Brown sugar hard as a rock?

Here’s how to get it soft again.

Why Does Brown Sugar Dry Out?

Brown sugar in measuring cup

Simply Recipes / Getty Images

When combined, thewhite sugargranules become coated with a thin layer of the molasses.

Since molasses is a liquid, this causes the hard white sugar to become soft and moist.

And because its brown, it also changes the color of the white sugar to brown.

brown sugar in container

Sally Vargas

The simple difference betweenlight and dark brown sugaris the amount of molasses it contains.

Light brown sugar contains about 3.5% molasses, while dark brown sugar contains about 6.5% molasses.

When exposed to air, the moisture in brown sugar that comes from the molasses naturally evaporates.

The sugar granules then become stuck together and harden into a solid mass.

Though the moisture in molasses easily evaporates, molasses is very hygroscopic, meaning it can just as easilyabsorbmoisture.

Thats good news if you want to keep brown sugar soft or if youre trying to resoften it.

Sally Vargas

How To Keep Brown Sugar Soft

Air in the enemy of brown sugar.

There are multiple ways to do this.

I then place it in a small airtight container with a tight lid.

The slow way is to tuck something moist inside your container of brown sugar.

These will return moisture to the dried out brown sugar in as little as a day.

Use a fork to break up any large lumps of brown sugar as you go.