Color of newly melted beeswax

[greenbtree]

Question - beeswax that I have seen in the past has always been a light brown color.  All of the wax that I have produced so far comes out bright dark yellow.  Is the color going to fade with time?  Or is it from pollen (I live in a big goldenrod area) in the comb?

JC

[Michael Bush]

Wax from cappings or new comb is usually yellow to white in color.  Wax from old brood comb is usually brown to dark brown in color.  It does not change with age other than bleaching more white in the sun (and melting if it's hot enough).

[greenbtree]

Learn something new everyday.  I'll bet that back when beeswax was the best candle material that the whiter the wax the better, the most valuable.  I'm sure that the Church in the Middle Ages snapped that up.  I, of course, think beeswax is still the best candle material - once in awhile I run into somebody who doesn't like the smell though.  (What's wrong with them?! :-D)

JC

[Michael Bush]

I think part of the appeal in this day and age is that paraffin is white, so you expect beeswax candles to look different from that...

[greenbtree]

Well, I can hear it now at the farmer's market.  "If those are REAL beeswax candles, why are they yellow?"
Another opportunity to educate the public.

JC