Baker shares clever hack to keep crucial ingredients fresh: 'I always forget about this'

A baker has shared a simple hack for keeping your brown sugar from going hard, and all you need is a slice of bread. 

The scoop

Once opened, brown sugar can quickly go hard because the molasses loses moisture, causing the sugar crystals to clump together. This can be frustrating because it makes the sugar really hard to measure out and use.

TikToker and baker Nichol Gerber (@nichol.gerber) has a super easy hack that will help ensure your brown sugar stays soft, making it easier to work with in recipes.

@nichol.gerber if you have brown sugar in your cabinet…go put some bread in the bag or jar🥲 #bakinghack #brownsugartip #bakingtips #sugarhack #sugar #baking ♬ original sound - Nichol Gerber

All you need to do is pop a piece of bread into your sugar jar or bag. This hack works because the sugar absorbs the moisture from the bread, which keeps the sugar soft.

Note that this will contaminate the sugar with gluten, so if you are gluten-intolerant, then make sure you use a gluten-free bread.

How it's helping

Hard sugar can be surprisingly frustrating to work with, and many people simply toss it out rather than trying to salvage it.

This leads to unnecessary waste and extra expense, since sugar is often an essential pantry staple. Making use of this simple hack can prevent that from happening, keeping your food fresher for longer and saving you money, which is great all around.

There are lots of different tips and tricks that can help you extend the life of the food you buy, saving you money on your grocery bill while also reducing waste.

Learning to extend the life of your pantry items helps reduce the amount of food that ends up in landfills, where it contributes to environmental problems, including the production of harmful, planet-warming gases.

Food waste is one of the biggest sources of waste in the U.S. According to the EPA, in 2019, an estimated 66 million tons of food waste was generated across the country, and around 60% of this ended up in landfills. 

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What everyone's saying

Commenters were quick to show their gratitude for the handy hack, with one saying, "I didn't know this! How helpful!"

Another admitted, "I always forget about this hack."

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