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Scroll through food videos online and can’t miss it. The sound, that is. Crackles, snaps, and shattering pops fill every feed. From ASMR clips of fried chicken to TikTok recipes promising the crunchiest tacos, food has gotten louder.
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Texture, once an afterthought, has become a central topic of the food conversation, and crunchy is leading the charge. From ultra-crispy snacks to restaurant dishes that practically announce themselves when you bite in, crunch is redefining how we experience food.
What makes crunch so good
Psychologists and food scientists have studied why humans crave that snap that happens when teeth meet crispness. Oxford psychologist Charles Spence’s famous sonic chip experiment showed that the sound of a crunch can actually make food taste fresher and more enjoyable.
“It’s one of the few textures that, devoid of flavor, can still make you want to go back for another bite. And then another. And another,” Chef Joshua Weissman writes in his book Texture Over Taste.
Crunch also adds balance. In a dish where everything is soft or creamy, contrasting texture keeps you engaged. Think of mac and cheese with a golden breadcrumb crust. That textural interplay is what makes it memorable. As Weissman says, “Crunch is a great cheat code to make something instantly more interesting.”
Spence points out that crunchy foods also demand attention. “Mostly when we eat, we don’t really pay attention,” he says. “We’re on mobile devices, chatting or watching television.” But noisy foods pull us back into the moment. The crack of a crème brûlée’s caramelized top or the first bite of a crisp apple forces us to notice what we’re eating.
There’s even a psychological payoff. Psychiatrist Hugh Humphery notes that crunchy foods light up areas of the brain linked to pleasure and reward, enhancing mood and lowering stress.
Crunchy foods are everywhere
The rise of crunch is easy to see online, where TikTok creators chase the perfect crisp and ASMR microphones turn a bite into a full production. Think candied fruit like tanghulu, double-fried chicken, or tacos with edges that audibly shatter.
Restaurants are just as invested. Chefs are layering dishes with crispy shallots, panko, puffed grains, and fried rice noodles for contrast. Toppings like furikake or chili crisp add both texture and complexity without changing the heart of a dish.
The appeal crosses borders too. In China, Sichuan-style crispy beef delivers that ideal brittle chew. In Japan, karaage chicken is fried twice for a shell that crunches just right. And Korean fried chicken — double fried with a coating of potato starch — has become an international benchmark for texture.
Even packaged snacks are following suit. In 2022, Frito-Lay found 70 percent of consumers reach for something crunchy when they snack. “Considering every component of a snack, including the crunch factor, is very important to us,” said Denise Lefebvre, Frito-Lay’s senior vice president of R&D.
Getting crunchy in the kitchen
Crunch has driven a wave of kitchen innovation, too. Air fryers promise crispness without oil, and sales are projected to hit $2.2 billion by 2032.
According to Weissman, crunch is all about moisture loss. “Food becomes crunchy during cooking due to one simple reaction: rapid dehydration.” Different methods — deep frying, baking, air frying, dehydrating — all rely on removing water at different rates. The difference between the sharp snap of a potato chip and the airy crunch of chicharrones comes down to how heat and time interact with moisture.
Combination methods can give even better results. Boil, then roast. Steam, then fry. It’s what makes smashed potatoes so good — tender inside, crisp outside. Texture comes from technique.
Where crunch is going
Crunch isn’t just a fad. It’s becoming part of how we think about cooking. Chefs and food scientists are experimenting with ways to make crispy foods lighter and more sustainable, and food brands are testing plant-based and low-oil versions of current favorites that still deliver the right sound.
Food trends come and go, but crunch feels elemental. The snap of a baguette, the crackle of fried chicken, the crisp edge of a roasted potato — texture gives food a kind of energy. Crunch wakes us up to the act of eating, and that’s something we’re not likely to give up anytime soon.
