a grill and smoke them for a couple of hours at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and then slowly increase the heating. The final internal temperature of the sausage should be around 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

How Can I Use the Italian Sausage?

The Italian sausage is actually surprisingly versatile when it comes to different ways you can combine it in your home cuisine.

One way to use it is to add it to a soup, along with other vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, celery, or anything else you like to put in a soup. The sausage should give a very nice aroma to the soup, and thanks to it being well-seasoned, you don’t have to bother too much with the spices.

Another way to use it is to put it on a pizza and mix it with other common pizza ingredients that you like.

Of course, you can also frill the sausage, and eat it with a fresh bun, pita bread, or in a tortilla, combined with some fresh vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, fresh onions, and sauces of your choice.

Other options are to simply mix the sausage meat with eggs, mix it with pasta, or simply eat it fried. It mixes well with all kinds of red sauces and stews as well.

Conclusion

Italian sausage is one of the go-to dishes when you’re not sure what to make and you don’t want to put in too much effort, while still getting an excellent and tasty meal as a result.

The long history and tradition of this simple dish make it an interesting option when you’re having guests, as there’s also a story to tell about the (at least) two thousand years old sausage recipe.

The main benefits of the Italian sausage are that it’s very straightforward to prepare, the ingredients are usually available regardless of where you live, and it tastes amazing – there’s hardly anyone who wouldn’t enjoy it.

The dish is very well mixed with all kinds of foods: leftovers of cooked vegetables, soups, fresh salads, cream salads, stews, but it also combines well with a simple bun.

Although it’s not recommended to eat such heavy food for breakfast, from time to time it is quite delicious to combine it with your morning scrambled eggs and season with some rocket and cherry tomatoes.