A box or more of crackers makes for a delicious snack. Whenever you need something to chew on while watching a movie or just relaxing, crackers are a great option. There are different brands of crackers made with their own unique tastes and flavors.
If your favorite box of crackers is on sale at the store, you may be tempted to purchase a lot of it – besides it’s always good to have sufficient snacks in storage at home.
However, when you have a supply of crackers at home, there’s one particular thing that you wouldn’t want happening to them. Crackers are made to have a crunchy texture that’s delightful when bitten into. When the cracker becomes stale it loses that crunchy texture and becomes soft instead. I don’t believe that anyone loves stale crackers. So, how do you prevent this annoying occurrence?
Can you freeze crackers? No, you can’t freeze crackers. Although freezing has worked excellently for the preservation of several other food items, it just wouldn’t work for crackers. When crackers are subjected to freezer conditions, they end up becoming wet and mushy – their crunchy texture will be ultimately lost.
Instead of freezing your crackers, you should make use of a clean airtight container to preserve them. The container should have a good lead that seals off tightly and it should be kept in a cool, dry, and shaded area.
If you’re wondering why freezing can’t work for crackers, this article contains relevant details on the topic. It also contains alternative and effective methods for preserving your crackers.
Why Freezing Doesn’t Work for Crackers
Now that you know freezing won’t properly preserve crackers, you may be wondering why. The salt content found in crackers is one of the major reasons it can’t be frozen. Salt naturally absorbs high amounts of moisture; hence its tendency to turn the cracker soft and mushy when exposed to freezer conditions.
In addition to the cracker’s salt content, crackers are structured in a way that just doesn’t support freezing. Crackers are made in such a way that they have many air pockets within them. These air pockets facilitate the rapid staleness and sogginess of the crackers anytime they’re exposed to air for prolonged periods of time.
Lastly, the cold freezer air will easily cause freezer burn if it comes in direct contact with the crackers. All these factors come together to make the successful freezing of crackers a difficult process.
Regardless of these factors and the difficulties of freezing crackers, you can actually still try freezing crackers. However, the end result wouldn’t be of good quality – the crackers would be edible, but not so enjoyable.
How to Freeze Crackers
For anyone who wants to freeze their crackers regardless of the possible outcome, here’s what to do:
- Grab some saran wrap to securely wrap the crackers in.
- Wrap the crackers in a single or double layer of the saran wrap
- Transfer the wrapped crackers into a resealable freezer-safe bag and remove as much air as possible from it
- Use some aluminum foil to wrap the entire packaging do far and stick a label with the present date and other details on it; the other details should include best before date and the brand/type of crackers.
- Transfer the foil-wrapped package into a freezer-safe container and seal it off before placing in the freezer.
Better Alternatives to Freezing Crackers
Since we have established that freezing isn’t a great way to preserve crackers, we must provide you with reliable methods for preserving your crackers. Some of these methods include:
Preserving in the Original Packaging
You’ve probably noticed that there’s a great similarity in how various cracker brands are originally packed. The reason for this constant packaging technique is that it has been proven to actually preserve the taste and texture of crackers for a significant amount of time.
Original cracker packaging includes an airtight plastic layer that shields the crunchy crackers from air, wetness, and bacteria. This plastic layer also prevents other external odors from compromising the original properties of the crackers. The rest of the cracker’s original packaging protects its delicate structure from being crushed.
Although original cracker packages preserve the crackers, they cannot protect the crackers from pests. Household pests like cockroaches, beetles, rodents, weevils, and more can get into the packaging and do some damage.
Preserving in a Zip-Lock Bag
In a situation where you’ve opened the original packaging of the crackers, you’ll need an alternative way to keep them preserved. The crackers will become soft if you leave them inside the opened pack. Grab a zip-lock bag that’s large enough to hold all the crackers and start transferring them inside.
Once sealed, the zip-lock bag will keep the crackers from becoming soft and losing their crisp texture. Instead of putting all the crackers in one bag, you can split them into a few different bags that will hold portions of crackers that can be finished at once.
One disadvantage of using zip-lock bags is that they don’t provide the sort of protection from crushing that the original packaging does. Carelessly positioning the bag of crackers will lead to them being crushed – you can place the zip-lock bag of crackers in a container for better protection.
Preserving in an Air-Tight Container
Apart from zip-lock bags and original packaging, air-tight containers are also an excellent option for storing crackers. Simply transfer the amount of crackers you want into the air-tight container and seal it off properly.
Other Things to Consider when Storing Crackers
If you read the instructions on the back of your cracker’s box, you may have come across the part that says crackers should be stored in a cool dry place. This instruction is actually relevant to the successful preservation of the cracker’s taste and texture.
Now, you may be wondering; which locations meet these requirements? The answers are kitchen pantry, cupboard, or any other container and compartment that are shielded from direct sunlight.
Exposure to sunlight causes moisture to form and wreck the original crisp nature of crackers.