How to make your own beeswax paper
You can make your own beeswax paper for sustainable food wrapping, which you can use instead of cling film, aluminum foil and freezer bags.
The beeswax paper is brilliant for cheese, bread, fruit and vegetables and also as a lid for bowls and dishes.
Here you will find recipes and ingredients. It's easy, so go for it.
If you'd rather not leave, you can buy the real thing right here
Recipe for beeswax paper – Bee’s Wrap
You need:
- Cotton fabric (thin and light – preferably an old sheet or similar). cut it if necessary with serrated scissors – then you avoid the fabric fraying
- Beeves – approx. 10 grams per sheets – depending on the size of the sheet
- 1 tsp. resin
- 1 teaspoon jojoba oil
- Parchment paper
The piece of fabric should be washed (if new) and ironed before you start. Be aware that the resin in particular yellows the fabric when you make Bee’s Wrap and light colors are very receptive to the yellow.
Use a brush that you will only use for this purpose, because beeswax and resin stick well and are close to impossible to get off the brush :-)
There are 3 ways to make your own Bee’s Wrap.
The troublemaker – melted over water bath
- Melt the ingredients together quietly in a water bath. Resin has a high melting point, so it may take a long time. The jojoba oil is added at the end.
- Place your piece of fabric on a piece of baking paper and brush the mixture on with a brush. You don't need to spread the mixture on both sides – it will happen completely automatically when the sheet enters the oven.
- Work quickly, because the beeswax and resin harden quite quickly at room temperature.
- Put the piece of fabric in the oven and bake it for approx. 5 minutes at approx. 63 degrees.
- Check that the fabric is well covered with beeswax on both sides. Then pick up the beeswax paper with pliers. It will dry up in a very short time.
The less fussy – with iron
- Prepare the ingredients
- Prepare a piece of baking paper and place the piece of fabric on top.
- Spread the ingredients over the piece of fabric
- Place a piece of baking paper on top
- Melt the ingredients into the fabric with an iron
- Check that all the fabric is covered. Add more if necessary.
- Air dry the beeswax paper
The easy – made in the oven
- Prepare the ingredients
- Place the piece of fabric on a piece of baking paper and spread the ingredients over it.
- Put the piece of fabric in the oven and bake it at 120-150 degrees for approx. 10 minutes – or until everything is melted together.
- Distribute beeswax etc. with your brush and check that the fabric is covered. If there are dry spots, just add a little more beeswax there
- When the piece of fabric is well covered, you pick it up and air dry it until it becomes stiff.
The extra easy:
Use refresh blocks – then you don't need to buy more ingredients, because the blocks contain everything you need. There must be approx. one block is used per cloth (depending on the size of the cloth of course).
You will find the regeneration blocks here
They are also available in a vegan version here
Boom – then there is homemade beeswax paper
Really good fun.
