Can You Eat Beeswax?

A question that always makes us smile is “Can you eat beeswax?” While we wouldn’t recommend taking a bite out of one of our artisan-made pure beeswax candles, just a little nibble won’t hurt. That’s because, yes, you can eat food grade beeswax! In fact, it’s likely in more of the foods you eat than you think.

Renowned chefs use beeswax in cooking because of its incredible sheen and subtle honey undertones. You’ll find it being used as a glaze for turkeys, hams, pastries, and candies. Some pastry chefs claim that a canelé—a French pastry filled with custard sealed into a thin, crispy, caramelized shell—isn’t a true canelé without using a traditional beeswax and butter mixture to coat the mold in which it’s cooked.

Chef Heinz Reitbuer of Austria invented a way to cook fish in molten beeswax, a technique worth watching to believe. Beeswax has been shown to have antimicrobial properties as well, which has made it the perfect glossy wax cover for cheeses and fermented foods.

With natural food options increasing in popularity, you’ll see beeswax listed as an ingredient in more of your everyday grocery store purchases than ever before, from gum to licorice to cheese. 

Give the trend a try yourself by purchasing some of our food grade bulk beeswax and using it in your next adventurous recipe. Just be sure it’s 100% pure food grade beeswax that isn’t imported and hasn’t been cut with harmful additives. After all, if you’re going to eat beeswax, you’re going to want to know where it came from and how it was made.