Brown sugar hardened into a brick? Here’s how to soften it up again

“Brown sugar is used to make baked goods taste better, adding a boost of flavor as well as textural complexity to meats, vegetables, and other savory dishes. But one challenge of using brown sugar is the ingredient’s tendency to clump or harden in the box before you’re able to use it. Restoring moisture to hardened brown sugar is the easy solution to this common cooking challenge, says Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association.

“Brown sugar hardens because the molasses that gives it its brown color and rich flavor loses its moisture. Hard brown sugar needs more than to simply be broken up — it needs to have moisture added back into it,” says Gaine.

There are a few easy ways to restore moisture to brown sugar. You can use a microwave, an oven, or a piece of terracotta, along with water, to transfer or restore moisture to hardened brown sugar. Alternatively, you can use piece of bread or apple to soften brown sugar overnight. The method you choose will be based on the amount of time you have, as well as the materials and appliances you have available to you.

“To prevent brown sugar from getting hard in the first place, store it properly in an airtight container,” says Gaine. To further improve this method — which Gaine says is her favorite — is to add a piece of damp terra cotta inside the container.”

Read the full article at: https://www.insider.com/how-to-soften-brown-sugar