The genius hack for making crispy chips at home – by soaking potatoes in a bowl of water

THERE'S nothing quite like the crispy chips you can get down your local chippy.

But experts insist you can achieve the same delicious result at home - and all you need is a bowl of water.

To start with, you need to make sure you have the right ingredients to hand - potatoes, vegetable oil for frying, and salt to season.

According to , you should choose starchy and golden potatoes.

This is because white or pale potatoes can dry out faster when they are cooked, before being peeled and cut into chips.

A surprising tip to maximise their crispiness is to wash and soak the potatoes in a bowl of water.

Once this is done you can slice them into shape, and place them in a pan filled with one litre of oil on a medium-high heat.

Stir every few minutes for the first 20 minutes as you see them start to float to the top of the oil.

When they all begin to float and turn golden brown, you can use a wire-mesh skimmer to remove them and place them in a bowl or plate lined with paper to mop up excess oil.

To stay safe, cook them in a heavy pan which won't tip over, and the chips should only half fill the pot - or you'll need a bigger one.

We previously told you that for the perfect chips you need to cut them two centimetres thick.

You can also then add to their crispiness by putting them in a pan and bringing to the boil over a high temperature, before reducing to a simmer and cooking until tender.

Then you need to drain them before leaving them in the fridge for two hours until they are cold and dry.

Next, cook them like usual in vegetable oil in a saucepan - but do this at 130C for five minutes.

Once again, place them back in the fridge and leave them for another two hours until they are cold again.

To finish off, heat the vegetable oil again, this time at 180C, and then add the chips for eight minutes until they are golden.

In other food news, we told you how people are sickened by horrific "diet cheesecake" made from cornflakes and Dairylea.

We also revealed how a savvy mum saved £100 a month by batch cooking with cut-price meat and veg.

And mum makes KFC-themed cake for her son including chips and burger.