Does anyone know how to keep brown sugar soft, or how to resoften it once it gets hard?!
Also, how should I store brown sugar to keep it soft? Thanks in advance for any help!
Answers: I have both dark and light brown sugar. The dark is still unopened, and it's almost hard as a rock. The light has been opened but I made sure to keep it closed up tight after using it to keep it soft. I have no idea how to get that dark brown sugar softened (the last bag I had of it I even tried using my mixer to beat it soft but that didn't help). And am I doing the right thing with the light brown sugar to keep it soft? I try to buy bags of brown sugar that are soft while at the store, and don't know how that dark one got hard when it's not opened.
Also, how should I store brown sugar to keep it soft? Thanks in advance for any help!
Put a slice of bread into the package with it to soften the hardened sugar. Seal it up in a zip top bag to keep it soft.
If it gets hard, even as hard as a brick, give it a smack with a meat mallet and it will crumble.
put it in the microwave for a few seconds
When you first open it, the sugar is very soft. If you just store your sugar in the opened original bag, it will quickly dry out and become rock hard and useless. Thankfully, this is not permanent. The molasses in the sugar has just dried out, and needs to be re-hydrated.
I've tried many different tips for softening brown sugar, but this one works better than all the rest. It even works on an entire bag that is completely solid. All you do is put the brown sugar in an airtight container with a lid (you may have to break the sugar into pieces so it will fit). Cover the top with a layer of plastic wrap, then lay a wet paper towel over the top. Put on the lid. In a day or two, depending on the amount of brown sugar to be softened, the sugar will be as soft as sugar just purchased!
Moisture and heat are responsible for making it hard. Even tough you haven't opened the box, moisture can still seep in. I place mine in a gallon size zip lock , squeeze all the air out and keep it in the refrigerator
To soften hard brown sugar, place an open bag of sugar in the microwave with a cup of water next to it. Microwave on high (100%) for 2-3 minutes. If your microwave doesn't have a carousel, turn the bag after each minute. NOTE: This worked great, but isn't a permanent fix. Any unused sugar will dry up again. However, the process can be repeated each time you need sugar.
I no longer use brown sugars or white sugar, I switched to cane sugar for everything, because the clumping and hardening pissed me off. Though when I did use brown sugar, I kept it in a tupperware with a piece of white bread.
I softened my brown sugar in the microwave with a wet paper towel in a bowl, next to it - I'd nuke it 30 seconds at a time until it was soft.
don't microwave it because you're going to turn it into rock candy with heat.
Keep brown sugar soft placing a piece of bread in your container with brown sugar. Also, try using a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it up quickly.
My grandmother showed me this trick when I was in middle school. If you want to soften up some brown sugar, what you do is break a piece of brown sugar off and put it in a small plastic container. Take a paper towel and run it under the water. Make sure it's really wet. Then you shape it into a ball and put it in the container with the brown sugar and close it up. The moisture in the paper towel will evaporate and the brown sugar will absorb it making it soft. This will only take a day or two to do, depending on how hard the sugar is.
To STORE the sugar and keep it soft is simple. Every other week or so, just pound on it a few times. Don't let the sugar crystals stay in the same place and harden.
This really is the best way to keep your sugar soft. I've been doing it for years and it has yet to fail me...thanks to good ol' granny. =)
The ideas given before for softening brown sugar are all great and really do work. As far as keeping brown sugar soft, keep it in a zip-lock baggie in the refrigerator. Believe me, this definitely works. I have a bag in my fridge that I've had in there for about 4 months and it is still just as soft as when I bought it. So if you have just purchased a new bag or have softened an older bag of brown sugar, zip it up and put it in the fridge.
I'm saying this because I noticed only one person before mentioned keeping it in the refrigerator.
When you first use a package of brown sugar, close it very tightly and get all the air out, keep it closed with masking tape of two large rubber bands..Put in a freezer bag and pop in the freezer..When you want to use it just leave it out a little while and its good to go...I never have had a problem since I switched to this method.
My Mom always puts a slice of bread in the bag with her brown sugar.
I keep mine in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator and have not had a problem with it hardening.
Doc
put both the dark and light brown sugar in a plastic resealable bag and add a slice of bread to the bag and seal tightly and it will get loose in a matter of hours...