How to Soften Brown Sugar

So, I went to use some brown sugar today that had been in my cupboard for over a year and wouldn't you know, it was hard as a rock. It was just a small box, but I had two of them and yes, they were both like concrete. I knew I had heard of ways to soften the brown sugar before, but couldn't remember, so I turned to the trusty (this time anyway) internet and found these great tips. I thought I'd share just in case any of you may run into this trouble as you pull that sugar out to do some holiday baking.

10 Ways To Soften Hard Brown Sugar

It happens to the best of us: rock hard brown sugar. How to soften it? Ten easy tips below:
Place the brown sugar in an airtight container with a slice of fresh bread placed on top. Seal and leave overnight. It should be soft and fresh again in the morning, if not just let it sit another day or two.

Sprinkle a few drops of water over the chunk of hardened sugar, place in a plastic bag, seal, and let sit for a couple days.

Place brown sugar in an open container, then top with a moistened cloth (paper towel works too). Let sit overnight.

Place the hardened sugar in an airtight container with a few apple slices. This should soften the sugar within the next day or two. Remove apple slices once sugar is soft again.

Use foil or plastic wrap to cover the top of the sugar. Then set a dampened sheet of paper towel (not dripping wet) on top of the foil. Place in an airtight container and seal. Let sit overnight or a few days as needed. Remove foil and paper towel once the towel is dry and sugar is fresh again.

Buy a clay disc or if you have a pottery piece on hand (from a broken clay pot, etc.), set it in water for about 30 minutes. Dry the piece so it isn’t dripping wet. Put the clay piece in a container with the sugar and seal. Check after a few days. Keep the piece in with your sugar for months if you’d like–will keep it soft.

Quick Tip #1: Need the sugar soft now? Put the brown sugar in a container and place in the microwave with a small bowl full of water beside it. Microwave for about 1 minute–check. If it’s still hard, try for another 30 seconds. You can keep doing this until the sugar is soft, but watch that you don’t melt the sugar.

Quick Tip #2: Place the hardened sugar in a baking pan and set in oven (temperature at about 250° F). Check after 5 minutes. If still not soft, continue checking every few minutes until it’s soft and ready to use.

Quick Tip #3: Place the brown sugar chunk in a microwave safe plastic bag. Take a square of paper towel and moisten with water (not dripping wet–wring out excess). Place the wet paper towel in the bag with the sugar and seal. Place in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds. If still not soft, microwave for a few seconds more, repeating until the sugar is ready to use. Be careful not to melt the sugar.

Quick Tip #4: Stick chunks of the brown sugar in a food processor or blender and chop/pulse until useable.

For best results, make sure to store brown sugar in a sealed, airtight container. A clay disc kept in the container can keep it soft for months (see tip above for clay disc).
Brown sugar can also be stored in the freezer and thawed a few hours before using.

Persimmon Update

WARNING!! Do not eat them!!-- even if you get really tempted to try it. Just don't. EUWWWWW!! So, here's how it went. I cut it open when it was looking nice and ripe (just guessing of course, because I don't have a lot of experience with them.) It looked innocent enough; safe and harmless with its pink innards just soft enough to bite into. I got the idea from the internet that you could eat it raw like an apple. Which just goes to show that you can't trust the internet info. all the time. I bit into it and immediately there was a coating in my mouth that was making my lips stick to my teeth in kind of a squeaky way. I felt like I need to stretch my mouth out, and drinking water did not alleviate the problem. As for the taste, I'm not really sure. It was probably okay, but I was so overwhelmed with the feeling of it in my mouth that I didn't even pay attention to the taste. I think it would have been okay though, if only there was a way to get past the lip shrinking experience. Bottom line--if someone gives you persimmons, either throw them away immediately, or find a nice cookie recipe for them. The cookies were really good. Really, really good now that I know what they started out as.

Have I mentioned that my kids are. . .

Smart?! It's true and I'm just a proud Mom. Here's the latest. Emma just represented her class in the schoolwide spelling bee. She made it through the first round (along with about 6 other kids) and sadly, got out in the second round missing the word "sarcasm." Alas, there is no "i" in the word and now she knows that. Maddie represented her class in the 4th, 5th and 6th grade in elementary school and decided not to participate this year. I'm not sure why. She fails to recognize where her talents lie.

Anyway, I know I have never mentioned this, but I think it's worth mentioning. On last year's standardized tests, which were administered at the end of the year and results distributed at the beginning of this school year, Emma was in the 100th percentile in the math, logic, and reasoning portion of the test. She scored a perfect score for that section. The other sections were all in the 90's. Her overall score was 97th percentile. (which means that she scored as high or higher than 97 percent of the kids who took that test.) I just thought that was amazing since it seemed to take a while for my math brain to kick in. She also received the Principals Honor Roll award again for this trimester. That indicates a 4.0 gpa overall in class. I'm really impressed with her.

So, we wanted to get her a little something in recognition of her accomplishments. . .which leads me to this.

Richard brought home an mp3 player--not ipod. I feel bad that I have these smart kids and I have to be so lame, but I cannot figure out how to put music on it for anything. Yes, I have an ipod and have no trouble whatsoever with it. But I can't get the Sansa Shaker to work at all. Anyone have any tips that might make this possible? The reward is seeming more and more unrewarding to Emma as the months go by. Poor thing.