How do I keep my leftover brown sugar from turning into a brown sugar brick?

I have long used the terra cotta pieces (I soak them in water overnight first), but the mouth of my new storage jar is too small. A friend suggested covering the exposed top surface with a double layer of paper towels (it should be touching as much as possible) and that seems to be doing the trick!

mine keeps just fine in a double ziploc in the fridge.

mine keeps just fine in a double ziploc in the fridge.

I agree with amysara. Seal it and freeze.

Or if you don't want to buy the expensive clay pieces at Sur La Table, and you have access to a kiln, you can use a fired, unglazed piece of pottery. I made one for my mom years ago when I took a pottery class in school. She still uses it and it's still working!

Seal it well and store in the freezer. Stays fresh for a long time.

I triple bag it, careful that its sealed well with no air in the bags. If I do that it stays soft for a long time. I fold the bag the sugar is in over squeeze out the air, place it in a ziplock bag, sqeeze out the air and seal it, then place it in another ziplock bag and seal. Thats the only way I have found to keep it soft and fresh. Overkill, maybe but my brown sugar keeps well. Hope this helps.

I put a whole walnut in the shell in my bag! Works great for me. You can also buy these terra cotta pieces ( often in the shape of bears or flowers) from stores like Sur La Table that work, too!

I don't know the answer to that, however I have found using a cheese grater is a good way to defeat that brick and not waste the brown sugar!