350512 Tue Dec 12 13:03:13 -0800 2006 6 31 Home Cooking 0 2091396 Apparently to harden the chocolate. Tue Dec 12 04:05:48 -0800 2006 59253 erinodc 1 2091884 According to this recipe for Buckeyes, which are kind of like chocolate coated peanut butter truffles, banking wax helps the chocolate to harden: http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/6420/sarah.htm In the Internet tradition of giving an answer to a different question when you don't know the real answer, I offer this alternative, which one responded says "this is way better than using baking wax." http://www.recipecenter.com/Recipe.asp?code=303615 Ain'g Google wonderful? But I lost patience before I found a source for baking wax or even exactly what it was or how it's to be used. Tue Dec 12 11:35:13 -0800 2006 2091396 10624 MikeR 2 2092188 Wow, I've never seen a recipe for Buckeyes that wasn't my mother's! They're a favorite in my family. My mother, however, has a heavy hand with the paraffin, and the chocolate often comes out strange (at least to me). Tue Dec 12 14:49:04 -0800 2006 2091884 13574 pamalamb 1 2092021 We never called it baking wax - we just called it paraffin. In addition to using it to help set your dipping chocolate, and keep it from melting in warm temps, it was also used to seal jelly jars. The liquid paraffin was just poured over the warm jelly to form a seal on the top of it. Then, a lid was screwed on. To serve, the solid disk of paraffin was just pried off the jelly. Tue Dec 12 13:43:56 -0800 2006 2091396 16216 k_d 2 2092340 I remember my great aunt sealing her preserves with parafin. She was a *great* cook and did both preserves and pickles & relishes every year. But, even as a kid, the jam under the parafin kinda scared me. I also remember once having some candy recipes from the White House that used parafin in chocolate instead of tempering it. At the time, instructions for tempering chocolate weren't available so I was glad to have that method so I could use real chocolate without fear of blooming. Now, it seems so strange that the White House kitchen would use wax instead of tempering. Tue Dec 12 15:38:12 -0800 2006 2092021 17969 rainey 1 2092905 Years ago, I used to make peanut butter balls which called for the use of parafin wax. Never heard it called baking wax either. It's used not only to harden the chocolate, but also leaves a nice shine to the pb balls. Tue Dec 12 17:57:45 -0800 2006 2091396 20762 Phoebe 1 2092937 Paraffin is a substitute for good chocolate that is in temper. I have seen recipes that call for it, but the taste is horrible and it makes the product almost inedible. Tue Dec 12 18:05:43 -0800 2006 2091396 22220 Kelli2006