This looks like a good idea - pour your bacon grease into a jar, insert a wick, and enjoy a candle that emits the smell of bacon. I've asked one knowledgeable cook about this and was told that the product would be susceptible to turning rancid if not used right away. Does anyone have practical experience with this? Or want to try it and report back here?
There is enough salt in bacon grease that it's nearly immune to bacteria, though it might be a bit soft to hold a wick up. My mother kept a jar of bacon grease by the stove for years at room temperature without any noticeable degradation.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather just cook with it, myself!
A jar of bacon grease lasts for some time if kept relatively stable in temperature.
ReplyDeleteI suppose a bacon grease candle would work but the smoke would be a little sooty and make you hungry. I'd be worried about setting the whole jar on fire as it burns much more readily them wax.
It should work, but it WOULD be extremely sooty and possibly noxious. Indians have used ghee lamps for millenia. Not the same substance, but both are animal fats. I imagine it would be something along the lines of a tallow candle
ReplyDeletehttp://beeftallow.com/uses-of-beef-tallow_how-to-make-homemade-beef-tallow-candles-in-4-simple-steps_17.html
covered on Lifehacker today.
ReplyDeletehttp://lifehacker.com/5739170/diy-oil-lamp-from-recycled-cooking-fats?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lifehacker%2Ffull+%28Lifehacker%29
my Dad tried this in England during the power cuts in the 70's. After two minutes of breathing in the horrendous lung clogging stench, we all decided we preferred to sit in the dark
ReplyDeletethe way atomic shrimp lays out the way it works is different then just sticking the wick in the grease. thanks for the link random esquire
ReplyDeleteI just did this. It works awesome. Twine works fine for a wick.
ReplyDelete