You haven’t used your sugar packet for a while and the grains have stuck together forming big blocks? Don’t panic, here’s the trick to recover your sugar and stop it from happening again.
Why does sugar harden?
Whether white or brown, sugar does not tolerate humidity. It has absorbent properties, to the point of capturing the slightest trace of humidity and thus compacting itself into small blocks. It is then difficult to sprinkle it on fromage blanc or use it in the preparation of a pastry. To avoid this type of situation, transfer your sugar to an airtight container as soon as you buy it, away from its initial packet. It is too late and your sugar is already “unusable”? Even hardened, it can be used. In cooking, nothing is lost, here is how to recover sugar.
Has your sugar already hardened? Blender and microwave will do the trick
About ten seconds in the microwave is enough to soften sugar that has coagulated. Was that not enough? Open the blender, place your sugar blocks in it, blend in bursts so as not to turn it into powder and that’s it.
Anticipate, that’s the key: to your slices of bread
Before even buying sugar, make sure you have some bread left at home to use as a moisture absorber. This may seem strange, but the crumb of bread absorbs moisture very well, which is perfect for storing your sugar. So place a slice of bread in your sugar jar and let it do the rest. You’ve run out of bread but have a few lemons lying around? Use them up and limit waste by saving their peels to replace this slice of bread. No lemons in sight? Maybe you have an apple left in your fruit basket? Cut a few quarters and place them with the sugar in a plastic bag overnight. The next day, your sugar will be as good as new.
Treating evil with evil, with damp paper towels
While moisture hardens sugar, it also softens it. By placing a lightly dampened paper towel with your sugar in its airtight container, the sugar blocks will soften after a few hours, ready for you to crush and return to dust.
