How to extract palm sugar from a container

Question

I have a plastic tub with a screwtop lid, full of palm sugar. It's a 500g tub, about 10cm high and about 10cm diameter. Usually I buy the individual cubes of palm sugar and this time I thought I'd cut down on packaging and buy the bigger size...but now I have a problem.

My problem is getting the palm sugar OUT of the tub.

It's like cement, and I have tried using spoons (they bend), knives (ditto) and a corkscrew (just bores a hole rather than breaking it up) to get some of the sugar out. Tonight I also tried sitting the tub in a bath of freshly boiled water (approx 90 degrees celcius), and sprinkling some over the surface of the sugar to try to soften it a little. No success.

This question describes how to deal with a rockhard piece of sugar like mine, but without packaging.

Does anyone know how to get it out of the tub in the first place so that I can go ahead and grate it?

Answer

You could use the corkscrew in its classic role. Bore a hole, and then use the corkscrew to pull the sugar out in one piece. You should probably lay the tub on its side for this, as the sugar weight is probably too much to stay on the corkscrew.

The other option, though rather extreme, is to cut away the plastic tub with wire cutters or shears. That way, you're peeling the tub away, and will be left with the same lump, but no tub.

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