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I assume this question generalizes to items such as flour.

I kept brown sugar in the plastic bag it came in, in the refrigerator. Due to frequent use, it has built up clumps due to moisture. I've just recently gotten a glass container to store it in. Solutions I have considered to now remove the moisture are:

  1. Use a little uncooked rice to pull the moisture out
    • but then I think I should use a mesh bag to keep the rice in, where would I find something like this?
      • coffee filter, too slow/cumbersome?
  2. Give it a little heat to dry it out, such as:
    • place the glass on top of the oven with the oven on, as my oven top gets quite warm when the oven is on.

Any ideas?

SourDoh
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Brady Trainor
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    Flour and brown sugar have completely different properties. Brown sugar normally has some moisture in it, or it turns quite hard. Why do you think these lumps are due to moisture? Can you press them apart with light finger pressure? – SAJ14SAJ Nov 28 '13 at 22:11
  • @SAJ14SAJ, yes, they crumble to some degree. There are some dark clumps here and there, which seem to suggest moisture. – Brady Trainor Nov 28 '13 at 22:42
  • I'm going to experiment with the rice in coffee filter and stovetop as above, and keep my eye out for overdrying, as is mentioned in related thread "http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/8902/how-to-quickly-soften-brown-sugar?rq=1" – Brady Trainor Nov 28 '13 at 22:45
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    as @SAJ14SAJ pointed out, brown sugar usually has quite a bit of moisture in it. When brown sugar clumps, it's usually due to the sugar drying out. Most of the answers in the link you posted are regarding adding moisture back into the sugar. (and usually rice or the ceramic "sugar bears" work by absorbing moisture initially and then releasing it back into the sugar over time) – SourDoh Dec 03 '13 at 21:12
  • @sourd'oh, so my problem may not yet necessarily be excess or lack of moisture, but inconsistency/non-uniform-ness? Would the rice or ceramic help to make the brown sugar more uniform? Or perhaps vigorous shaking or folding? – Brady Trainor Dec 04 '13 at 01:18
  • @BradyTrainor They may help to keep it more uniform by regulating the amount of moisture. If your lumps are soft though, I would think shaking, or a brief spin in a food processor will solve your problem. Most solutions to brown sugar clumping are going to be aimed at when it forms the rock hard clumps that are a lot harder to deal with. – SourDoh Dec 04 '13 at 14:19
  • @SAJ The OP may not be referencing the same thing as the Americans know under brown sugar. The sugar sold in Europe under the name "brown sugar" is actually unrefined sugar without moisture, and it has the behavior he mentions. – rumtscho Dec 05 '13 at 15:33

1 Answers1

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Refrigerating things usually dries stuff out in modern refrigerators, which tend to remove moisture, rather than retain them. I agree with sourd'oh that drying is likely your issue.

It sounds like you are asking how to remove clumps. I use a sifter, or try to move the grains through a strainer with a fork. What are you using the brown sugar for? Will it dissolve during mixing anyway, removing clumps (as in when beating cake batter)?

Jennifer S
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