I work hard to make my food storage is as waste-free as possible (though I am very far from perfect). I take reusable mesh bags to the farmers’ market and grocery store for produce. I often tote glass jars to the bulk section when I need to restock my dry goods. Our leftovers go in wide-mouth jars and Pyrex containers with snap-on plastic lids. The one thing I’ve really struggled with is finding a good way to keep things things that need close wrapping.
I wash and rewash plastic bags, but they don’t last forever. I sometimes succumb to the lure of plastic wrap, but I hate the idea of swaddling food in a single use cling. Happily, I’ve discovered a new-to-me product that has solved most of my food covering woes.
Called Bee’s Wrap, these food-safe wrappers are made from sheets of organic cotton fabric that are imbued with beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin. You wrap them around food, bowls or plates and use the heat of your hands to mold the fabric into place. So far, I’ve used them on hunks of cheese, cucumbers, and to cover bowls with rising bread dough. I adore them.
I first learned about the Bee’s Wrap when I got an email from Sarah, the woman who makes them. I asked her to tell me a little about her product and how she started making them. Here’s what she said.
I love to make things and my husband and I love food! I grow and preserve almost all of the vegetables for our family of five, make our bread and my husband raises pigs, chickens and lambs for food. We have dappled in a lot of projects from making beer, cider, yogurt, milking goats, and lots of sewing.
As my children are growing out of babyhood I was finding a need and desire to enter the workforce, but wanted to be close to home and work for myself. Within an ongoing exchange of ideas, my cousins suggested that I make wax infused cloth to use in the kitchen. It was such a lovely idea and after some time I started experimenting and researching it.
The practicality, common sense, and environmental benefits was so amazing I felt I could turn it into a business that would help to support us, as well as provide a great product. I also just love working with beeswax and fabric.
I find that these wrappers are quite easy to care for. They clean off with a quick wipe of gentle dish soap and a rinse in lukewarm water (you want to avoid the hottest water your tap can produce, in order to prevent the wax from melting off the fabric).
I’ve found that these wraps can do nearly everything that plastic bags and Saran wrap can do. The only exceptions are covering dishes in the microwave and helping prevent dough from sticking while rolling out. Sarah does recommend that you avoid using them on meat, poultry and fish, to help prevent any cross-contamination or funky smells from developing.
They last a good long time, and when they eventually wear out, they can be composted. You can’t say that about the more conventional plastic bags and wraps!
Thanks to Sarah, I have a set of three (small, medium and large) Bee’s Wraps for giveaway today. Here’s how to enter.
- Leave a comment on this post and share your favorite trick for leftover storage.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog over the weekend.
- Giveaway open US residents only.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Bee’s Wrap gave me a set of two wraps for review and photography purposes and has provided a set of three wraps for this giveaway. They did not pay for inclusion on the blog and my opinions remain entirely my own.
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I use all glass containers now. I stopped using plastic about 3 years ago.
I cant enter the giveaway as I live in Australia, but just wanted to thank you for showcasing this product – how lovely.
Freezing for later use.. a new use… another dinner plan…
I also use mason jars for leftovers. I managed to make one box of plastic wrap last over three years! But I fear I’m already halfway through my current box. I would LOVE an alternative!
This product is brilliant. I just use the bags over and over again
Man, this sounds like the answer to my prayers. I,too, am thanks, trying to use less plastic wrap. mary in cincinnati
We swapped to glass containers for leftovers because it was easy to forget what was in the plastic ones when we couldn’t see them and far to easy just to chuck the whole thing once it had spoiled. There has been a heck of a lot less waste of both food and containers since we swapped.
Freezing leftover soup/stock/fruit juices in muffin tins or ice cube trays has been an absolute life saver for me! Good quality lemon juice ready when jamming season hits
Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers usually
Pyrex Grab-it bowls! I love the older ones circa 1980. They’re great for storing single servings of leftovers.
My favorite tip is for reusing ziplock bags- after they are washed, they are dried upside down with a magnet inside, attaching it to the refrigerator . No wasted counter space:). Looks like an interesting product!
Ever since I ditched my plastic containers, I’ve just been using glass dishes with lids. But I’ve never seen a great alternative to the plastic baggies or wrap. These look fantastic!
Plastic wrap always seems to cling to itself in a bunchy lump, so I try really hard to avoid even trying to use it. This product seems much more manageable, as well as having the benefit of being reusable.
I use my canning jars (just ordered another case of half-pints from Amazon today!) exclusively for storage rather than plastics and they take up so much less room than bowls in the refrigerator, plus I am dehydrating leftovers before they can go bad. NO MORE WASTE! I vacuum pack every jar and things stay fresh so much longer!
I put everything in jars, of course!
Very cool idea! I store most leftovers in jars.
This looks like a fabulous product.
I’m all about eliminating disposables too so my fingers are crossed and I’m ordering some on Feb 23 if I’m no the lucky one.
I buy shaved Parmesan at Costco in large, square, clear containers. When they’re empty I wash them and use them for shelf storage of dry goods. They use space very efficiently and make the contents readily identifiable.
The tea I buy comes in metal canisters with airtight lids. They’re too attractive to toss so I use peanut butter to remove all the adhesive from the labels. Then I can sew an attractive fabric or oilcloth sleeve to replace the label. Tag them with the contents like stationery supplies, sewing items. Or use them for food gifts like granola, spiced nuts, etc.
I tend to use canning jars.
We’ve slowly been removing plastic storage from our lives. I try to use glass containers only, but these covers would really extend our options when leftover are in glass bowls that have no lids.
I still have lots of plastic storage containers that I’ve used for many years, glass jars and plastic produce bags. I also use lots of cling wrap–I’d love to try the Bee’s Wrap.
Wow, those look so cool! I, too, use mesh bags for produce and bulk bin purchases, glass jars for freezing, and I’m endlessly washing Ziplocs. For anything that doesn’t need refrigeration, like pie, muffins, scones, or the like, I just wrap in a clean kitchen towel and leave on the counter. I find they actually keep better than using plastic or tinfoil, which tends to make baked goods soggy.
I will have to check out these wraps. Thanks, Marisa!
I also primarily store leftovers in glass containers and store bulk items in glass jars. I have had issues with the plastic lids for the glass bowls falling apart or disappearing altogether. These would be a great solution for a long lasting lid.
Like others, I wash and reuse my ziploc & other plastic bags until they are completely dead! I’ll often make use of my collection of small asian-style bowls to save leftovers – using one as the container and another slightly smaller one upside down as the lid. This wrap looks amazing though, I’d love to try it!
This is a fascinating product! I sometimes store leftovers in the pots and pans I made them in so I can reheat them on the stove and not have to dirty another item. For quickbreads, I will just place it back in my loaf pan and throw a kitchen towel over it.
My husband and I keep an inventory of our refrigerator and freezer so we don’t forget what we have and lose leftovers to spoilage. Sometimes we write the list on paper and sometimes we use dry erase directly on the fridge.
I use canning jars and baby food jars for the freezer. I love the look of these wraps and would definitely buy some if I don’t win!
I use mason jars and other various jars almost exclusively. I find that I hardly ever use plastic wrap. I just put plates over pans, pie plates etc or use foil over and over until it is recycled.
Jars! I feel like I converted to another religion. I use canning jars and wide mouth jars from peanut butter and other products. Super awesome storage.
I use a combination of (many times reused) Ziploc bags, Pyrex glass containers, canning jars, and plastic. I have also been known to use a sheet of aluminum foil 3 to 5 times before recycling it. I hate producing waste and love that there’s one more waste-free alternative for me.
What a cool idea! It would be so much easier to use these than plastic wrap:)
We use all glass storage but these wraps are BRILLIANT and I would love to try them!
I, too, am using canning jars now for all kinds of storage!
I haven’t used plastic wrap in years. I typically reuse glass jars or plastic yogurt containers to store leftovers. If I don’t win this giveaway, I definitely am going to get some of these wraps!
I use glass storage for most everything and have replaced many paper products, but I have been searching for a replacement for cling wrap forever. So excited about these wraps!
I wish i had some good tricks. We just use tupperware (though we have been moving towards using mostly glass)
I use canning jars to store foods and also for snacks on the go for the kids. I also love unbleached wax paper bags for items that I don’t want to dirty an entire glass dish for.
i love using a slice of lemon to help keep sliced fruits and vegetables from browning in the fridge (this does not work for bananas, nothing will save those things).
Canning jars and waxed paper!
I use mostly use Tupperware type containers. I’m slowly trying to convert my kitchen into greener kitchen. This product is very cool.
my fav is to use all of our old synergy kombucha bottles as grain silos in our pantry. they are nice and tall, using the vertical space that we’re usually so bad at filling!
I like using the Gladware reusable containers. Mason jars are beginning to show up on my pantry shelves as well.
We re-use the containers that sandwich meat comes in. They are “free” and when they have been used plenty they can still be recycled.
I prefer mason jars or some type of glass. But, I work in a jail and cannot bring glass containers to work, so I have to have some plastics around.
I like glass tupperware, but I sure do use a lot of quart-sized yogurt containers! great for freezing stock or soup without worry of the mason jar cracking as the liquid freezes.
I love my empty canning jars for food storage. But another trick I have is reuseing empty food containers and bags. I buy corn tortillas when I don’t have time them I reuse the bag for homemade tortillas.
I feel so guilty whenever I use plastic wrap or aluminum foil, this is a great alternative!
Our Chinese takeout soup comes in plastic quart containers that have become lifesavers for me. They are the kind Ina Garten uses on her show. I make big pots of chicken stock and soups and freeze the leftovers in them. Noticed yesterday that my husband moused one and is storing a portable supply of snow-off salt for chasing away snow in it! This bee’s paper sounds like a fabulous idea. Thanks for the intro!
I wish I had a trick. I use lots of glass storage containers and lots of mason jars. These look really amazing.What a neat idea!
tin foil!
We have an ancient set of Tupperware that stores most of our leftovers.