Try Colonial Candle Making at Home! It’s fun and educational!

Tallow candles were the primary source of lighting in colonial times. The primary benefit of tallow candles was they were inexpensive and could be made at home from suit (raw animal fat) saved up from the butchering of domestic or wild animals colonists had on hand.

Colonial candle making really has two main steps. First rendering suit into tallow and second making candles from that tallow. We’ll tackle the subject in that order.

So… how do you render suit into tallow for some colonial candle making fun? It’s a simple, if somewhat messy and smelly process. You’ll need…

A large pot.

3-5 lb of raw beef or mutton fat (suit).

Salt

Water

Sharp Knife

Long handled wooden spoon

colander or sieve

Cut or grind the beef or mutton fat up into the smallest pieces you can. Or better still, ask your grocer to grind it up for you. The smaller the pieces the faster it’ll melt.

The best suit comes from around the kidneys and loins but this is rather difficult to come by and can be expensive. Regular suit will work fine and can usually be had for free or a nominal price from the butcher in your local grocery store.

Candles can be made from pork fat better known as lard. However, lard makes poor quality and VERY smelly and smoky candles. Colonists avoided making these unless they had to and I suggest you do too and for the same reasons they did! Check out Candle Making In Colonial Times for more candle making history.

After it’s ground or cut up… Put the suit (raw fat) into a large pot. Add just enough water to cover the suit. Add about 1 TBSP of salt for each lb of suit.

Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Let it boil slowly, stirring often. Smash large pieces of fat against the side of the pot with your wooden spoon to help release the oil.

The size of your fat pieces and the quantity of suit will determine how long you have to boil your mixture. The larger the suit chunks, the longer it takes to liquefy. 3-5 lb of pre-ground fat will usually be done in 20-30 minutes. Eventuallyall the suit will melt and release its fat as a liquid.

You’ve gotten all the liquid fat you’re going to get when all that’s left in the pot is cooked meat and gristle. At this point CAREFULLY pour the liquid through a sieve into a large bowl. Do this outside and NOT over your drain. Accidents sometimes happen and this stuff will definitely clog up the drain if you spill it.

Now let the bowl of liquid come to room temperature then set it in the refrigerator to cool overnight. The water and any bits of meat that got past the sieve will sink to the bottom and the tallow will float on the top. When cool the tallow will form a white disc on the top of the bowl.

After it's cool, remove the tallow from the bowl by prying it up and off. A fork is often helpful for this. It doesn’t matter if it breaks, you’ll be melting it again anyway. Use a paper towel to wipe off the bottom of the tallow chunks. There will be some loose granular particles of fat stuck there. Get off as much as you can but don’t dig into your tallow.

When cleaned place your tallow into plastic zipper bags and store in the fridge or freezer. You can keep it frozen for about a year or so.

What’s left in the bowl will be a gelatinous gray goo. DO NOT pour this leftover liquid down the sink! It can seriously clog up your drain. Throw it out into the backyard or dump it down the toilet.

Now that you have your tallow you’re ready to start some serious colonial candle making!

Your colonial candle making check list is as follows…

a heat source

deep pot or double boiler (an empty juice can set into a larger pot of water will work fine)

two chairs or saw horses… something to hang the candle sticks on between dips.

a stick, branch or broom handle (depending on the size of your pot and number of candles being dipped at one time)

newspapers or drop cloth if working indoors

twisted cotton roving or cotton string (not modern braided wicking).

tallow

knife

Set up your colonial candle making work station in advance. The chairs should be set back to back close enough together so your sticks can be set atop them. Place newspapers or drop cloth under this area to catch any stray drips if your working indoors.

Melt the tallow over low heat in a pan or double boiler. Using a double boiler is best as you have less worries about fire and the water volume will help you to maintain the tallow at a constant temperature. Be sure your pot is deep enough… at least 6 inches for a 4-5 inch candle.

Cut wick material to desired length. A good rule of thumb is the length you want your finished candle to be, doubled, plus about 4 inches. Dip your wicks into the tallow, pull them straight and let harden. Starting with straight wicks will help you make straight candles.

Drape the stiffened wicks over your stick of choice (if you’re only doing one or two sets of candles a ruler and some tall cans can be substituted for the sticks and chairs) so the string hangs evenly down both sides of the stick. Secure the wick center to the stick with a dab of tallow and let harden.

Now dip the wicks attached to your stick into the melted tallow. Remove, let drip a moment and set on the backs of the two chairs. Do the same with all prepared wicks. Repeat when wax has solidified but not totally cooled until desired thickness of candle is reached. Colonial candle making can take a long time so BE PATIENT.

Remember to stir the tallow occasionally to keep the heat evenly distributed. If you are not using a double boiler you’ll probably have to reheat the tallow occasionally.

Hang your candles for a day or so to let them harden then cut the bottoms off so they are level. Snip them apart, trim the wicks to about a quarter of an inch and you’re ready to light them up. Depending on how zealous your colonial candle making efforts were you man need to shave the bottom of the candle with a knife so they’ll fit into your candle holders.

The colonial candle making process produces candles that need to be snuffed or trimmed every half hour or so. They need this attention because the tallow burns at a very low temperature and the wicks are twisted not braided so they don’t bend over and get consumed by the flame. So to keep your tallow candles from dripping, smoking and generally making a mess snuff or snip the wicks often. (To learn how candles burn and other interesting candle facts, colonial or other wise, see my candle making for kids page. )

I hope this process has made the history of candle making come alove for you as it has for me... Now just fit the fruits of your colonial candle making efforts into holders, light and enjoy!

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