How to soften rock-hard white sugar

[Boyz5]

I have a bag of sugar that has gotten cold/damp during the winter months and is now rock-hard.....Any ideas how to soften it?...Microwave maybe?...your help is appreciated..

 

[Katie H]

For immediate results, you could scrape your "brick" of sugar over a box grater. Otherwise, placing a slice of bread on top of the sugar in its container will work, but it will take a while.

 

[joshuadavid]

A coffee grinder works great to the bread dries it out all are good if you need it now scrape the hell out of it and you can get enough off for what you need but you can do what ever comes to mind

 

[Boyz5]

Thank You for your replies Katie and Joshua....I try both of those ideas.

 

[kreeler]

Would those methods mentioned also apply to Castor Sugar? I know why mine is getting lumpy, i live by the sea so the moisture and humidity is messing mine up, Although its sealed in an air tight container... Any suggestions?

 

[blissful]

I had some rock solid sugar last year due to humidity.
Two things worked. Smash it with a hammer and then process it in the food processor. Another method is to microwave it for a few seconds and you can mash it smooth with your hands. (I'd use the microwave method on small enough amounts to handle at the time.) ~Bliss

 

[letscook]

Instead i would go to the store and buy a new bag.
In the future put your sugar in a container and I would take some cheese cloth and put uncooked rice in it and then tie it up snug and place in the sugar. the rice will absorbs any moisture. It works for salt shakers stopping it from harding.

for brown sugar I put it in a container and place plastic over the top of the sugar as the air from where the sugar is to the lid of your container will harden the sugar this I have found to keep the brown sugar soft right to the end.

 

[mbasiszta]

Instead i would go to the store and buy a new bag.
In the future put your sugar in a container and I would take some cheese cloth and put uncooked rice in it and then tie it up snug and place in the sugar. the rice will absorbs any moisture. It works for salt shakers stopping it from harding.

for brown sugar I put it in a container and place plastic over the top of the sugar as the air from where the sugar is to the lid of your container will harden the sugar this I have found to keep the brown sugar soft right to the end.

I'm with you. Use your time cooking. Go buy a new bag of sugar and take better care of it next time.

 

[mike in brooklyn]

The microwave works for hard brown sugar - try zapping

 

[JoZee]

I have a little bear that is made of material that absorbs water. I use it in my brown sugar, maybe it would work in the white also. However this would need time to soften, so it's not a particularly quick fix.

 

[Nils Hoyum]

The box grater is probably the easiest.

 

[budajbd]

I will probably put mine in the food processor, and from now on, a slice of bread in the cannister. For brown sugar, I keep a marshmallow in it and that works very well. Just didn't work for the white sugar.

 

[mbasiszta]

What does the marshmallow do?

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

If my sugar gets hard; granulated, turbanado, demerara, etc. I put it into a plastic bag and gently beat the hell out of it with my tenderizing hammer. Humming or singing Maxwell's Silver Hammer while you do this makes the chore go faster.

 

[budajbd]

What does the marshmallow do?

I have no idea why, it just works to keep the brown sugar soft.

 

[Addie]

If you remember your food history, when sugar became popular in Europe, it was sold as a hardened cone shape and the needed amount was grated. Then the rest of the cone was kept under lock and key.

 

[Andy M.]

If I find sugar has hardened in the bag, I follow this complicated procedure (you ma want to take notes):

1. Drop bag on a hard floor.
2. Repeat.

 

[CWS4322]

I either keep a couple of big marshmallows in my white sugar. bread, or, for brown sugar, prunes. For white sugar that has absorbed moisture, I put it in a zippie and drop it on the concrete floor of the summer kitchen.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

If you remember your food history, when sugar became popular in Europe, it was sold as a hardened cone shape and the needed amount was grated. Then the rest of the cone was kept under lock and key.

That's not just history. In the present day I buy palm sugar which is preferred in many Thai recipes, and one form my sugar comes in is hemispheres. And man are they hard! They are so difficult to grate that my arm gets sore and I worry about dulling my grater, and it takes a long time to grate much. More often I break them up by putting them between plastic sheets and whacking with a mallet. (And then I worry about cracking the tile counter.) Lately I've found a form that is thick paste and can be dug out with a spoon if kept tightly covered so it doesn't dry out.

Another palm sugar form is bars, and again I whack it with a mallet. I guess I must really like this stuff, or maybe it's just that I know it's authentic to cook my Thai stuff with palm sugar instead of substituting cane sugar.

I'd be happier if granulated palm sugar started appearing in my Asian markets.

 

[taxlady]

If I find sugar has hardened in the bag, I follow this complicated procedure (you ma want to take notes):

1. Drop bag on a hard floor.
2. Repeat.

Don't forget to announce this to anyone else in the house before making the big noise.

We do it more often with frozen vegis.