Storing Brown Sugar without Using Airtight Containers

Over the years of cooking all kinds of yummy goodies for my family, there have been many times when I found myself unable to store brown sugar in an airtight container. At first, I would simply throw the hardened block of sticky brown sugar away and go buy some more when I needed it. However, over time I found this to be a really expensive way of doing things.

Here are a few tricks that I have learned to store brown sugar without using airtight containers. Using these will help you save money (and not to mention stress) from having to go out and get new brown sugar every time you want to use it.

• Location, location. As with most things in life, location means a lot. The best place to store your brown sugar is in a dark cool location. These places would include pantries or cabinets, away from direct sunlight and away from any heating vents.
• Citrus Peels. The peel of half a citrus fruit—like an orange, lemon or lime—will help keep your brown sugar fresh and soft. The brown sugar absorbs the moisture in the peel, and therefore stays slightly damp like it's supposed to.
• Bread. Believe it or not, putting a slice of bread into your bag or box of brown sugar is going to keep your sugar loose and fresh. The moisture that is locked in the bread will be slowly released into the sugar.
• Apple slice. Slices of apple are pretty moist and will keep your brown sugar soft and moist for up to three days. If you use this method though, you want to make sure that you keep the box or bag closed as much as possible.
• Baking. If you have brown sugar that has become hard, try baking it to get it soft again. Put it into an oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit and let it sit there for ten minutes. Be careful when you pull it out, since it will be hot.

Please note that these are all temporary solutions only, at most these solutions should be used for only three days. The best solution available for keeping your brown sugar soft and fresh is to use an airtight container and those ceramic discs that you can purchase at most grocery stores. (These discs look like they are made from terracotta clay, stop sugar from drying out, and will cost you around three dollars.) Simply follow the directions on the ceramic discs, and you will be able to keep your brown sugar fresh for as long as possible.