Refreshing your beeswax wraps

Beeswax wraps are the perfect replacement for plastic kitchen wrap and a kitchen must-have.  But they do wear out.  The great news is that rather than throwing them out, you can bring them back to life.

No matter if you make your own or buy them, regular use and washing will wear your beeswax food covers out over time.  But the great thing about beeswax wraps is that with a bit of TLC they should last a really, really long time and are almost endlessly reusable.

So if your beeswax wraps have seen better days and are flaking, creased or cracked here are a few ways to revitalise them. 

Pop them in the oven

Pop them on a baking tray, best lined with parchment or baking paper (you can keep this and reuse it for next time you refresh your beeswax wraps) or use a silicon baking mat.

1. Heat the oven to 100C, pop in your beeswax wraps and let them warm up for 2 minutes (keep an eye on them). 
2. Once the wax on the wrap has re-melted, carefully take the wrap out by its corners and hang it up quickly before the wax dries.
3. A couple of minutes to cool and your beeswax warp should look shiny and new again.

Getting ironing

 Rather than using the oven, you can use your iron to refresh your beeswax wraps.

1. Put down an old tea towel onto your ironing board (just in case any wax escapes), pop the wrap between two sheets of baking paper which extend at least 5cm on all sides from the wrap.
2. Use the iron on the highest setting and gently move it across the wrap until you’ve covered the whole wrap.
3. Remove it from between the baking paper and either gently wave it to cool it off, or hang it somewhere to cool.

Couple of tips:

Make sure the iron is not on a steam setting

Keep the iron moving, don’t leave it sitting in one spot for too long.

So there you have it - two quick, easy ways to refresh your beeswax wraps.