I have not had that problem before. I cannot speak to whether the resin is edible. Is it normal to have a slight tacky residue left on your hands with a freshly made wrap? If it is resin, it should look yellow, rose or white, each with an "-ish". I melted the wax and added a teaspoon of the oil. Thanks in advance to anyone who might have ideas – am really looking forward to making a start on my wraps! I’m a long-time user of wax wraps, but only just now poised to make the first batch of my own. Great tips Barbara, especially freezing the mixture to grate it more easily. If you are not of the arboreal inclination, you might know what resin can become - amber. Using a silicone brush, brush on the beeswax mixture to cover the entire square. Hi Liz, on 3 October we chatted about me struggling to get hold of Pine Rosin in South Africa. And waited between spoons till it dissolved. I have always used the powdered resin. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper to prevent a mess. ), so my research started from trying to find where the wine makers get their supply from. I actually ordered a pack of BeesWrap to see how theirs feel and after I ironed out the excess, mine feels like theirs – thin and pliable yet firm enough to do the job. The one I found works the best is about 100g wax, to about 60-75g resin. Don’t know how useful this would be, since they are pretty much self-stick and would be an extra step to the process. This helps to avoid cracking. Bee well! I’ve also used Pine Resin Glue at home for every day projects. Can I ask the name of the store? It may look like it’s good but the rosin in encased in the wax and not melted into it. What ratio worked best for you? Only takes 20sec of air drying for the wax mix to harden on the fabric. The most common source of resin locals harvest to make salves, among other things, is from Spruce trees. I’ll try that next time. Damar has different but similar properties to colophony or pine resin (mainly melting point). I like the Frankincense because the Apothecary store where I live stocks it. That might be the trick to getting the texture right. I don’t have a true double boiler either so I just put a metal bowl (a glass bowl could also work) over a pot of boiling water. Yes you can actually just use the resin without any processing, spruce is my favorite, 1 year ago If you are like me, you will learn the hard way that it is not a good idea to try and clean it by hand, even if you just want to remove the larger pieces of foreign materials. I have many vegans in the family and would like to gift them some wraps also. After removing from the oven, I placed another piece of fabric on top and returned to the oven for a few additional minutes. Hi Rae, glad you got the clump to remelt. See above. Do you have pine trees in SA at all? A popsicle stick is also good. Jojoba oil makes the wrap pliable. I can say this – if your food wraps are turning out OK without it, then skip it! Seems like a lot more trouble/work. I initially tried to measure accurately but ended up just estimating quantities. Any tips for this method too? How to Make Pine Pitch. I use resin when I am making wrap “paper”. Basically, not great to digest in large amounts (no indication of what that quantity might be). https://evofinition.ca/en/product/rosin-resin-evo/ I read a book about the famous Golden Spruce and have been fascinated ever since. When it cools, taffy-like is the perfect description of what happens : ) When it initially melts, did you stir to combine well with the other ingredients? Or is the oven step essential? Please don’t toss the cloth when the wax wears off in six months to a year. Eventually, I will bring to our farmers market, that if my two little boys allow me (ha!) To see if I can. Hello The website states: As per U.S. Code of Federal Regulation (Title 21); our Rosin Resin is safe to be in contact with food, for food wrapping and packaging. If it’s cotton, it’ll burn very quickly, smell like burned paper, and the ash will be smooth to touch. Range Products in Welshpool, Western Australia, stock everything you need to make beeswax wraps – white beeswax pellets or blocks of beeswax, pine resin and jojoba oil. I suspect there is quite a bit of purifying that happens between the tree and the end result! Once you drop the resin, it will find itself cooled down and (next to) solid in the cold water. This way your wraps are nice and smooth and the excess wax comes out from all sides. Any of you heard of Spruce resin for this wraps? ), also called Gum Rosin, Colophony or Greek pitch, is a solid form of resin obtained from various species of Pine trees and some other conifers. I tried it and made several batches of successful wraps that I’ve sold and gifted. Food grade rosin is available in Perth. Chances are you ate some pine tree today if you had any storebought item such as ice cream or shaker cheese. I had no trouble melting the rosin (big chunks too) like this and the good thing – I don’t have to clean out the frypan!! Adjust to your liking. But the others looked the same so who knows…they all worked well with pure beeswax. @David Ledger What an important issue to raise! On the weekend I spoke with a market stall holder who is an apiarist. One is the sale and manufacture of pine resin incense which is an effective natural mosquito repellent. I tried the recipe with 1 cup beeswax, 1/4 cup resin and the oil. Thanks for sharing your formula . I’m a fan of beeswax wraps, but I didn’t know they had more than wax. If my fabric is larger than your baking sheet, I just fold it over on itself. I went for a 3:1 mix of wax:resin, but think I will do 2:1 next time. Just wondering what I am doing wrong? Direct heat might cause the resin to “glob”. Thanks Neranza. Hi there! on Introduction, I haven't gone through the comments yet, however a possible alternative method I've been considering trying to see if it can speed the drying process, resin is alcohol soluble, so dissolving resin in alcohol should allow you to filter out any impurities, then allow the alcohol to evaporate off. I don not have this but do have many others. Pine resin is most commonly used, but you can also use spruce or fir resin. I made another batch with a little less pine rosin and now the wrap isn’t tacky at all. I was told in the natural food store that Shea Butter shares properties with jojba so could be used. Just wondering if you or anyone else have tried it to replace the line resin? If you want 100g you'd select 10 units. Resin is also alcohol soluble, which means you can make a tincture or liniment of resin, and you can use alcohol to remove resin from skin or clothing. Great to hear Kelly! I should have known, but, I did not wear a mask and did breath in too many fumes… Now my only question is if my bag of Utrecht Oil Medium Damar Crystals are pure enough to use. I made some today using the 40 x 40x 10 ratio and they weren’t quite as tacky as I would have liked. I ask only because it substantially increases the cost of the wraps. This is a great project! Good thing they are both renewable resources. A lightweight, but strong weave fabric is going to best for malleability, but I don’t know much of the lingo of fabric. I think it might be a better process to make a bulk amount of the wax & rosin mixture, let it set it in moulds, and then grate and melt only as needed. I produce my wraps by placing a cotton piece on a parchment paper, spread the grated beeswax mix on the paper then put another parchment sheet over the top. Dang! I tried using fabric to absorb the excess wax, but this method soaked up too much of the solution, leaving the wrap not sticky enough. I am going to be trying this for the first time as soon as the resin arrives. Hi Patricia- I have been ironing to melt but think next time I will try the oven method. Oh, and the frankincense smelled amazing! Happy waxing, whichever method you choose. I live in Sydney, Australia. (My kitchen is simply heavenly right now.). It’s not that readily available in shops, but you can find it online. Approx 10”x12” I did have to mix up two batches to get to 20 wraps and a few extras for the bride (one 14”x16” and two small 6” squares), Clara, would you be able to share the distributor of the resin? Also, for those who use the ironing technique, do you do it on a regular ironing board with the fabric cover on it? I will start searching as advised. Check that the wax has saturated the fabric evenly and there are no dry patches. https://evofinition.ca/en/product/rosin-resin-evo/?attribute_pa_format=1-kg-en. You can probably rectify this fairly easily by reheating the wrap and placing another piece of fabric on top to absorb the excess. I am throwing money away with the amount of reson and oil have wasted . Home Maintenance. It also smells amazing. I was checking to see if my go-to company had pine resin and they didn’t. Thanks for the article, it’s great to read the Q&As. So keep that in mind when you try this out, and take precautions. I will have to try on my silicone mat one day when my parchment sheets give out. The jojoba adds pliability, since it’s a liquid at room temp, and the other ingredients will harden up. I would love to visit Haida Gwaiii one day. I used an ice pick to chop away at the resin in the soup can, poured the hard granules into a thick zip lock bag, and used the side of a meat mallet to crush the bigger bits. I don’t use the Jojoba oil because I can’t figurer out how to distribute the few drops throughout the cloth and they do come out stiff but the more they’re used and washed the more pliable they become. It’s rosin I bought last year and had no issues with. https://www.biome.com.au/diy-kits/20980-sustomi-diy-beeswax-wrap-mix-150g-9352759000222.html i gave up and dissolved the rosin in alcohol before adding it to my bees wax and it *FINALLY* worked. I don’t have a double boiler …. They do make great gifts, don’t they! You would want to combine wax, rosin and jojoba in the same vessel. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I’m not sure if the temp was too hot, or not hot enough. 25. Hi Liz, I’ve made Beeswax Wraps with Beeswax only and was wondering if you can add the Resin and Jojoba Oil to an already made Beeswax Wrap? do I mix the two with the jojoba oil and just heat at a low temperature altogether in a pot or do I boil them both or separate? I’ve copied and pasted for future reference! Many of us seem to be after the perfect ratio, which seems to be somewhere between 3:1 wax to rosin to 1:1 wax to rosin. Put the pine resin (sap) you collected in a metal can. cotton kills. If you do multiples, what measurement do you use when you drizzle the wax on? The wax melts and seeps into all areas of the cloth. Had to look at my favorite place for jojoba oil – https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/jojoba-oil/profile I will try and increase it to 25% and see if it will incorporate into the beeswax or not. I mix 1 drop lemon and 1 drop wild orange essential oil with 1 teaspoon of jojoba into a small spray bottle. I’m also from SA looking for pine resin. And read the next step before doing so, otherwise you will be balancing a spoon full of hot water and molten sticky stuff while reading and possibly setting stuff up. Here is what I do: I purchase the wax in 1# blocks. The smell is hard to desribe either but I think you will know. Why? Any consideration about the environmental impact of using cotton? Wow, you are going above and beyond. To avoid the cost of a good pair of pinking shears, buy a pinking wheel for a rotary cutter. I was wondering is there anyone from the UK that can recommend a safe Pine Resin source in the UK please? After I post this, where do I go to look at the posts. You MUST get the rosin melted into it. The wax is clean, I double checked it. There are many shops in the inner west if you’re also in Sydney where there is more organic cotton to choose from. Feb 5, 2018 - Purifying pine resin is the key to make some great wilderness glue also known as pine pitch. Perhaps, like a mammal’s blood from a cut or scratch, the first stuff will be full of all the normal blood-stuff. It’s an inexact science on knowing how much to add to each square, but if I was to try this new method, I would try to distribute a light coating of shavings over the fabric. ), pour in to small containers (recycled plastic pots), leave to set, pop them out and grate over the fabric. It is in small golden chunks just like that pictured in the white bowl in your post. I have a friend who uses this recipe but she replaces sweet almond oil for jojoba oil with success Wow! What type of stores would normally sell pine rosin? Hi I’m a violin builder and can maybe help a little with the resin questions. Pine rosin isn't soluble in water so it helps to prevent the accidental removal of the wax coating when washing as well as raising the melting point of the formula so it won't simply slide off in hot weather. Scrape away the bark to expose about a 6 inch (15.2 cm) tall section of sapwood. The ironing method is so easy I’m curious why most people seem to be doing the melt-and-dip method. They then went into a 300 deg oven for 3-5 min. Good question Gail. But when blood starts to clot, what oozes out of the scratch becomes more plasma and less red-cells-and-stuff. The one dissolved in vodka, the impurities stayed on the bottom of the jar and I poured out the clean stuff, so that seems a better way to me. So not wanting to use pine resin, I decided on frankincense gum, which you can get at any Greek orthodox church supplier if all else fails, after all it is burnt as an incense in many churches. We have a large local wax processing place here that makes sheets for beekeepers but they said their wax isn’t food safe. My question is if I mix the 3 ingredients together in advance & do the silicon mould trick, can i then take the ‘bars’ of mixture & grate them on to fabric & use the iron method instead of the drizzle & paint technique? Once incorporate into the cloth it should become relatively stable anyway unless heated to melting point.. I am just totally confused as I want to make these wax wraps and I’m just not sure how much to use of each I have everything to make them not sure what amount of each to use I continued making wraps with just beeswax and jojoba oil, and they are perfect for wrapping sandwiches, cheese, apples for a packed lunch, etc. I looked up the melting point for it which seems to vary between 120ºC and 190ºC depending on whom you consult. Worked for me, so perhaps you had the wrong sort of resin. Then I dropped in some frankincense and heated the mixture again, and this time just dunked the pieces and stirred them around. Do not pour into old milk cartons because it will stick and be a bear to get off. Did you have any issues with the pine resin not fully melting/combining? The pre-mixture will stay solid at 43 degrees. Please note that many trees produce resins. Feb 22, 2014 - Purifying pine resin is the key to make some great wilderness glue also known as pine pitch. “The Enkaustikos Damar Resin has been FDA approved for coating fruit and vegetable crates during shipment.”, This is in reply to Neranza Noel Blount’s comment that It also makes a great scalp cleanser for the hair, and is equally wonderful for the skin because it has absorption properties that are similar to our skins own sebum. Did you know that here in NE Florida we harvest pine trees for their cellulose? Do you perhaps know how this is determined and how I can check the quality? All I have used have worked okay but I only bought the ones that were labeled cotton. Just found your post! (might be a jelly roll pan?) ), no waiting for melted wax to drip off, hardly any mess. About: Find more of what I do on my homepage - but no matter where you go, remember to Be Inspired! Resins are the non water soluble exudates of trees and bushes. But you probably do not care to know that. After watching numerous on-line tutorials and reading this blog (the best!) I prob wont be back here to answer questions but I hope that helps someone out. Hope your wine and mead turn out well! More information How to Purify Pine Resin and Make Pine Pitch - SHTF, Emergency Preparedness, Survival Prepping, Homesteading I use old Moccona coffee jars in simmering water in my electric frypan. Maybe I put too much on. Hi, I'm Liz. I use these to wrap entire loaves of bread and to pack snacks to take on the go. I then tried putting my stainless steel pot of wax, resin and oil in the oven and the resin eventually melted to the point it could be mixed at 170º – 175ºC. Hi Petra, My guess is that it would not work, The pine resin’s purpose is largely to do with making the wraps tacky so that the material sticks to itself. I bought a second hand electric frypan and used that. How many do you make /sell like doing it all by hand is it cost effective etc? 1 year ago. I’m also going to dye the fabric with organic yellow onion skins and just did the edges in blueberry juice. I’ve had that happen when I’ve coated my wraps with too much mixture. Is it to weigh the cloth down while you boil it? I was wondering if Frankincense resin would work? Plain liquid iodine can also be used to kill pathogens in water, but many people are turned off by the taste. I’ll update the post with your caution not to inhale those crystals. I am probably going to try it and update…it might be an option! I want to experiment with increasing the level of pine resin. Hi Vicky, I think the main thing is to avoid an oil that will go rancid quickly. 1 year ago, Resins are edible they are the original chewing gum and used in many folk medicines, Answer That was good enough for me so I didn’t bother anymore. The oil, whether jojoba or another, adds pliability to the coating. It’s got a VERY long (nearly indefinite) shelf life, which means it won’t go rancid – similar to Jojoba, and is significantly cheaper as well. I used the above recipe with 1/4 cup pine resin (powdered) and found the wraps aren’t tacky enough. I have only been using beeswax and they are great. Not sure if it’s the wax, the pine reason or the jojoba oil and coconut oil. Now place it on the oven (or an appropriate replacement) and turn up the heat. Hi Kerrie, I can’t see why candellila wouldn’t work as a replacement for the beeswax. How to Purify Pine Resin and Make Pine Pitch — Purifying pine resin is the key to make some great wilderness glue also known as pine pitch. They will ship of course, but being close enough to London I can pick it up at the store. So it does make me wonder…. I need advice how can we melt tree resins properly? I’ll go back to melting the wax first and sprinkling in the resin pounded to a powder. Is there an alternative to jojoba oil. It took about 5 mins per wrap for the whole process. Thanks for your post and to everyone for their comments. Hey! The rosin I had was a mix of smaller debris and big chunks. Hi, it is possible to buy food grade rosin to be safe. You might have noticed already that the resin does not only look cleaner, but that it can also be mashed together at this point, forming solid balls with a little work.