Rock Hard Brown Sugar

DIna00

DIna00

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Yesterday I baked bran muffins and the brown sugar was rock hard, I had to slam it on the counter to break off a chunk. I microwaved it for 10 seconds and it softened only slightly, I was afraid to nuke it any longer as I didn't know what would happen. Finally I broke off pieces with my hands, add the chucks to the mixer, and mixed it with some apple sauce. The recipe didn't call for apple sauce, but it still turned out well. But had a needed it for a crumble or something, I'm still not sure what I would have done, it was so extremely hardened.

Do you know how to soften rock hard brown sugar?
 
depends on what type of brown sugar it is, I'm guessing it is something like muscavado or

Some of it is meant to be that way, but normally you need to keep it airtight from the moment you open it first time around, otherwise it does go this way and I don't think there is anything you can do about it. I just use a fork to break the lumps up tbh.

https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/different-kinds-of-sugar.1862/#post-10120
 
Brown sugar gets hard when moisture gets in it from the air, or if it is very dark brown sugar, the molasses still in it can make it clump together really badly. An airtight container is the best way to keep moisture from the air out of it. Also stirring it up once in a while, or shaking up the container can help.
 
I always buy the light brown sugar, because it clumps less badly than the dark brown sugar does. I agree that there is really nothing you can do when it clumps other than to break it apart somehow. My favorite method is to put it in a large zip lock bag and then beat it with a meat hammer. I made some cookies with some clumped brown sugar once, and they turned out interesting because the little clumps actually melted down in the cookie and gave me a nice sweet surprise when I bit into it.
 
You can try putting a piece of bread in the package/container with the brown sugar and letting it sit for a little while. I'm not sure of the science behind it, but somehow the bread softens up the sugar. I've tried it myself and it worked!
 
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I've had that problem with brown sugar also. It is very annoying, aggravating & exasperating!!
When that happens, and I need brown sugar for making things like Boston Baked Beans, candied yams or BBQ sauce, I just throw a lump or two of it right into the pot. It will melt & dissolve from the hot liquid in the pot.

You can also make your own brown sugar just by adding some molasses to regular sugar. Add enough according to how light or dark that you want it to be. But only make enough for what you need it for, as it, too, will harden over time! It can be used for just about any recipe that calls for brown sugar. Just mash the two together with a small spoon until thoroughly blended, and voila!!! You have freshly made brown sugar!!. :wink:
 
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I like the poster above's suggestions on what to do with the brown sugar once it has hardened. I have microwaved it in the past and that always worked well. I'm sure you could place it in a heated pan and it would soften up that way as well. It would take about a minute over the stove, but I would actually feel better doing it on the stove over the microwave. Otherwise, the air-tight container for storage.
 
Brown Sugar Keeper.png



You can also get one of THESE. It has a type of disk that somehow keeps the brown sugar soft.

It is said to help keep brown sugar from hardening.

I had intended to get one myself, but haven't yet. BB&B might have them! :wink:
 
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sidevalve said:
Similar to the above I wonder if it would be ok to make a syrup from it and use that in the recipe ?
Click to expand...
I'm guessing there must be some additional liquid in the Bran Muffins so dissolving the hardened sugar in that liquid may work. it depends largely on how warm you would need to make the liquid to be able to dissolve all of the required sugar really... you don't want to make the liquid too warm because it will affect the batter/dough when added. Tough one.
 
Next week, I'll go to a BB&B store to see if they got the container whose pic I posted above.

Because of that continuous ongoing problem with brown sugar hardening, it has stopped me from buying brown sugar, because simply, if you are not using up the whole thing for like making a huge batch of oatmeal cookies or something for the kids, then it is mainly a waste and a hassle dealing with brown sugar that has hardened like a rock because it didn't all get used up within a reasonable time! :mad:
 
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