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Top 10 Things You Can Do With Sugar 

 Originally Written: June 17, 2009

By  Hanna Trafford

sugarSugar may just be one of those things that got a lot of very negative publicity over the last few years. Sugar is not bad for you – anything used in moderation will not hurt you – and here are a few uses for that wonderful white stuff that you may not have thought or heard about.

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1. Fire up the Grill:

If you are using charcoal coals, you may not have to wait do long for them to burn well. Start-up the fire by tossing a few tablespoons unto the coals, then light as usual. When exposed to high temperatures, sugar decomposes and forms chemical that easily ignites.

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2. Grow Super-Juicy Garden Tomatoes:

You can’t buy tomatoes in the store that will match the ones you can grow in your garden. And if you don’t have a garden and are limited to a balcony, try growing cherry tomatoes is a large pot – you will surprised how easy it is and how much crop you will get! To protect the plants from parasitic damage and ensure fruitful yield, try this: after you dig the hole to put your plants in , pour in 1 tablespoon of sugar then plant the tomatoes. The sugar eliminates root eating microorganisms by absorbing the moisture they require to multiply.

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3. Keep Cookies Moist and Chewy:

Keep cookies – and treat like brownies as well – from drying out by sprinkling a thin layer of sugar at the bottom of your cookies jar. Sugar’s affinity for water locks in the moisture, keeping off staleness and extending the shelf life of your baked treats.

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4. Enhance the Sweetness of Corn:

To make corn on the cob sweet and juicy, when preparing it on the stove, add a little sugar to the boiling water. Then cook the corn as usual. Rather than sweetening the corn, the sucrose keeps the natural sugar in the kernels by preventing them from escaping during the boiling process.

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5. Clear a pimple overnight:

To help out with an unwanted pimple that just happened to pop up overnight, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar with a few drops of water to make a paste. Use a cotton swab to apply enough paste to cover the blemish and leave on overnight. Sucrose inhibits the growth of bacteria to help reduce the swelling by morning.

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6. Relieve a Painful Tongue Burn:

How many times does this happen: you burn your tongue with the first sip of freshly made tea , coffee or soup. To instantly soothe the sting, sprinkle your tongue with a pinch of sugar and hold it against the roof of your mouth. The melting crystals stimulate the brain to release endorphins – feel good hormones that can alleviate pain and induce a sense of well-being.

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7. Trap Flies Without Sticky Toxins:

You can get rid of pesky flies by naturally combining 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of milk and 2 oz. of ground pepper in a small saucepan. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, the pour the mixture into several shallow bowls. Place these throughout your yard or around your patio. Heating the ingredients causes the sugar to melt, making in very sticky. Milk and pepper enhance the aroma of caramelized sweetener, attracting flies to the glue-like mixture and trapping them instantly.

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8. Remove Paint Residue from Your Hands:

To quickly remove paint stains from your hands without using irritating paint-thinners, pour about 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil directly onto your palms. Rub your hands together until all residue is gone. The oil breaks up the  paint’s bond, making it slide off your hands easily, while the mildly abrasive sugar granules will scrape off stubborn pigments. Plus, unlike harsh, drying detergents, the sugar scrub will moisturize your hands, leaving them smooth and soft.

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9. Encourage Summer Buds to Bloom:

You want to take some fresh cut flowers from your garden to give as a gift – but they haven’t fully opened when you need them to…You can speed up the process of blooms by cutting the flowers day before and placing them into a vase filled with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoon of vinegar per quart of warm water (to help the sugar dissolve) The sugar will provide essential nutrients that buds need to open, while the vinegar kills bacteria to help the flowers keep fresher longer.

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10. Lighten Age Spots Naturally:

Freckles can be adorable – on a young teenage girl or boy! But the brownish sun spots on the backs of your hands are far from cute. A quick at home remedy: Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar into a bowl filled with the juice of half a lemon. Using cotton ball, apply tot he backs of your hands. Leave on for couple of minutes, then rinse. The combination of slightly abrasive sugar granules and the natural bleaching agents in the lemon juice will gently fade the dark spots, restoring a youthful glow to your skin.

Hope you found these tips helpful and interesting – if you have others, please let let me know! Your comments and experiences are always appreciated!

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Hanna Trafford


Hanna is the mother of two grown sons Dan and Dusan Nedelko, and is also the Grandmother to Jax, Cohen and Mila. She is the lead editor of Mama Knows and is hoping to create an exchange of communications with other grandmothers, mothers and daughters - giving everyone the opportunity to learn and share about everything that is "Mama"

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