How to Make Tallow Candles

As I rendered tallow from deer fat a few weeks back, a task many said wasn’t worthwhile and simply a waste product, I’ve found multiple uses for it. One is creating tallow emergency candles, or simply just to use.

Believe it or not, candles have been used for centuries to provide light to humans. While early candles can be traced back to Ancient Egypt around 3,000 B.C, Ancient Romans are credited with some of the first candles and they were made of rendered beef fat, an animal fat commonly known as tallow.

While modern candles are a far cry from the candles in roman times, that doesn’t mean that they don’t still hold value and have a place in our modern world. Tallow is inexpensive and fairly easy to render. Since we butcher our own animals, it is also readily available and a renewable resource, meanwhile beeswax candles aren’t as easy for us because beeswax isn’t readily available to us locally.

Paraffin candles, on the other hand, are not. Not only is paraffin wax toxic, coming with a list of potential health risks. It’s also not renewable and has only been around since 1867. Soy candles have also gained popularity in our modern, industrialized world. While soy is grown in copious amounts, making soybean oil to create candles, is not easy to do and requires a lot of specialized equipment and processes.

If we need to provide light without electricity, due to a power outage or otherwise, I want to be able to create that light myself, not depend on toxic, nonrenewable, specialized oils in order to do it for me. That’s not sustainable and it’s not the lifestyle we aspire to.

How to Make Tallow Candles

Supplies for Handmade Tallow Candles:

The amount of these supplies you’ll need will vary based on how many candles you want to make. I filled two, pint jars which used two wicks and approximately a half-pound of tallow. You could also use half-pints or large quarts if you so choose so how much tallow you will use will vary.

• Tallow (beef tallow, deer tallow, or any other type will suffice)
• Canning Jars (or used jelly jars or the like that can handle extreme temperature changes)
• Cotton Wicks
• Double Boiler (or make your own)
• Pencils or popsickle sticks (two for each jar)
• Hot Glue Gun (optional)

Step 1: Melt

Melt the amount of tallow you need to fill your jars over medium heat in a double boiler, or create your own with a pitcher placed inside a pot with hot water and heat it to melt.

Once it’s melted, remove it from heat. Unlike beeswax, it takes a while for the tallow to solidify, so you can let it cool for a few moments while you move on to step 2.

Step 2: Prepare Your Jar

While your tallow is cooling, prepare your jar. You want to make sure your wick stays in the middle and reaches the bottom of the container. It’s a good idea to put a dab of hot glue on the bottom of the wick and placed it in the center of the jar. Then, I kept the length of the wick centered by placing a pencil on either side of it on the top of the jar.

You could also use tape, popsicle sticks, clothes pins, or other available materials to keep it centered. Just make sure it reaches the bottom and stays centered in your jars so your candles burn evenly once finished.

Step 3: Pour

Now, you’ll simply pour the hot tallow into the mason jars up to where the threads begin. Do this in a place where they’ll have ample time to cool undisturbed so they’re not in the way and the wicks don’t get rocked. It will take a while for the tallow to solidify at room temperature.

Once it’s solid, simply trim your wick down to a half-inch and burn when you’re ready.

A Few Tips

• Burn your homemade tallow candles for at least two hours to keep tunneling to a minimum. If tunneling does occur, you can reuse the fat by melting it back down inside the jar in a pot of water and storing for later use.
• Tallow candles do not smell when burning, you can use some essential oils to scent them if you desire, or just leave them as is.
• These candles will keep for a long time without going rancid.

There you have it, your own, tallow candles that cost next to nothing and a new skill.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to reconnect with your food, nature, and the heritage way of life, you’ve come to the right place.

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