Can you use Carnuba wax in your candy???

Why not? At least Carnuba wax is a natural product from a tree in South America and not made from petroleum.

When we had a wood working shop we used Carnuba wax for a very shiny French Polish on furniture.

The only trouble is Carnuba wax is very hard to find and VERY expensive, you will have to look for a woodworking specialty shop. most likely on line, your average hardware store or umberr store may not even know it exists. I think my husband bought a couple of lbs from a place called "Constantines" but that was many years ago. Constantines sells rare woods, sheets of different veneers and all kinds of supplies but is very expensive.

Anyone who has eaten the typical American diet,(prepared foods or not) for more than 50 years most likely has over 500 chemicals in his/her blood. Look at the ingredient labels on hot dogs or on Whiiped Topping, latter looks like the inventory list of a chemical factory but folks slurp it up every fay. (Give me REAL whipping cream once or twice a year and keep your whipped  topping .........). When I was a child we used paraffin tops on jellies, cooked in some aluminum pots and I am still kicking and cancer free at 85. Just saying........

Can you use Carnuba wax in candy???

Why not? At least it is a natural product from a tree in South America.                  I t is the hardest wax known and very expensive. Old fashioned furniture builders used it to put a shiny French Finish on expensive furniture. It took many coats and very hard work and the end product looked like shellack and was just as durable.

When we had a wood working shop back in the 70s my husband bought a few lbs from a company named "Constantines", we mixed it with other ingredients to make our own furniture wax/polish. Some expensive car waxes still have a little Carnuba wax in them. Your average hardware store or lumber yard most likely don't even know what Carnuba wax is.

When I was a child we put paraffin on top of jellies (it was NOT hard to get the layer off if you used the right jars). We also cooked in some aluminum pots and not one of the oldsters in my extended family had Alzheimers, Dementia or cancer and all lived into their 80s and some into their 90s and were sharp as tacks until the day they died.(MY mother was the exception, she went into a coma for 10 days before she died).

I'll be 85 in 3 weeks and still cancer free and I think I still have most of my wits and brain cells......................just saying.

Anyone who has eaten the typical American diet for the last 40+ years (prepared foods or none) has over 500+  chemicals in his/her blood anyway, so why worry about a small amount of paraffin? Look at the ingredient labels on hot dogs and Whipped Topping. The list of ingredients in Whipped Topping is like the inventory list of a chemical factory yet people suck it up every day. I would rather have real whipped cream once or twice a year than eat whipped topping because there is no substitute for the real thing.

I use the parafin every year when making my peanut butter balls.  Usually make about 25-30 dozen of these and hve never had problems with it, especially since you are using such a small amount of it.

An alternative is a product called "paramount crystals".  I can buy small bags of it at my local Amish store that carries bulk spices and seasonings.

mamajack

mamajack

I use the parafin every year when making my peanut butter balls.  Usually make about 25-30 dozen of these and hve never had problems with it, especially since you are using such a small amount of it.

An alternative is a product called "paramount crystals".  I can buy small bags of it at my local Amish store that carries bulk spices and seasonings.

mamajack

Sorry for my double post, I am having PC problems and keyboard problems right now and am waiting for a new PC within a week.

Now you have me very curious about what "Paramount Crystals" re that you buy in an Amish store. What is the chemical make-up of those crystals? (I have lived among Amish for 1 1/2 yr back in the early 70s in Shipshewana/Indiana and know what they sell is not always pure or organic, they are out for the $$$$$, even if bulk things are cheaper in their stores, they work for less mark-up and sell more in quantity to make up for the cheaper prices.They are very good business people.

Where else can you buy "Paramount Crystals" (whatever they are). I actually don't make candies since I don't have a family and my friends are mostly older and don't eat much candy, they like my home made whole wheat bread a lot better so that is what I make for gift giving.

I do have some candy making supplies(mainly chocolate, nuts ect) and will make some if I can talk somebody into helping me, I just no longer  have the patience for piddly small stuff I have to make by myself. Am still interested in many things and what things are even if I don't use them.

I am venturing a guess about the Paramount Crystals, perhaps they are chemically hardened wax? (I'll try to Google them)

Well, what do you know, my guess was not too far off. Paramount crystal ingredients are:

highly hydrogenated palm kernel fat and lecithin.

Yep, the same palm kernel fat that is supposed to be bad for us because it is trans-fat, in the same category as coconut oil, palm oil and all other palm oils/fats, especially highly hydrogenated ones. In other words, the paraffin wax is more harmless because it goes right through you without being absorbed, it's just a lubricant. The trans-fats will stick with you and in your arteries. The lecithin is an emulsifier added to the palm kernel fat to make  the mix  creamier when melted with the chocolate .

Oh, well, one learns something new every day. Who would believe  the Amish would sell you something that  may be bad for you? (I believe it).

here are some substitute for Paraffin wax

Cubbybear - I used the last of the "Paramount crystals" at Easter (making candy eggs), but I am sure that they must be some type of wax, oil, etc.  They are small clear white flakes and they melt to a clear color.  They help harden and thin the chocolate, also they allow the clocolate to stay out of the refrigerator for a longer time.  They do make a the chocolate coating shiny too.

mamajack

Hey, Mamajack, google "Paramount Crystals" and find out they are not good for you either.

I think I will just stop eating, period............pretty soon there will not be anything left that is safe to eat or drink.

There is a difference in the TYPE of paraffin waxes you use.

There are at least 3 types I know of:

-for candle and other crafting, NOT to be eaten!! this is most likely the king the guy was saying not to eat.

-for canning, i.e. gulf wax, again, only to be used as a sealer, NOT to be eaten

-for candy making, this is completely edible and can be eaten HOWEVER it is BEST not to eat large quantities with the wax in it because it can obstruct the bowels!!

I have an old candy recipe that calls for it. IT IS COMPLETELY SAFE IF YOU GET THE RIGHT KIND!! If you have ever had regular honey, then you have had the paraffin wax in your system!! Bee hives are made of the stuff and are completely edible. And YES, I have eaten some!!

I have also tried using shortening in the recipes I have and it did NOT work. It is a BONDING agent to make the chocolate or candy adhere to another chocolate or candy!

IF you need some, LorAnn oils sells it now in 1 lb bags. If it wasn't safe to eat, it would have been completely pulled from the market years ago. It's just with the way things have changed, the need for it has dropped greatly, so it is not as popular.