Beeswax and tallow candles, step by step
Interactive lesson: from beeswax and tallow to a candle that burns steadily — water bath, wick, dipping, moulding, rolling and the test burn.
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The whole lesson as text
1. Wax or tallow
The two best home-grown materials for candles are beeswax and tallow.
- Beeswax — It melts at 62–64 °C. It burns long and clean, is hard and doesn't drip, but needs a thicker wick.
- Dark wax is fine — Darker wax from brood comb, which isn't good enough for foundation, is fine for candles.
- Tallow and blends — Tallow melts at only 40–50 °C; it is soft and drips. A blend with 30–50 % wax smokes less and doesn't drip.
- Clean wax, washed tallow — Strain the wax through flannel, because dirt clogs the wick. Tallow is washed twice in hot salted water until it is white.
Why: Beeswax burns cleanly and long and smells of honey, and tallow is almost free after slaughter. A blend of the two gives a candle harder than tallow and cheaper than wax.
- Lard is too soft for candles; it goes into soap (H63-01).
- How wax is melted and cleaned is in H46-05 Beeswax: rendering, cleaning, uses, and how tallow is rendered and washed is in H55-06 Rendering lard and tallow.
2. Safety
Wax and tallow are fats: on the hob they go from liquid to burning without warning.
- Water bath — The wax container stands in a pan of water, never directly on the hob or flame.
- Thermometer in the wax — Wax never above 85–90 °C (185–195 °F). When wax smokes, take it off the heat at once.
- A lid, never water — Burning wax or tallow: turn off the heat, cover the pot and don't lift the lid until it has cooled.
- Blanket and extinguisher — Keep a fire blanket or a suitable fire extinguisher to hand. Never leave melting wax unattended.
Why: Burning fat is not put out with water, and drops of water in wax above 100 °C explode. So wax is melted only in a water bath, with a thermometer and a lid to hand.
- If the fire spreads to the kitchen: everyone out, close the door and call the fire service (999 or 112 in the UK and Ireland, 911 in the US and Canada).
- Cool a wax burn under lukewarm running water for 20 minutes and don't pull the wax off by force. Larger burns, burns to the face or hands and burns in children should be seen by a doctor (for advice, NHS 111 in the UK).
3. The wick · Locked
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4. Dipped candles · Locked
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5. Moulded and rolled · Locked
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6. Burning and oil lamps · Locked
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