Cooking Up Some Candles: How To Make Your Own Candles At Home
The kitchen used to be used for other things than cooking in the days of the pioneers. Soapmaking, candlemaking and a lot of other things happenened in what is technically a house’s own chemical laboratory. If you want to have a bit of that pioneering spirit, making candles is one of the easier hobbies to do in a kitchen other than cooking. This is mostly because candlemaking is essentially all about cooking wax.
If you want to start to make some candles, you start off with a double boiler. A double boiler is easy to set-up without any extra purchases. All it consists of is an old cleaned-up coffee can, a large, low, boiling pot and some water. Place the pot on a stove, place the coffee can in it and then fill the outer pot with some water. Make sure that your can is heavy enough and the water low enough so that it isn’t floating and you have your double boiler.
Next, you’ll need a few other things: a few molds, wax and some wicks. Candle molds are actually sold in well-stocked shops, though if you’ve a got a lot of extra cups and bowls, they can serve in a pinch. Make sure, of course, that your molds can stand hot mixtures and have wide, open mouths. This is so that when it’s time to get your candles out of the molds, they’re easy to pull out. Placing a layer of waxpaper in them beforehand can also help greatly. Vegetable oil can also be used as a separator.
Wax and wicks are easy. Paraffin wax is available as half-pound chunks in stores. If you’re feeling exotic, you can get beeswax or soy wax from specialty hobby stores but they cost a pretty penny. Better settle for paraffin since it’s easily available and cheap. Thick cotton strings are what commercial companies use for their candle wicks and there’s nothing wrong with them, so better look to using those two. Some preparation beforehand is necessary here. Chopping the paraffin into easy to handle cubes or pieces helps with the wax-melting process and cutting the string into long wicks beforehand makes it easy for when the time comes that you put them into the hardening candles.
Now that you’ve got all of these and prepped the ingredients, it’s time to turn on the stove. You can actually place the wax chunks into the central can before starting the stove – this also weighs down the can so you can pour more water in the outer boiler. Now all you have to do now is wait. Melting down the wax completely should take about thirty to forty minutes. Once the wax has mostly melted, you can start stirring with a long wooden stick or something similar. Never use an actual cooking utensil when cooking the wax; paraffin is notoriously difficult to remove and tasting wax in a casserole isn’t exactly appetizing. Also take note that wax is very flammable – avoid nearby open flames and keep a close watch on the mixture. If it starts to boil or sputter, it’s time to turn off the stove and start the cooling process. If it does happen to catch fire, just put a lid on it and turn off the stove. Water on a wax fire just makes it worse.
After the mixture has cooled for a minute or two, it’s time to pour the wax into the molds. Use tongs or something similar to pour the wax in – it is still very hot and we do not want any accidents. Pouring in the direction of the molds, away from you, also helps avoid this and spatterinng. Old newspapers laid out underneath the molds should also help speed up clean-up times.
Finally, all you have to do now is place the wicks and wait for the wax to cool. And there you have it, you’ve cooked up your first batch of home-made candles. Wasn’t that easy? So better try doing it again – future variations can have perfume or dyes added to the wax mixture to create colored or scented candles.
