The Only Way You Should Store Brown Sugar, According to Domino

While there is no “baking season” in my house (I bake year-round and often), I do tend to ramp up my production of sweets as the colder months set in. Recently, as I was fishing out all my baking ingredients to whip up some snickerdoodles, I noticed my brown sugar had hardened.

Luckily, I know the microwave trick, so I was able to soften it back to a usable consistency in no time. Still, I got to thinking: What’s the best way to store brown sugar to prevent it from turning into one big lump in the first place? 

In search of the best brown sugar storage setup, I reached out to Eleonora Lahud, the Senior Research Chef at Domino Sugar, who has been kind enough to serve as a sugar expert on Simply Recipes in the past.

How To Best Store Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is brown because molasses has been added to the sugar cane during production. This results in a darker color and, as Lahud points out, “flavor notes of caramel, vanilla, and butterscotch.”

Since molasses is a liquid, it also makes for a moister sugar. The high moisture content in brown sugar is its strength as well as its weakness. It yields richer and chewier desserts, but over time, in your pantry, as Lahud explains, “exposure to air causes the moisture in the sugar to evaporate, leading to hardening.”

Fortunately, the evaporation is preventable. The trick to keeping brown sugar soft and ready for your baking is in how you store it. 

The single most important step to preventing the molasses-rich sugar from hardening is to keep it in an airtight container.

While glass jars with rust-proof lids and plastic containers with snug tops are great choices, “brown sugar can also be stored in any type of resealable, moisture-proof plastic bag,” says Lahud. Keep your airtight container of brown sugar “in a cool, moist area,” she cautions—not in the fridge, where it will dehydrate. 

More Expert Brown Sugar Storage Tips and Tricks

If you live in a dry climate and need extra insurance against evaporation, “place a piece of bread or a damp paper towel in the container with the brown sugar. The sugar will absorb the moisture, helping to keep it soft,” Lahud suggests.

If your sugar has already hardened, and you can spare the time, you can also use this method to rehydrate hardened sugar. A couple of marshmallows or a dampened terracotta disk placed in the airtight container with the sugar work, too, Lahud says, but the process is slow, so give it a few days to soften. 

To rescue hardened brown sugar more quickly, Lahud recommends various methods “intended to return its moisture.”

First, you can use the oven. Preheat the oven to 250°F, transfer the sugar from its storage container to an oven-safe pan, and heat it, watching it carefully. Test the sugar for softness and pull it out as soon as it is soft; if it gets too hot, the sugar will melt. Use it immediately because, as the sugar cools, it will harden again.

You can also use the microwave. “Place the hardened brown sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with two pieces of wet, but not dripping, paper towels,” says Lahud. “Microwave it on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Work the sugar with a fork to separate the clumps, then use it immediately.” Now, you’re ready for that next batch of snickerdoodles!