Dec 01 2006
10 Ways To Soften Hard Brown Sugar
It happens to the best of us: rock hard brown sugar. How to soften it? Ten easy tips below:
- Place the brown sugar in an airtight container with a slice of fresh bread placed on top. Seal and leave overnight. It should be soft and fresh again in the morning, if not just let it sit another day or two.
- Sprinkle a few drops of water over the chunk of hardened sugar, place in a plastic bag, seal, and let sit for a couple days.
- Place brown sugar in an open container, then top with a moistened cloth (paper towel works too). Let sit overnight.
- Place the hardened sugar in an airtight container with a few apple slices. This should soften the sugar within the next day or two. Remove apple slices once sugar is soft again.
- Use foil or plastic wrap to cover the top of the sugar. Then set a dampened sheet of paper towel (not dripping wet) on top of the foil. Place in an airtight container and seal. Let sit overnight or a few days as needed. Remove foil and paper towel once the towel is dry and sugar is fresh again.
- Buy a clay disc or if you have a pottery piece on hand (from a broken clay pot, etc.), set it in water for about 30 minutes. Dry the piece so it isn’t dripping wet. Put the clay piece in a container with the sugar and seal. Check after a few days. Keep the piece in with your sugar for months if you’d like–will keep it soft.
- Quick Tip #1: Need the sugar soft now? Put the brown sugar in a container and place in the microwave with a small bowl full of water beside it. Microwave for about 1 minute–check. If it’s still hard, try for another 30 seconds. You can keep doing this until the sugar is soft, but watch that you don’t melt the sugar.
- Quick Tip #2: Place the hardened sugar in a baking pan and set in oven (temperature at about 250° F). Check after 5 minutes. If still not soft, continue checking every few minutes until it’s soft and ready to use.
- Quick Tip #3: Place the brown sugar chunk in a microwave safe plastic bag. Take a square of paper towel and moisten with water (not dripping wet–wring out excess). Place the wet paper towel in the bag with the sugar and seal. Place in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds. If still not soft, microwave for a few seconds more, repeating until the sugar is ready to use. Be careful not to melt the sugar.
- Quick Tip #4: Stick chunks of the brown sugar in a food processor or blender and chop/pulse until useable.
For best results, make sure to store brown sugar in a sealed, airtight container. A clay disc kept in the container can keep it soft for months (see tip above for clay disc).
Brown sugar can also be stored in the freezer and thawed a few hours before using.
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Posted in Pantry, Popular Tips | 
( 11 )
01 Dec 2006 at 5:02 am
What a terrific blog! Enjoyed it:)
02 Dec 2006 at 4:22 am
Thank you Rebekah
:)
19 Jan 2007 at 4:55 pm
Isn’t it dangerous to microwave plastic wrap / ziploc-type bags? Otherwise, good tips!
19 Jan 2007 at 8:13 pm
Yes Dani, microwaveable ziploc bags, plastic bags and plastic wrap for the microwave are safe, here’s a link from the FDA: Plastics and the Microwave. Here’s a ziploc link too saying that bag is microwaveable: ziploc
I’ll add ‘microwaveable bag’ to the above direction to be prudent, I shouldn’t assume someone would only put microwaveable items in the microwave :).
30 Jan 2007 at 4:40 pm
If you’ll fold the top of the bag down and clip it closed with a clothespin for storage, brown sugar won’t get hard in the first place. Just fold the top as far down as you can, getting the air out of the bag and then clip it shut. It will remain soft and pliable for you.
08 Apr 2007 at 2:28 pm
What a lifesaver! I’m making candied yams and my brown sugar is a BRICK. Thanks! Going to nuke it soft right now!
03 Jul 2007 at 9:15 pm
THANKS for providing the solution-in-a-few-days and the right-now-solution… and several of each! I thought I was doomed to have to buy more but apparently the answer is as simple as my microwave!
Keep the tips coming
29 Oct 2007 at 8:37 am
I have used several of your way to soften brown sugar and they are great. I have a 10 bag of HARD white sugar, what is the best way to soften it? Thanks
16 Mar 2008 at 4:56 am
oh this is wonderful! I’ve had a very hard time dealing with my hard brown sugar. I will definitely be trying the bread thing with this:)
19 Mar 2008 at 11:30 am
When I buy a new box, I place the sugar in a plastic bag (no particular seal) and save a piece of the cardboard from the box, soak it in water, and put it in the bag with the sugar. Works if you don’t have a piece of pottery on hand. I’m in high desert climate–very dry–even wet bath towels dry in short time.
09 Apr 2008 at 9:54 pm
great tips thank you. However the microwave w/bowl of water technique took me about 5 minutes.