How to Make Tallow Candles

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I tried making these some time back and wasn’t real happy with them, so I tried again, only this time I used a cotton mop for the wicks and. I am really happy with them now. They burn for a long time, have no odor, and put out a nice bright flame. 

First I rendered the tallow and strained it.

I put it through a colander to get the larger pieces out.

Then I  poured through a knee high to strain out the smaller stuff. ( Pantie hose and knee highs are the best for straining things).

 

After I strained it I added 2 oz of beeswax to every 2 cups of tallow (when we clean up our beeswax we pour it into ice cube trays and the cubes are approximately 2 oz each)

I used the strings from a cotton mop for the wicks, they work great. I have tried store bought wicks, and cotton string but the mop strings have worked the best ( Plus a lot cheaper). I tie a small washer ( to weight it down) to the bottom then run a skewer or pencil through the top to hold it up.

 

Then pour the hot tallow and wax into the jars be sure to keep the wick straight and in the center.

Let cool until set up. You can put them in the fridge to speed this up. After they  set up cut the wick about a 1/4 of an inch from the candle. Then they are ready to use.


These are after nine hours of burning they weren’t quite half way burned down.

 

Have you tried making tallow or lard candles? If so how did they turn out?

One Reply to “How to Make Tallow Candles”

  1. Nina

    GREAT IDEA!! I’d never thought of using cotton mop strings for wicks. Awesome!! Thanks!