To avoid clumping in the first place, store your brown sugar in an airtight container. If the brown sugar isn't exposed to air, it won't lose moisture and harden.
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.
The most obvious way to prevent brown sugar from getting hard is by storing it in an air-tight container. You want the container to be on the smaller side, so there's not too much air trapped inside the container, but the shape doesn't really matter—as long as it doesn't allow any air to pass through.
Always store granulated sugar in an airtight container. Store powdered sugar in a cool, dry location (not the refrigerator). When it gets moist, it develops lumps.
To keep air out, simply store your Brown Sugar in any airtight container. Your best options are glass or reusable plastic containers with locking and sealing lids. If you don't have a container large enough, a sealable, freezer-safe bag will do.
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. Glass canning jars and #10 cans work best for liquid syrups and honey.
But the basic explanation is the sugar gets dehydrated, haha. So to prevent that from happening always store your brown sugar in an air-tight container like Tupperware or one thing I started doing is storing mine in its original bag and then in an airtight silicone bag. Mason jars are also a good choice.
Why Does Brown Sugar Harden? Brown sugar gets its delicious rich flavor from molasses. Molasses is moist, so as it evaporates and dries out, the sugar crystals start to cluster and stick together. Eventually, this will result in hard, rock-like clumps or even your entire bag of brown sugar turning into a brick.
Freezer. Storing your brown sugar in a sealed bag in the freezer can help lock in moisture, some cooks say. Just be sure to let it come to room temperature at least 15 minutes before you plan to use it.
Sugars are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Granulated sugar may form lumps, but they are easy to break up with a whisk or fork. Brown sugar is especially prone to hardening, in which case you'll have to soften it before measuring and using in a recipe.
Packing brown sugar is a crucial component in making a consistent baking measurement. Packing brown sugar presses out all of those small pockets of air that get trapped between the sticky sugar granules, and in-turn will ensure that your sweet treat comes out as just that—sweet!
To 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.
Wrap your hardened brown sugar in aluminum foil, and place it in a 250°F oven. I recommend placing the wrapped brown sugar on a baking sheet just in case there are any spills. Carefully check the brown sugar for softness every 5 minutes (It is hot, you know!) until adequately softened.
Essentially, brown sugar hardens when moisture evaporates due to aging or improper storage. But hardened sugar is still safe to eat and use, you just have to soften it back up to a usable texture. If your recipe has the sugar dissolving or melting into a liquid, you can actually use the hardened stuff without issue.
Question: When a recipe calls for brown sugar, is it always packed into the measuring cup or spoon? Answer: Yes, brown sugar should be packed into measuring cups and spoons with your fingers until even with the rim.
Marshmallows soften brown sugar in the same way that bread does, by giving the sugar a source of moisture that erodes the sugar clumps. Place one or two marshmallows in your airtight container and wait for the moisture of the marshmallows to be absorbed by the sugar crystals.
Similar to other types of sugar, brown sugar can last indefinitely as long as it's not exposed to air and moisture, and bugs are kept away. Some manufacturers include a two-year best-before date after opening. Brown sugar won't go rancid after two years, but there will be a slight change in its taste and texture.
Sifting brown sugar: When brown sugar is called for in a recipe, sift it before mixing it into a recipe. Even if the sugar is soft, it may still have small hard lumps, which can be hard to pick out of a batter or dough. Sifting beforehand takes care of any clumps before they become a problem.
If you see lumps in your sugar, that doesn't mean the sugar has gone bad. It just means that it's been exposed to a bit of moisture. All you have to do to use that sugar is break up the lumps, and take out a scoop, and never worry about sugar spoiling again.
A good choice for long-term storage is a glass canning jar used with a FoodSaver vacuum sealer and jar sealing accessory. Even in a supposed airtight container, unless all of the air has been vacuumed out and sealed, there is enough moisture loss for brown sugar to harden.
Brown sugar dries out when exposed to air for too long. The moisture provided by its molasses content evaporates—the result of plastic bags that aren't fully sealed and cardboard boxes left cracked open at the corners—transforming the malleable mix into a sweet, unusable brick.
A plastic storage container with a tight lid is ideal, but a large Ziploc bag is totally fine, too. The impermeable container will keep out pests as well as moisture. Most people find it easiest to keep flour in the pantry. Avoid warm, sunny spots.
What can be stored in Ceramic Jars? Ceramic is one of the most durable & food-safe materials out there in the market. They are perfect to store all most every food item. Be it nuts, coffee, sugar, tea leaves, spices, achaars or even chutneys.