{"id":226,"date":"2013-09-06T10:16:15","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T10:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/?p=226"},"modified":"2022-05-30T13:32:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T13:32:00","slug":"can-brown-sugar-go-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/can-brown-sugar-go-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Brown Sugar Go Bad?"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:75.111111111111%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style>\n<p>So you need to know whether brown sugar goes bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&rsquo;ve stored brown sugar for a couple of years in the pantry and you&rsquo;re not sure if you can use it now, that&rsquo;s a reasonable question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While brown sugar definitely can go bad, <strong>in almost all cases yours will be fine and safe to use<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to learn a little about storing brown sugar, its shelf life, and how to tell if it&rsquo;s off, read along!<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-tell-if-brown-sugar-is-bad\">How To Tell If Brown Sugar Is Bad<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Discard your brown sugar if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You&rsquo;ve found any dead or alive bugs in it.<\/li><li>There are any other contaminants in the package.<\/li><li>You see any signs of mold.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-tip\">Did you notice that I didn&rsquo;t mentioned clumps? Clumps of brown sugar are normal and form often after prolonged storage. You can <a href=\"#softening-brown-sugar\">break them in a couple of ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-store-brown-sugar\">How To Store Brown Sugar<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Storing brown sugar is plain and simple &ndash; <strong>keep it in a cool, dry place<\/strong>. Just like you do with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/can-sugar-go-bad\/\">table sugar<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/can-powdered-sugar-go-bad\/\">confectioner&rsquo;s sugar<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can store it in a cupboard in the pantry or somewhere in the kitchen. Just make sure it&rsquo;s <strong>away from any sources of heat (like ovens, radiators) and water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-warning\">Sugar is capable of absorbing water from its environment and moisture is the reason why sugar hardens into large clumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As long as the package of sugar is unopened, you can store it as-is, in its original package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you open the package, it&rsquo;s a good idea to transfer it into an airtight container or put the package into a plastic sealable bag. Anything that will keep the product sealed tightly, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">A tight seal will prevent moisture from reaching the sugar and any bugs or pantry pests from getting into the package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-tip\">If you&rsquo;re going to use the sugar within a couple of months, and don&rsquo;t have issues with pantry pests, you can just wrap the product using its original packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"450\" height=\"338\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-228\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg\" alt=\"Teaspoon of brown sugar\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"450\" height=\"338\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-228 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20450%20338'%3E%3Crect%20width='450'%20height='338'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Teaspoon of brown sugar\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg.webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg.webp 450w, https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar-300x225.jpg.webp 300w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><br>(credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/warrenski\/2529196068\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">warrenski<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-long-does-brown-sugar-last\">How Long Does Brown Sugar Last<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>This might be obvious at this point, but I want to state it explicitly: <strong>brown sugar lasts pretty much indefinitely<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, there&rsquo;s usually a date on the label, but it&rsquo;s only an indicator of how long the quality of the product should remain best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the brown sugar is past its date, it&rsquo;s a bit more likely to clump, but that&rsquo;s about it. And as I describe in the next section, fixing clumped brown sugar is easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you wanted to know if you can use your &ldquo;expired&rdquo; brown sugar, the answer is: you definitely can. Remember to first check if it&rsquo;s safe to eat, though.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"softening-brown-sugar\">Softening Hardened Brown Sugar<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>As you already know, if the sugar hardens, it doesn&rsquo;t mean it&rsquo;s spoiled. The only issue here is that we usually need only a teaspoon of it, not a large clump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, there are a few ways of dealing with hardened brown sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you need to soften the sugar right away, you can break it with a fork or an electric mixer. If the clump is too firm, put it into a bag and smash against the counter.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases that will do the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-tip\">If you&rsquo;re really struggling, put the blob into the microwave for a minute to soften it. Chances are after microwaving you&rsquo;ll be able to break it with a fork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a couple of hours before you need the sugar, put an apple wedge into the container or bag and leave it there. That will help as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-summary\">Summary<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"is-style-list-summary\"><li>Brown sugar stays fine for years. Unless you store it improperly, it won&rsquo;t go bad.<\/li><li>Brown sugar tends to harden over time. That&rsquo;s normal and reversible.<\/li><li>Keep brown sugar in a sealed container to protect it from water and pantry bugs.<\/li><li>Discard brown sugar if there are any bugs or contaminants in the package, or if you notice mold or any other organic growth.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So you need to know whether brown sugar goes bad. If you&rsquo;ve stored brown sugar for a couple of years in the pantry and you&rsquo;re &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false},"categories":[236],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_1x1":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_3x4":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_med_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",360,270,false],"mv_trellis_3x4_low_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",240,180,false],"mv_trellis_4x3":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_16x9":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_srcset-960":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_trellis_srcset-1080":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"1200x1200":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_1x1":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",200,150,false],"mv_create_1x1_medium_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",320,240,false],"mv_create_1x1_medium_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_1x1_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_4x3":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",320,240,false],"mv_create_4x3_medium_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_4x3_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_3x4":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",240,180,false],"mv_create_3x4_medium_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",360,270,false],"mv_create_3x4_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_16x9":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",240,180,false],"mv_create_16x9_medium_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",359,270,false],"mv_create_16x9_high_res":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_no_ratio":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false],"mv_create_vert":["https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar.jpg",450,338,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Marcin Skrzypiec","author_link":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/about\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"So you need to know whether brown sugar goes bad. If you&rsquo;ve stored brown sugar for a couple of years in the pantry and you&rsquo;re &hellip;","mv":{"thumbnail_id":228,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Teaspoon-of-brown-sugar-300x225.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canitgobad.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}