You will agree with me that coconut sugar is a stream of goodness. It tastes good and packs a ton of nutritional value. WebMD in a post revealed a plethora of benefits from preventing low blood sugar and lowering the chances of a blood sugar spike.
After reading this, you may be tempted to check out the coconut sugar you bought.
A friend asked if coconut sugar goes bad after finding it stashed in the pantry for only God knows when. If you are reading this then you are likely asking the question, how long does it last?
Read on…
How Long Does Coconut Sugar Last?
The truth is sugar doesn’t go bad in the literal sense. But that doesn’t mean you can store it any way you see fit cause it doesn’t go bad, yeah?
Yes, but you will reduce the quality meaning it would not taste as it used to plus you risk losing some nutritional content from it. Health experts advise that for the best quality, sugar, in general, should be used within 2 years of its manufacture. This helps consumers with the most accurate information on when the coconut sugar is at its peak quality.
Furthermore, sugar has the ability to hold on to moisture which bulks and reduces it to a rock-like candy.
How to tell if Coconut sugar goes bad or reduced quality?
Fortunately, it is incredibly easy to tell if it goes bad. Some obvious signs you will notice;
– Smells a bit off from the original taste
– You don’t store in an airtight container and it attracts bugs and smell from its environment
Contrary to intuition, molds and lumps don’t mean the sugar is unusable. While it might not be convenient for some, there’s no side effect from using it if you choose to. To avoid lumps, store in an airtight container to prevent moisture from getting in.
If you hate the sight of hard clumps of sugar, there’s an easy fix to turn it back to its pristine form.
Break it up – Use a fork or any suitable sharp object to break up the clump especially if it’s not hard.
Harder lumps will require a rolling pin or potato masher – place the sugar in a bag, seal it and proceed to break it up using either of the equipment mentioned.
Damp Cloth – This is quite traditional and it takes up to two days. Put the clump of coconut sugar in a container and use aluminum foil to cover it. Place the damp cloth over the foil and check-in after a day or two. It should be soft by then or leave it a day extra.
Microwave – Place the sugar in a container and microwave with a moderate heat of 20-30 seconds.
Conclusion
Coconut sugar packs a ton of nutritional benefits as well as a long shelf life which is subjective. As some advice it to be in peak condition within two years of manufacturing. Some believe as long as you store it away from moisture, bugs, and smell then it remains usable. Whatever your opinion is on the matter, you can’t argue that once you taste coconut sugar, you never go back!
Here are some other interesting pieces we’ve tailored to satisfy your questions about the retail world:
- Where to find anchovy paste in the grocery store
- 5 best substitutes for tomato purée
- Where to find Cotija Cheese in the Grocery Store
- Where to find Castor Oil in the grocery store
- Where to find Coconut Aminos in the grocery store
Moses Dzarmah is the founder of Grocerycorridor. Having worked in the grocery store for almost all his life. His colleagues called him the grocery hermit for his knowledge around the field that’s encompassing. Almost disturbing that he’d know every nitty gritty part associated to grocery stores. I decided to pen down as my colleagues will endearingly say with a slight mockery “wealth of experience”.