[shootmor]

Would it work to put a coating of paraffin over your stored items. I think that is what some people do for food on boats.

 

[Swamp Shuck]

Would it work to put a coating of paraffin over your stored items. I think that is what some people do for food on boats.

We use it on cheese here. Even in the cheese cave, a few hundred wheels of cheese keep better in wax.

I'm sure it would work for other things.

blt

 

[BrowserCat]

That works for some foods, but the USDA doesn't recommend it for things like jam any more [doesn't always seal properly, and you can't reuse it for jam/jelly anyway as it doesn't get hot enough to kill any bacteria]. Wax would be good on things like cardboard boxes; there are folks who've posted that they used it for that quite successfully.

Don't use parrafin, though; plain old wax [the kind you would tint and scent to make candles] is way cheaper. Pick up unscented candles at garage sales cheap.

 

[Brother Bear]

chese cave so like batman without wings ?? : : :

 

[shootmor]

I didn't mean sealing canning jars. I had forgotten all about that. That was the way my grandmother did it for jelly and the like. I meant cardboard boxes, canned goods etc.

 

[Wulf23]

I didn't mean sealing canning jars. I had forgotten all about that. That was the way my grandmother did it for jelly and the like. I meant cardboard boxes, canned goods etc.

You don't really need to on canned goods and using wax on cardboard boxes just makes them a worse fire hazard.

 

[Macumazahn]

One way to seal the top of a 'canned' jar is to pour 1/4" of melted paraffin wax on top of what ever you are sealing. I have eaten many jars of preserved jam and jelly that was topped like this. When you break it up the wax can be reused if you carefully melt it and strain out the impurities. You lose a bit each time. Lids are better but they do degrade. You can not take a bit of this lid and a bit of that lid and make a new one. Once melted and strained the paraffin is good to go.

Some of my past neighbours would can their jam in baby food jars, screw the lid on, and dip it in paraffin wax. They where brittle and were not trusted past two years but, if that was your target, it worked fine.