Chemical Free lightning : How To Turn an Orange Into a Candle with a Kitchen Oil

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When you turn an orange into a candle it will light for about 6 to 8 hours. It is organic, money saving and greener way to light room or any place. This home-made candle is easy to make and fills the air with a fresh citrus scent.

Citrus fruit candles are super easy to make and they only take a couple of minutes to prepare. You will need an orange, grapefruit, lemon or lime and any cooking oil you have stocked in your kitchen. I use olive oil in my candles because I always have a bottle kicking around in my pantry. You will also need a lighter or book of matches to light the wick, a cutting board, a knife and a spoon.

Most candles are made from paraffin which is a petroleum based product. To make paraffin wax, petroleum is combined with several additives including chlorine-containing bleach to make the finished product. When a scented candle is lit, the odor permeates throughout the room and black debris collects in the form of soot. This soot is very similar in composition to that of diesel fuel – a mixture of a variety of cancer-causing chemicals including benzene, carbon tetrachloride, toluene, and naphthalene. These petroleum based fumes can quickly fill up a room and pollute the air.

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How To Make Orange Candle

Required:

Orange
Knife
Oil (Canola or Olive should work fine)

Direction:

1. Use the paring knife to slice into the peel of the orange. Insert only as far as the pith, taking the knife around the middle of the orange, going all the way around the circumference.
2. Be sure to keep the stem in tact as it will become your wick.
3. Now take your fingers and separate the peel from the fruit. Do this on both sections and be sure to keep the stem in the bottom section attached since this will be you wick (which is so super-cool)! I accomplished this by simply peeling that part away from the fruit slowly.
4. Next, pour in your oil to just below the top of your wick (approximately 1cm). I used two different types of oil for this experiment. It seemed to me that the vegetable oil lit a lot easier and burned better.
5. Here’s what the candle will look like in the dark. The thin peel creates a beautiful orange glow that radiates around the candle. Watch the embedded video in step one if you would like to watch me make an orange candle and see it in action.

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Important Tips:

Once you’re a citrus candle pro, flex your creative muscle by creating a top for your sweet sweet smelling candle. All you have to do is take the other half of the orange and carve out a large design on it, like our entertainment editor did (below). Just pop the top on the candle and voila! Your globe citrus candle looks beautiful!

Make sure you only use orange peels with a really long pith wick. It just won’t work otherwise. This might mean you’ll be wasting some orange peels trying to get ones that might work.

When you fill it with oil, the pith in the peel absorbs a lot of it, so you might have to refill it again after your initial pour.

Be patient with lighting it. It will take a few tries. Once you get it to light, don’t talk, don’t breath, no sudden movements. I’m serious. The flame is very small, and fragile for the first few minutes.

Letting the peel dry for a few hours before adding the oil helps it light faster but is not necessary.

Don’t throw out your Orange Peels! Orange peels are good slug repellents for gardens. The peel can be also be pressed, which produces sweet orange oil and is used to flavor drinks, food and can be used in perfumes and oils for aromatherapy; should you feel so inclined. OR, put them in your compost bin. As if this project could get any better, right?!

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More From Author:

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Geary Andrew
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Minor in business and liberal arts. I've written about health for more than a decade. Veteran freelance writer with expertise in health, wellness, parenting and lifestyle issues. I am passionate about educating and empowering people to achieve and maintain optimal health and is committed to providing the highest quality health care.