Cleaning Beeswax

The weather is being rather crazy today. Pouring rain, switched to snow and wind. Good day to assure the animals are snug in their shelters and then do inside projects.

One project I have put off is the cleaning of my beeswax from the honey harvest. I didn’t save a lot of it, shame on me, but what I did has been sitting waiting on me to stop hibernating. So today was the day.

Wax is a wonderful bi-product of the honey extraction process. If one doesn’t have a honey extractor, like I did not last year, the comb must be cut off the frames and the entire stick mass pressed through cheesecloth to get the honey. The wax left behind is full of left over honey and other debris. This must be cleaned prior to proper utilizing the wax. I had rinsed the wax I had saved but other than that, it had been relatively untouched since.

It was actually a rather simple affair really and only took a little more than an hour for the small amount I had. 

I put all the wax in a wide mouth jar inside a pot of boiling water, creating a double boiler. I added enough water to cover the crumbled wax (I started with a full pint of "dirty" wax) and let the wax melt and come to a low boil.

I then strained the melted wax/water mixture into a bowl, letting the wax cool and harden.

In the next step I popped the wax out to find the water had settled to the bottom of the bowl pulling some of the debris with it. The remaining had coated the bottom of the wax. I scrapped it all off, broke the wax into pieces and put it back in the double boiler to melt.

Once remelted I did the final straining through a piece of nylon hosiery wrapped around my small wire strainer. I poured the strained melted wax onto a plate covered with parchment paper, letting it cool. I wanted the wax in a thin disc so it’s easier to break up.

I’m looking toward to this year’s honey harvest with the added benefit of the wax to use in my salves, lotions and balms. (Praying the bees pull through this next cold spell!) The more I produce here, the more self-sufficient and free I am.

Until next time, Stay warm, Stay curious, Stay productive.