My grandmother was a brilliant, intuitive cook who could put on a party like nobody’s business. She also did a few odd things in the kitchen, which, as I’ve gotten older, I have come to realize are not only genius, but time-tested kitchen hacks.

Call it the old ways or good old-fashioned common sense, she knew exactly what she was doing and why. The particular trick I’m sharing with you today is one of my favorites, and reminds me of my grandmother every time I open the cabinets.

Grandmother’s Trick for Soft Brown Sugar

Have you ever opened a bag of brown sugar, used a bit, and sealed it back up as tightly as you can, only to come back to it a week later and find either lumps and dried out bits throughout or, worse, that it has turned into a solid brick? Well, my grandmother never had this problem.

She would routinely decant her brown sugar into a glass jar and place the heel of a loaf of bread right on top before putting the lid back on. She replaced the bread when it dried out, every month or so.

This seems weird, right? But it works. Here’s why:

Why It Works

Brown sugar is a mixture of cane sugar and molasses. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than its light brown counterpart. Brown sugar also lends flavor, depth, and moisture to baked goods of all kinds, and my grandmother always kept a big jar tucked into her cupboard. 

Brown sugar has a higher water content than cane sugar because it contains molasses. When brown sugar is exposed to air for too long, that moisture begins to evaporate, which results in hardening, clumping, and desiccation. 

So how does a piece of bread prevent the sugar from drying out? Bread has a relatively high water content. Therefore, as it begins to stale, it releases its water into the sugar container, keeping the brown sugar nice and soft.

It’s the simple magic of transference: as the bread dries, the sugar absorbs the moisture it releases, a little give and take, if you will. This can be accomplished with any kind of bread, nothing fancy needed, and when the bread is dried, just replace it with a fresh slice. There you have it: my magical grandma’s no-fail trick for keeping your brown sugar from turning into a brick.