Lydia Neave, Marketing Assistant
The best thing since sliced bread is … bread that stays fresh, wrapped in a natural, 100% compostable, plastic free food wrap.
For us at Make it Wild, cling film is a thing of the past – we can’t imagine life without bees wax wraps.
Until recently, when they hit the spotlight, appearing on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, bees wax wraps were a novelty. When we displayed our bees wax wrap products at our earliest market stalls, they would stop traffic. Everyone wanted to know what they were; people would queue up to see, touch, and smell the food wrap of the future.
Now, many people have heard of them, but we still get asked lots of questions…
You mean you can actually wash and reuse them?
How do they work?
Will it always smell of onion after I wrap an onion?
What do you use yours for?
How long do they last?
That’s why we want to set the story straight and put your minds at ease, with an attempt at answering as many of your questions as possible.
They are a washable, reusable food wrap. And most importantly a plastic-free alternative to cling film.
They are 100% cotton fabric infused with food grade wax. This contains bees wax, organic jojoba oil and damar tree resin. We avoid pine resin as it can provoke allergies. All of these ingredients are natural and non-toxic, unlike plastic.
For our lovely vegan friends, we also stock a vegan food wrap . These contain soy wax instead of beeswax.
Beeswax is waterproof yet breathable, so it protects your food from drying out or wilting, while locking in moisture, flavour and freshness. Beeswax is naturally anti-fungal and antibacterial, which reduces the risk of any possible contamination. Brilliantly, it’s also naturally repellent to odours. So after you’ve used a wrap to save half an onion, give it a quick wash, and it will be smell-free and ready to use again.
Simply scrunch the wrap in your hands, and then mould it around your food or plate. The warmth of your hands will soften the wrap, and the wax will stick to itself, or the plate. If you’re placing your food in the fridge, the wax will then harden and hold its shape.
This is an easy one – anything you would have wrapped up with cling film, foil or sandwich bags! Avoid raw meat and hot foods, but apart from that, go for it! I use mine round loaves of bread, packed lunches, sandwiches, cookies, halves of fruit and vegetables, jars, bowls, plates, and even baking trays. We have different sizes to suit all kinds of uses. They are fantastic to cover a salad bowl, and actually stop the leaves wilting, and they are bees knees for cheese!
We stock a number of different sizes for all your food-wrapping needs. Click on the pack size to see detailed product descriptions.
Small wraps – great for half an avocado
Lunch pack – ideal for packed lunches
Variety pack – our most popular pack and an ideal set to start with
Extra Large – designed for a large loaf, and also covers a large platter or baking tray.
If you can’t find the size you need, you could choose the Extra Large size and cut it up to whatever size you need.
All you need to do is wipe or gently wash your wraps in warm soapy water. We recommend using an eco-friendly washing up liquid, which is gentler on the wraps. Let them air dry – I often drape mine over a chopping board that’s also drying. Once it’s dry, roll, pop in the drawer and it’s ready to use again when you need it.
This can happen after perhaps a year of regular use. Refreshing the stickiness is easy – place the wrap on grease proof paper in the oven on a low heat. After 2 – 3 minutes, carefully pick up the wrap by its corners (it will be hot!) and waft gently to spread the re-melted wax around. After doing this a few times, you may need to add more wax. And for that situation, our bees wax refresher blocks are perfect. We stock these wax bars so that you can add some life back into your wrap; simply grate the block over the wrap and pop it into the oven, as above.
Eventually, you might decide your wraps have come to the end of their useful life. Or you might fancy a new design to keep things fresh! Then you can simply cut them up and pop them on the compost heap!
Don’t forget we are always introducing new designs, with something to suit everyone.
Happy plastic-free swapping!
