Beeswax candles

Beeswax candles are candles made from the wax that honey bees secrete to build comb. According to FAO, beeswax was for centuries considered the best material for candles: with tallow it was the main raw material until cheaper paraffin wax arrived.

Pharmacopoeias give beeswax a melting point of 61–66 °C, more commonly 62–65 °C, while most paraffins melt at 48–68 °C. That is why beeswax candles stay straight even in a warm room. With a wick sized to the candle's diameter they drip less than candles of other materials, and waxes melting above 88 °C, FAO notes, do not burn well. The Roman Catholic Church requires ceremonial candles to contain at least 51 % pure beeswax.

Wax is melted only in a water bath and never heated above 85 °C, as overheating spoils the colour. Good beeswax is yellow with a sweet aroma; pure white wax on the market has always been bleached. A white bloom on old candles is crystallised wax and is harmless.

The usual adulterant is cheap paraffin; FAO describes a laboratory test that detects it, and a normal melting point does not prove purity. According to IPBES, the world's hives yield about 65,000 tonnes of beeswax a year.

Why this matters to you. A beeswax candle that keeps its shape and smells of honey is an apiary product, and its yellow colour and scent help tell it from a paraffin one.