Cooking Tips Here’s how to make your hardened brown sugar good as new. By Published Apr. 29, 2022 There’s nothing worse than setting out to make your favorite cookie recipe, opening your pantry, and being greeted by a big brick of rock-hard brown sugar. Panic sets in a little bit, but it doesn’t have to. You have a few options to fall back on to soften your brown sugar. Our favorite tips and recipes, enjoyed by 2 million+ subscribers! America's Test Kitchen will not sell, rent, or disclose your email address to third parties unless otherwise notified. Your email address is required to identify you for free access to content on the site. You will also receive free newsletters and notification of America's Test Kitchen specials. Brown sugar is white sugar that is flavored with molasses, hence its color.
When it is exposed to air, the moisture in the molasses evaporates. This causes the brown sugar to dry out and harden—and leaves you with a brick of brown sugar you don’t know what to do with. (Until now.) Luckily, you have a couple of different options to soften your brown sugar, depending on how much time you have and what equipment you have in your kitchen. This video shows some of our favorite ways to soften brown sugar and keep it soft. Read on for some of our other softening tips. 1. How to Soften Brown Sugar in the MicrowaveTo soften brown sugar in the microwave, simply place a slice of sandwich bread in a bowl with your hardened brown sugar, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. The brown sugar will absorb the moisture from the bread and soften up. 2. How to Soften Brown Sugar OvernightTo soften brown sugar overnight, place a slice of bread in a zipper-lock bag with the brown sugar and set it aside overnight until the sugar is soft again. Like the microwave method, the brown sugar will absorb the moisture from the bread to soften. 3. How to Soften Brown Sugar in Your OvenTo soften brown sugar in your oven, heat your oven to 250 degrees. Place your sugar in a pie plate and bake it in for five minutes. Let it cool then use it immediately. 4. How to Soften Brown Sugar with a Coffee GrinderIf you have a coffee grinder, this tool is perfect for quickly breaking up those hard clumps by placing up to ¼ cup of brown sugar into the grinder at a time. 5. How to Soften Brown Sugar with a GraterAnother quick method for this problem is to run the block of sugar along the holes of your grater to break down the sugar into a softened, usable state. 250+ Recipes The Perfect CookieThe definitive hardbound go-to resource for any cookie or bar you could imagine making, based on 25 years of experience in the pursuit of the perfect cookie recipes. How to Keep Your Brown Sugar SoftThe best way to avoid having to soften brown sugar is to prevent it from hardening at all. Here are the best ways to do it. 1. Store Your Brown Sugar in an Airtight ContainerThe key to keeping your brown sugar from hardening is eliminating as much air exposure as possible. The best way to do this is to transfer your brown sugar into an airtight container such as a large, heavy-duty zipper lock bag. This method also makes it easier to use your measuring cups and spoons when you need it. 2. Keep Your Brown Sugar Soft with Terra CottaIn addition to storing your brown sugar in an airtight container, a permanent solution to this problem is to store your brown sugar with a soaked piece of terra cotta. One option is to use a terra cotta brown sugar saver, such as a Brown Sugar Bear. Just soak it in water and then store it in the same container as your brown sugar. It's cute and affordable, and you’ll never have to worry about hard brown sugar again. You can also make your own version of a Brown Sugar Bear. If you have any broken terra cotta pots lying around, repurpose it to soften your brown sugar. Here's how to do it:
How do you store brown sugar so it doesn't get hard?How to prevent your brown sugar from hardening. Brown sugar should be stored in a cool, moist area in a rustproof container with a tight-fitting lid. Brown sugar can also be stored in any type of re-sealable, moisture-proof plastic bag.
What can you add to brown sugar to keep it soft?Just make sure the container is airtight. Next, put a marshmallow in the container. This will keep the brown sugar soft, owing to the moisture in the marshmallow. You can also use a slice of white bread, or a couple cut-up wedges of apple, both of which have enough moisture to do the job, too.
Will brown sugar stay soft in a container?Unlike other sugars, brown sugar hardens when exposed to air. This is because molasses loses moisture, making the sugar crystals stick to themselves. So, if it's kept in an unsealed bag or a non-airtight container, it'll likely become hard as a rock.
How do you store brown sugar for long term storage?Storage containers should be opaque, airtight, and moisture/ odor-proof. The typical retail paper package for crystal sugars is not suitable for long term storage. Polyethylene bags, Mylar-type bags, food-grade plastic buckets, glass canning jars, and #10 cans are all suitable for dry sugar storage.
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