Is there wax in chocolate?

[Joe_Mahma]

I seem to remember reading this somewhere several years ago. Is it true?
If so, is there less (or no) wax in more expensive chocolate?

[dorkusmalorkusmafia]

A lot of chocolate is made with a small sampling of wax. I don’t have sites on this at the moment but when making fudge, truffles (especially the candy shell), and other chocolatey confections I would routinely add a small portion of wax shavings so it would set better. This was called for in the recipes I was using at the time. If you have ever made a chocolate bar from scratch and then had a hershey bar immediately afterwards you can definately tell that it has wax in it.

[Master_Wang-Ka]

El Cheapo chocolate, and even some better chocolate, has carnuba wax in it.

A recipe I’ve seen for making Girl Scout style Thin Mint cookies recommends melting some colorless birthday candles right into the chocolate.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

I’m fairly sure that (at least some of) the chocolate icing on doughnuts is made with paraffin wax, so that it doesn’t ooze all over everywhere. I was a kid who sometimes liked to cook, and after a few messy attempts of making home-made chocolate covered cake doughnuts on my own, I broke down and asked one of the bakers at the local Safeway who clued me in. I was also told that it is supposed to pass harmessly through the human digestive tract.

It seems, however, that there is ignorance to be fought even when it comes to what kind of wax is in your chocolate. For example, here’s a relevant nugget from a Chocolate Tempering Google Hit:

Chocolate and Paraffin (Parawax or Cooking Wax): Parawax is the same thing as paraffin and can be found in the grocery store, usually in the preserves section or the cake section. It is inexpensive. Some older recipes for dipped candy call for melting paraffin with chocolate to make it firmer and give it a nice sheen upon cooling. The label on most paraffin boxes state it is not for human consumption, but it is still used.

And after asking Google if paraffin was edible, I found this more cautious suggestion:

Some paraffin, such as the kind used in candlemaking, is not meant to be eaten. However, other varieties are edible and commonly are used on fruits, vegetables and candy to make them shiny and prevent spoiling.

Make sure to check the label to ensure you’re buying an edible kind.

[thinline]

Less with the wrapper off, than with it left on.

[moejuck]

In the book “Chocolate” by Christine McFadden, the word wax doesn’t even appear. I would say that if the chocolate has wax in it, then it isn’t of much quality.