Soy Candles

Tallow is made from rendered fat from animals.  Beef is the primary source of tallow.  A vegetarian version is available, made from the tallow tree, but its composition is slightly different.  With the many uses of tallow, it is a product in consistent demand. 

Tallow begins with the process of extraction of suet from a carcass.  Suet is hard fat found around the kidneys and other organs.  Suet can be used as it is but the shelf life is very short and it will turn rancid.  Suet contains many impurities.  Rendering the suet produces tallow.  Tallow can be kept for an extended period of time if kept in an airtight container in a cool place. 

Tallow can also be rendered from pigs, horses and sheep.  Tallow is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, has lesser amounts of saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.  Due to the composition of fats in tallow it is solid and at room temperature is odorless and tasteless. 

Uses of tallow: fuel, treatment for leather, base for soaps, base for candles, in lubricants and cooking oils.  It can be turned into bio-fuel, used as a food supplement for animals, and is used in leather dressings and waterproofing compounds designed for leather. 

Making tallow at home is possible but messy and smelly.  It is made by cooking diced fat in water, cooling it, straining it to remove impurities, skimming off the top layer of fat which accumulates after a night of chilling.  It is also possible to purchase plain tallow, removing the mess and smell.

Tallow used as a base for candles was used in our past history.  Now as new products have made it easier to make candles, tallow is not used as much.  Soy wax is a relatively new base for making candles.  It is made from the soybean grown in the United States and other countries that produce soybeans.  It is a renewable resource and helps promote the American farm industry.  It is also easy to clean up with just soap and water.  Soy wax can be dyed and scented producing many soy candle fragrances.  Scented soy candles made from only soy wax  are non-toxic, produce little to no soot  and burn 50% longer than paraffin candles.  You can also make and purchase unscented soy candles.