Dear Joey: Please tell me how I can keep brown sugar from getting hard in the package very shortly after I buy it. I don’t use it very often, but when I do, it’s really hard, and they don’t sell it in small packages or quantities, so I need help to keep it soft and fresh. —Doreen L.
Brown sugar is one of those pantry items that starts out soft and friendly, then, the moment you turn your back, transforms into a geological formation suitable for use in highway construction.
Why does this happen? Brown sugar loses moisture and the molasses coating dries out.
This phenomenon can be especially annoying because recipes always say things like “add one packed cup of brown sugar,” as if your brown sugar has not become a single immovable brick that could be used by archaeologists to date your last attempt at oatmeal cookies.
Fortunately, the solution involves Wonder Bread, an idea that makes home economists nod and everyone else back slowly away from the pantry.
Place the hardened brown sugar in an airtight container. Add one slice of Wonder Bread. Seal the container shut and let it sit overnight on the kitchen counter. No chanting required.
The sugar draws moisture from the bread, which helps soften it again.
By morning, the brown sugar should be easier to use, while the bread will have become dry and stale, proving that Wonder Bread really is a modern-day wonder.
Once the sugar is soft again, keep it sealed tightly in an airtight container so it does not revert to its natural state as “kitchen asteroid.”
Also, do not eat the bread afterward unless you enjoy sandwiches made from toast with the texture of a cinder block.
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