How to Make Beeswax Food Wraps: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Plastic-Free Storage

If you've been thinking about reducing your use of cling film and single-use plastics, beeswax wraps are a good place to start.

I made a few beeswax wraps a few years ago and they're still going strong. I use them to wrap cheese (I really think they're brilliant for that), cover bowls of leftovers, and wrap up sandwiches. The wraps are reusable, they do work well with care, and once you've made a few, I think you might wonder why you didn't try it sooner. I don't sell beeswax wraps in my shop but I do sell the beeswax so once you see how easy it is and you've chosen your own lovely piece/s of fabric, pop over to the shop to get your beeswax.

The tutorial below will show you how I went about making my first ever beeswax wrap back in 2020! I saved the photos from the experiment. It's very straightforward, and you probably already have most of what you need at home.

You'll Need:

• Fabric - 100% cotton works best. I'll talk more about fabric choices in a moment.

• Beeswax - Either grated or in small pieces.

• Baking parchment or greaseproof paper

• A baking tray

• An oven (or you can use an iron - I'll explain both methods)

• A vegetable peeler, grater, or knife (if your beeswax isn't already in small pieces)
  

I had a few leftover swatches of fabric to use for this experiment. These were 100% cotton.

Choosing Your Fabric for your beeswax wrap

Use 100% natural fabric - cotton is ideal. Avoid synthetic fabrics like polyester as they won't absorb the wax properly and can melt or give off fumes when heated.

Old cotton tea towels, fabric offcuts, or worn-out cotton shirts all work well. Just make sure they're clean and are not too thick. Lightweight cotton is easier to work with.

One thing to note: the fabric will darken a bit once the beeswax is on it. So if you've got a pale fabric (like the whiter one in the photo here), it'll take on a slightly golden, waxy tone once finished. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something to be aware of if the pattern and overall finished look of the wrap matters to you.

Useful Sizes to Cut

Those who make beeswax wraps tend to alter the sizes depending on what they want to wrap up:

• Small (around 20cm x 20cm) - Good for covering small bowls or wrapping a cut fruit or veg half

• Medium (around 30cm x 30cm) - Perfect for wrapping a block of cheese or a sandwich

• Large (around 40cm x 40cm) - Great for covering mixing bowls or wrapping larger items like half a loaf of bread
  

You can obviously cut whatever size suits what you want to wrap. If you're making multiple wraps at once, you can fit a few on the same tray - just don't overlap them. You can also use pinking shears if you want to achieve a decorative edge.

How Much Wax Do You Need?

For a medium-sized wrap (around 30cm x 30cm), you'll need roughly one beeswax bar - that's about 30g. If you're using my beeswax bars from the shop and a lightweight cotton, one bar will do one medium wrap nicely, or you can stretch it across two smaller wraps if you're careful. Buy a few bars if you're not sure - beeswax is incredibly useful.

It's better to start with slightly less and add more if needed. Too much wax and the wrap becomes stiff and hard to fold. Too little and it won't be properly waterproof. You'll get a feel for it as you experiment.

Method 1: Using an Oven

This is the method I used when I first tried it. It's simple, fast, and you can do multiple wraps at once.

1. Preheat your oven to around 100-120°C (fan or conventional - it doesn't need to be hot, just warm enough to melt the wax).

2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment or greaseproof paper. This stops wax getting on your tray.

3. Lay your fabric flat on the tray. Make sure it's smooth with no big creases.

4. Grate or shave your beeswax over the fabric. Use a vegetable peeler or grater to create thin shavings. Spread them out fairly evenly across the fabric. Don't worry about being too precise - the wax will spread when it melts.

5. Pop the tray in the oven for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it. The wax will melt quickly and soak into the fabric. You'll see it go from opaque shavings to a clear, glossy coating.

This wrap needs some more beeswax as you can see bare patches and a few white stress lines.

6. Check for gaps. If there are any dry patches where the wax hasn't spread, add a bit more wax to those spots and put it back in for another minute. The photo here was of my first go... you can see clearly see the gaps.

7. Remove from the oven and lift the fabric off the greaseproof immediately. Use tongs or tweezers if it's too hot to handle. Hold it up and wave it about in the air above the greaseproof lined tray (that'll catch any drips!). This will help it to cool quickly and will stop the wax pooling in one spot.

At this stage, the wrap is starting to form well but it needs a bit more wax to cover up the bare areas at the back.

8. Hang it up or peg it to dry for a minute or two. It'll stiffen as it cools.

How to Tell If You've Got the Right Amount of Wax

Once your wrap has cooled, scrunch it gently in your hand. It should feel pliable and slightly tacky, not stiff or crackly. If you see white stress lines or cracks when you crease it, you've probably got too little wax. If it feels thick and board-like, you've got too much.

The crease test is handy: fold the wrap gently. It should bend without cracking. A bit of creasing is normal, but if it looks very white and dry along the fold, pop it back on the tray with a bit more wax and reheat. When it works!

Here is that same beeswax wrap from earlier, but now in a usable state. I have been able to form it over the top of a bowl. On another occasion I used it to cover a block of cheese. I have photographed that from the front and back so you can see. The wrap holds its shape and there are no bare areas or streaks on it.

Method 2: How to make a beeswax wrap using an iron

If you don't want to use the oven, you can make wraps with an iron and an ironing board. Here's how:

1. Set up your ironing board and cover it with an old towel or cloth (one you don't mind getting waxy).

2. Lay down a sheet of baking parchment, then your fabric, then sprinkle grated wax on top.

3. Place another sheet of baking parchment over the top so you've got a fabric-and-wax sandwich.

4. Run a warm iron over the top sheet. The heat will melt the wax and it'll soak into the fabric. You'll see it darken as the wax spreads.

5. Peel off the top parchment, lift the fabric, and let it cool.

This method does work well.

What About Using Pine Resin?

Some tutorials suggest adding pine resin to the wax. The idea is that it makes the wrap slightly stickier and more pliable.

I use it in the surf wax I make and sell, but I don't use the resin in my food wraps. Here's why: it's messy and very sticky and good pine resin can be quite hard to find (and trust) on the online market place. Honestly, plain beeswax works perfectly well on its own. My beeswax gets produced 64 metres away from my kitchen so I have all the reassurance on quality that I need! I find that my wraps are sticky enough to seal around bowls and wrap cheese without any additives. If they lose stickiness, I just top them up with beeswax. Easy.

Caring for Your Wraps

Beeswax wraps are reusable, but they do need a bit of looking after in order to keep them reusable.

• Wash them in cool water with a mild soap. Don't use hot water as it will melt the wax.

• ALWAYS Air dry them - Don't put them in the washing machine or tumble dryer!

• Don't use them for raw meat or fish. They're not designed for that, and they can't be sanitized with hot water.

• Avoid wrapping anything very hot. Why? The beeswax will melt!
  

With decent care, a wrap should last about 4-6 months in a busy kitchen before it starts to lose its coating - especially in the areas where it's getting regularly folded. When that happens, simply refresh it by adding a bit more beeswax.

Final Thoughts

Making beeswax wraps is one of those jobs that feels and sounds more complicated than it actually is. Once you've done one or two, you'll have the hang of it.

They're not going to solve all your plastic-reduction goals overnight, but they're a practical step in the right direction. And if you've got kids, they often enjoy helping with this - it's a good little project.

As mentioned before, the beeswax bars are available in my shop and if you do make some wraps and they turn out well, please send me a photo! I will add it here so others can be inspired by your creations.