How to Make Bayberry Candles
Learn how to extract the natural wax from bayberries (Myrica) and make bayberry candles. Give bayberry candles for good fortune and happiness
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Servings: 12 candles
Equipment
- large pot
- large heatproof bowl
- candle making pouring pot
- tin can
- skewers or chop sticks
Ingredients
- bayberries
- beeswax
- cotton wick or hemp wick
Instructions
- Remove the bulk of leaves and twigs from your foraged bayberries. Add bayberries to the pot and cover with water by 2". Bring to a boil and simmer at a low rolling boil for about 20-30 minutes.
- Line a bowl or another pot with a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Pour boiled bayberries through the cheesecloth to filter out the berries, leaves and twigs. Optionally reboil the berries in more water to extract more wax from them and then repeat the filtering process.
- Allow the liquid to cool (I let it sit overnight outside) and the wax will rise to the top of the water and harden. You can now easily remove the solid wax from the water.
- Weigh your bayberry wax and then add an equal amount or up to 1.5 times more beeswax to it. Melt bayberry and beeswax in a candle-making pitcher or a tin can set in a boiling water bath.
- Cut the wick to a few inches over the doubled length of the desired length of taper candle you want. So if you want 4" long candles cut the wick to 10-12" long. Dip wicks into the wax and remove them. Loop wick around the skewer so that the ends hang down evenly.
- Lay some newsprint or kraft paper down on your work surface before you start to dip your candles.
- Holding the skewer, dip the wick into the wax and then lay the skewer across the second tin can opening to allow the wax to drip down and cool. Repeat the process until you have your desired width of candles.
Notes
- Wrap bayberry tapers to give as gifts of good luck on Christmas Eve and new Year's Eve.
- Supplement homemade bayberry wax with pre-made bayberry wax if necessary.