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Writer's picture52Steps

52Eco#46 Ditch clingfilm for Beeswax Wraps. ***Make-along Video***



I usually make my own beeswax wraps (from the items pictured above), as I find large beeswax wraps to be the most-used size in our house, for sandwich wrapping and bowl covering. The Beeswax Wrap Co. in the Cotswolds sell some beautiful food wraps in generous sizes (choose the 'large' 40cm x 40cm ones, £20 for two) if you don't fancy making your own.


If you want an easier-to-care-for (i.e. machine washable) option, purely for food wrapping and not bowl covering, then I'd suggest an extra large 'Food Wrap' for about £10 from the Eco Snack Wrap company, it is a 40cm x 40cm hemp square (lined with something-which-feels-like-plastic-but-is-actually-biodegradable) which is kept shut with a velcro strip and best of all it can be machine washed! Perfect for wrapping sandwiches when out and about. For child-sized sandwiches, their 30cm x 30cm machine-washable sandwich wraps are perfect.


Now back to beeswax wraps... Beeswax wraps are resuable and ultimately home-compostable - yippee!


You can use beeswax wraps instead of clingfilm / tin foil / greaseproof paper, to wrap food in (sandwiches, slices of cake, whole / cut fruit and vegetables, rising dough, etc) and to cover bowls in the fridge. DO NOT wrap raw meat and fish in them. I would also avoid wrapping stinky cheese as the smell will linger. Also DO NOT put beeswax wraps in the microwave.


After each use, wash them in very cool / cold water and washing up liquid, dry roughly with a tea towel and then hang up to air dry thoroughly. DO NOT use warm or hot water to wash them, or the wax will melt off and you will be left with a flaky cottony sheet! If you do accidentally wash a beeswax wrap in warm / hot water, you can reverse the flaking by ironing the wrap between two sheets of greaseproof paper - to remelt the remaining wax and reseal any loose bits.


After a few months all beeswax wraps will need 'refreshing' by ironing a small quantity of new wax shavings onto your existing wrap. Various companies sell a 'Refresher Block' for this purpose for around £10- or (if you are on Facebook) buy the £6 Melly and Mog beeswax-wrap-bar mentioned below as a cost-effective alternative. Most 'how-to' guides suggest grating the wax onto the fabric, but I find the wax sticks really annoyingly to a cheese grater, so I use a cheese slicer like this one from M&S, for £6. After shaving some slices of beeswax onto the ageing wrap, iron it between two layers of greaseproof paper. Be sure to keep the greaseproof paper pieces to use again each time you make / refresh a wrap. You can clean the wax from the slicer (and the double-boiler pan) with washing up liquid and very hot water after use (or pop the well-scraped equipment into a 70 degree C wash in the dishwasher). Then you can use the slicer to cut cheese very thinly and thus save money on your weekly food bill!


My You Tube tutorial show you how to make a really large (46cm x 56cm) beeswax wrap. Why this size? Well cotton fabric is often sold off cheaply as 'fat quarters' in shops (18 inches x 22 inches = 46 cm x 56 cm) so obtaining the fabric is easy for anyone watching the video. It would be even better to use up any leftover cotton fabric you already own (and adjust the quantity of wax accordingly) of course.


This really large wrap requires 40g of beeswax-wrap-bar: 30g of the beeswax-wrap-bar should be shaved thinly with the cheese slicer and gradually placed (in stages) on the fabric and ironed (in stages). 10g of the beeswax-wrap-bar should be shaved thinly with the cheese slicer and put into the double-boiler pan over boiling water, (NEVER try to melt the wax in a normal pan) to be brushed onto the edges of the fabric with a paint brush.


I got my 50g beeswax-wrap-bar from Melly and Mog a small company based in the Lake District, for £6 (including p&p) or £7 if you'd like a wooden paintbrush included. The beautifully moulded bar is a combination of beeswax, pine resin (to make the finished wrap slightly self-adhesive) and jojoba oil (included for its antibacterial qualities).


It took me 35 minutes to make the really large beeswax wrap, the video is only 10 minutes long as some parts are fast forwarded. The shaving-slices, ironing, painting melted wax and ironing (and repeating and repeating) is not a quick method but it is a calm and relaxing method. Importantly taking your time in this manner means that very little wax is wasted as the cotton cloth is not over-saturated (which can happen if you use the rather hazardous dipping method - think hot splashy wax). As you can't rush making beeswax wraps, it is a nice activity to do with friends - why not suggest it to someone you know?


If you would like to to make your own large beeswax wrap then have a look at my real-time 'make-along' video on You Tube, by clicking HERE.

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