Beautifully golden in color, it
is one of nature’s perfect products…
|
Did you know...that throughout history in Europe people actually paid their taxes with beeswax ? I am not so sure that Uncle Sam would let us do that now but if he did, why, everyone would be raising bees! Let me tell you something else while I'm at it...beeswax makes the finest candlesbecause the wax is so pure and burns so clean. The Catholic churches (and maybe other churches) burned them forcenturies because of that very reason.
In our working with the bees, after we rob them and harvest the honey the beeswax remains. When I was a child, chewing wax with globs of honey still attached was a HUGE TREAT. For children with very little pocket money, it was the BEST!
Sometimes we like to leave the wax for the
bees but sometimes I like to find ways to use it. Before I can re-purpose the
wax it must be cleaned. There are impurities in that sweet golden mess and throughout the process of being cleaned or washed you will be able to see just how dirty the wax really is.
Kind of looks like fried bacon! |
It's actually a very simple process to clean
beeswax. Grab an old crock pot and fill halfway with warm water. Place the beeswax into the pot and heat with the
lowest temperature. After the wax has melted (remember, it's a crock pot so it will take a bit of time)
the impurities just sink to the bottom and the
clean wax will float. Unplug the crock
pot and let the wax cool completely.
When the
wax is cool to the touch, remove it and pour off the dirty water. Hey, don't pour this stuff down your sink! Pitch it
outside on the ground.
If you see brown spots
on the
hardened wax it will need to be cleaned once more so repeat the
process.
Cakes of clean & bee-u-ti-ful golden wax!
You may ask..."Beeswax? So what! Whatcha gonna do with it now that you got it?"
Well, just you wait and see!
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