How To Make Tallow Candles
Tallow candles are easy to make and an excellent use of homestead resources, especially if you render your own beef tallow (or lard). They are made with just one ingredient, and that's tallow, unless you want to add an essential oil or pthalate free fragrance oil, and then it's just two ingredients. There's nothing better than cozy candlelight on a cool fall or winter evening, especially when the candle is a clean-burning tallow candle.
Yield: 1 candle
Cost: $5.00
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan or double boiler - for melting the tallow
- 1 Cotton wick or wicking material
- 1 Wick sticker or glue dot
- 1 Wick holder (wooden skewer or clothespin)
- 1 Small mason jar or container - for making the candle
Materials
- 16 oz Rendered beef tallow Grass-fed tallow is best, but unless you're making an edible tallow candle, any kind of tallow will work just fine. To learn how to render your own tallow, click here.
- Essential oils or pthalate free fragrance oils, optional
Instructions
- Slowly melt rendered tallow over low heat using a small saucepan or a double boiler, being careful not to overheat the tallow.
- When the tallow is melted, add any fragrance oil or essential oils as desired and stir gently.
- Secure a cotton wick to the bottom of your jar or container using a wick sticker or a glue dot.
- Place the wick holder (wooden skewer or a clothes pin) across the top of the container. Wrap the top of the wick around the wick holder to hold it in the center of the candle jar or container.
- Pour the melted tallow into the jar or container and allow it to sit out at room temperature for several hours until the liquid tallow becomes solidified.
- For best results, let the candle cool for at least 24 hours before lighting.
- Trim wick down to ¼ inch.
- Light and enjoy.
- Store candles in a cool, dry place indefinitely.
Notes
You can also make candles out of other rendered animal fat like lard or venison, or even from coconut oil or beeswax, using the same method.
Add up to 5% beeswax when making tallow candles to make a harder, longer lasting tallow candle.
It's best to use a jar or some kind of container for tallow candles as they are too soft to be made into taper candles.
You can also make wickless candle melts by following the same process (minus the wick) and then just placing the scented tallow in a wax melter.
