Dipping Tallow and Beeswax Candles

Candles could come from the same fat that went into soap. The Pocumtuc Housewife describes a candle-dipping day in an old Connecticut Valley kitchen ¹.

Tallow and wax

Tallow is rendered beef or mutton fat. To render it, cut or grind the fat, heat it slowly in a kettle with a little water, stirring often, and strain it off when the cracklings settle ². Beeswax melted into the tallow makes candles harden ¹. The best candles could be bleached whiter by hanging them in a sunny window ¹.

Wicks

The family’s young spinners made the wicking at odd times through the year. Tow, the short, coarse flax fiber, did for common candles; cotton made the best ones ¹. To cut wicks to an even length, wind the wicking around a board of the right length and run a sharp knife across one end. Put six wicks on each candle rod, doubling and twisting each one over the rod, and dip them in alum water “to keep the candles from running” ¹.

Dipping

The setup: two long poles across the kitchen, a foot or more apart, resting on chair backs, with an old board underneath to catch drips. Melt the tallow in a kettle set on the floor ¹.

1. The first dip. Take the rods one at a time and dip the wicks in the hot tallow. Before they stiffen, straighten each wick and pinch the end. “Any carelessness in this first dip will make a crooked candle.” If the wicks hang straight and evenly spaced, the rest is easy. Rest each rod across the poles ¹.
2. Dip in turn. By the time you’ve gone through all the rods, the first ones are cool enough to dip again. Now take two rods at a time, a forefinger between them to keep them apart, and dip with a quick, slanting motion, just long enough to pick up a coat of tallow but not long enough to melt the coat before ¹.
3. Keep the tallow hot. Keep the kettle full and hot by pouring in boiling water as the tallow goes down; the tallow floats on it. If the tallow cools, the candles build faster but come out rough and uneven ¹.
4. About two dozen dips make a candle as thick as an ordinary candlestick takes. Let them harden thoroughly before slipping them off the rods ¹.

For only a few candles, the book suggests running them in molds instead ¹.

Hot fat and open flames

Melted tallow is hot fat, and the same rules apply as for frying. Never leave it. Heat it slowly; if it starts to smoke, it’s too hot, so turn off the heat. Keep a lid beside the pot: if it catches fire, slide the lid over it, turn off the burner, and leave it covered until it’s completely cool. Never throw water on burning fat. If the fire doesn’t go out, get everyone out and call the fire department from outside ³.

Finished candles are open flames. U.S. fire departments respond to nearly 6,000 home fires a year started by candles, and over half start when something that can burn, such as bedding, curtains, or paper, is too close. Keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn, and blow them out before you leave the room or go to bed ⁴.

Try it

Melt a pound of beeswax, or half beeswax and half tallow, in a tall can set in a pot of simmering water, and dip a pair of candles on a single doubled length of cotton wick hung over a dowel. Count your dips. Two dozen is the old number.