I've always used a twisty-tie around my opened brown sugar bags, which resulted in hard brown sugar. Then, I remembered my mom telling me to put bread in the bag. While this works, the last time I did it, I ended up picking out pieces of stale bread while measuring for cookies. No fun. Now I understand I need to be patient when returning the bag of brown sugar to the shelf by making sure all the air is out of the bag and rubber band it tightly! Thank you!
Thank you - I really enjoyed this video I learned this the 'hard' way - including using jars etc. It wasn't until I turned the bag upside down that I was able to keep the brown sugar soft. *(just have to remember that it's not sealed on the 'Top'. Working on the same principle you use here be sure to cut the bag in a way it can be folded - in times past I would always make the 'smallest hole in hopes of preventing hardening but this is useless without a good seal.
Jeffery, thanks for the kind words and leaving feedback. I appreciate it. 😊 I recently updated the video on how to keep anything in a bag from going stale. Here is the link if you want to watch it, Mike 🧔ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m1h5BLilVuk.html
The best way is to just store it in the bag it came in. Just make sure you get as much air out of the bag before ziplocking it back up. I tried storing mine in a nice container that should have been airtight, but even with one of the Terra Cotta Brown Sugar Savers, it still started to get hard. So I then just left it in the bag it came in even WITHOUT a Terra Cotta Brown Sugar Saver, and it stays soft. Note that I buy it in a ziplock bag.
I found brown sugar at work in a sealed container. I think its there for abt 5 yrs there. I opened the container so most of the suger was soft but very dark on top bt the bottom was still light brown .is it still good to use ?
Molasses gets thick and viscous in lower temperatures. I suppose that's why they don't recommend putting it in the fridge. I agree with LadyInKY - I vac seal my sugars in half gallon jars and they seem to last forever.
When you vacuum it, does it suck so much air out that it packs the brown sugar into a hard ball? Haven't tried it yet, so I'm just asking before I do it.
I can't answer your question Bob because I've never put brown sugar in Rubbermaid containers. But I can tell you this, I have tried other containers in the past and my brown sugar always gets hard. Therefore I stick to the method demonstrated in the video and have been able to keep brown sugar on the shelf for over a year. Mike 🧔
Did anyone try this and it work? I have to open a new bag of sugar tomorrow and I don’t want it to get hard. It’s brown sugar made from pure sugar-cane not from molasses.
A refrigerator is like an AC unit, thru the cooling process the moisture in the air condenses and drys the air out so by putting it in the refrigerator it will actually pull the moisture from it
1towmater1, it's not necessary to put the brown sugar in the refrigerator. The method demonstrated in the video works just fine. Yes it's true that a refrigerator is designed to remove moisture. If you refrigerate the brown sugar, it will be very cold about 40 degrees. That means each time you dispense some, the humidity in the air will rapidly condense on the brown sugar creating a moisture problem. Much more so than if it were room temperature. Mike ☺
What do you do when the brown sugar hardens? I added water and it softened. Then, I wrapped it in a plastic food bag with a zipper and stored it in a glass jar in the cabinet. I haven't used it yet, so I'm not sure what condition it is in.
Pat Cavanaugh, You can put the brown sugar in the microwave in a bowl that is microwave safe. Then cover with a plate and heat it up. It it should soften up, Mike ☺
My grandma's brown sugar was always soft. I used to climb on a stool and use a serving spoon to eat the brown sugar from the can. It was a can with a top.
@@KitchenTipsOnline Mike, she was from Scotland and made Scottish meat pies with potatoes, onions and carrots. I never saw her bake a cake or cupcakes, but she always had lots of brown sugar. Grandma gave me oatmeal in the morning and i was a picky eater at dinnertime, but I don't remember much else, as it was almost 80 years ago. I am 83 now.
Pat Cavanaugh, thank you for the follow-up Pat. My neighbor two doors down is turning 96 in a month. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and her reply was, "a heartbeat." She's a hoot! She still drives herself to the grocery store and lives alone. Mike ☺
@@KitchenTipsOnline God bless her, Mike. I order online from Shoprite and they deliver. It's $10 for the shopper, plus 5.99 for delivery, but they give me a $5.00 courtesy credit and I tip the delivery man with that. It is my only way to shop, as I don't have a car and don't drive any more, although I would renew my license if someone gave me a car. HA HA. I can't complain about being older, as it means I am still alive. Life is good, and when it isn't, you just have to keep riding the wave. It's still worth living.
The brown sugar where I work comes in 1# boxes. Inside the boxes, there is a bag like inside a cereal box. It gets hard before it's even opened. And if you use half a box (which I do), you can't seal it back up anyway. So I'm flummoxed.
The only way that brown sugar is going to get hard is if there is a loss of moisture. If you had a bag of brown sugar go bad then the moisture must have escaped from the bag through a hole. The method demonstrated in the video is something that I have been using for many years. And I assure you it works, Mike 🙂
I put a couple of pieces of Apple in a plastic container with the sugar,,it works great!! It also has to be smaller size container, about 1/2 pound, the smaller the container the less apple to be used,,,also check after a day to see if the sugar hasn't been over softened, if it has then take out the apple pieces,,,,for long term and bigger amounts of sugar, the air tight plastic bag with an elastic works great!! Thanks for your tips!!
I had a brand new bag of brown sugar in the cupboard and was about to use it and it’s hard as a rock. Originally sealed from the manufacturer. So, something went wrong with this theory. 🤷🏽♀️
There is nothing wrong with the theory. What was demonstrated in the video works 100%! Most likely your bag had a tear in it or otherwise was damaged to allow air intrusion. This would have certainly happened after the bag was sealed at the factory. Mike
I remember finding a great sale on brown sugar and on incense sticks and mindlessly storing them in the same kitchen drawer together for a few months. It became a very expensive sale when I found, after I opened one bag, that the incense had completely permeated the sugar and it was inedible!! 6 large bags of it, groan!
I live in the high desert in California and my brown sugar became hard in my pantry. I put it on my counter while I was cleaning out the pantry. Then I decided to RU-vid how to keep it soft. In the meantime I had my Swamp Cooler running and the brown sugar is getting soft again. I am going to try a zip lock plastic bag and remove the air and put it in a Tupperware container. Hope that works.
The air tight plastic bag with brown sugar did NOT work for me. Rolled it tight to get rid of air and also used a rubber band to secure it more. Like concrete. I was much better off putting it in an air tight container. If it hardens up, I'll use bread or a wet towel and microwave it for 20 seconds.
The only explanation can be is that the bag was not airtight. That's why I suggested using the bag the brown sugar comes in. I have actually had brown sugar stay soft for over 1 year. And I live in Florida, a very high humid environment, Mike 🧔
The best explanation I can give you is that there must be a hole in the bag somewhere. And if the brown sugar has been stored for a long time the hole would not have to be very big, Mike 🧔
I'm sorry but I just don't understand? A slice of apple will dry up because it gives off its moisture. Why would you want to introduce moisture into the container with your brown sugar? Mike 🧔
@@KitchenTipsOnline because brown sugar is the opposite of what you think. When it dries out it goes into hard lumps. When you put an apple slice in it and close it up in an airtight container with the apple slice. It will go back to all nice and soft like the day you bought it. I have some now in my cupboard ( with an apple slice in it ). It works just try it. My mother taught me that and she did it her whole life also.
Manuel Witrago, airtight containers work pretty good unless you live in a humid environment. As the amount of brown sugar starts to get reduced, when you close it the more and more humid air goes into the container. Using the system demonstrated in the video virtually eliminates the possibility of any humid air getting to the brown sugar you don't need a container. Mike
I have a kitchen tip of my own. Never use a microwave to cook food. Just like canned Parmesan cheese tastes bad compared to quality fresh grated, so to does microwave food taste bad.
