Bee’s Wrap, a wax- and resin-coated, reusable muslin cloth for wrapping and sealing food, dispenses with four annoyances of plastic wrap:

1) It’s not made from petroleum.

2) It can be used again and again for up to one year.

3) It doesn’t cling to itself and drive you nuts. Rather, you can mold it around whatever you are wrapping with ease; the company says that’s because the warmth of your hands slightly melts the Bee’s Wrap.

4) There is no serrated blade to annoyingly detach itself from the cardboard box, making it hard to cut the plastic wrap and (again) driving you nuts.

Then, there is the aesthetic bonus. Unlike plastic, Bee’s Wrap (made by a Vermont company, beeswrap.com) feels nice in your hand, and pleasure is no small part of why I like to be in the kitchen. I’ve used mine to wrap sandwiches and cheese (solving a perennial problem of seemingly instant cheese decline at my house) and to seal bowls of food. It comes in several sizes and costs from $16 to $19 for a set of three wraps. Because it must be washed in cool water (with soap), it is not recommended for wrapping meats. I bought a square of the stuff at the Common Ground Fair last fall, but I’ve seen it in kitchen stores, too. This is the perfect stocking stuffer for the conscientious cooks – well, maybe next year.

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