I want to be super eco friendly and stop using plastic – but I don’t get how beeswax wrap is going to work…
I hear you, you don’t want to be spending a fortune on some fancy new stuff when it might just sit in a drawer and not be useful! Let’s take a look at how beeswax wrap works and why it’s going to revolutionise the way you store your fresh foods!
How does beeswax wrap work?
Beeswax has a unique combination of properties. Getting a bit scientific here – it makes a semi-permeable membrane which is water tight, but NOT airtight. Different to plastic. These properties lend themselves to food storage where we want the food to avoid losing moisture but not to dehydrate. Beeswax just works – the bees make it to store their food in the first place!
So, how does it go in real life?
Because of the water tight, not air tight combination beeswax has traditionally been used to store cheese! Cheese needs to be kept from drying out and going hard. At the same time, any moisture build up is going to cause it to spoil. Wrapping in beeswax, or an apiwrap, means that it won’t dry out, but it won’t spoil either – no more wasted cheese!
That water tight but not airtight barrier also works when you wrap up a bunch of herbs! Your beeswax wrap will keep the herbs from drying out and wilting in the fridge but at the same time the leaves can breathe! It’s amazing, it actually keeps the herbs alive and well… And a week later when you finally get around to making that awesome curry that you’ve been thinking about they’re still good*!
*disclaimer: this is based on my own experience – we’ve had coriander in the fridge for over a week and besides a few yellowish leaves it was completely good to use.
When you have a finite barrier like plastic, the food won’t dry out, but it can’t breathe – which means it will sweat and moisture condensation will build up – ever had leafy greens go slimy? Ew!
Pumpkin is another one that really benefits from the breathability of the beeswax – if cut pumpkin isn’t sealed up it goes rubbery and dehydrated in the fridge. Apiwraps seal up the pumpkin so it won’t dry out, but won’t let it sweat and start to spoil. No more cutting the edges off to save the good bit inside!
*Top Tip!
An important fact to be aware of is, if you’re going to stop food from drying out you will need to seal the foods up completely – stopping the massive air circulation in the frost free fridge from drying out your food. Apiwraps are super flexible and easy to seal, either directly on to the skin of veggies like pumpkin and cucumbers – or onto themselves. If the beeswax wraps are coming apart while they’re wrapping, you won’t have the same barrier effect.
how to:
So, how to we keep those leafy greens as fresh as possible for as long as possible? We made a helpful video!
Still too expensive?
We’ve made our Apiwraps Subscription club the most affordable way to start using beeswax wraps, by cutting the packaging, the dispatch speed and streamlining the whole process so you can start using beeswax wraps without the big investment – it’s cheaper the making them yourself!
Check us out here: www.apiwraps.com.au/club