When I first read about using an orange to make a candle it was said to be a great solution when the power goes out and you find you have no candles in the house. Of course I had to try it.
Pixie Boy was rather perplexed as to why I chopped his breakfast orange differently this morning but I needed it cut in half for this experiment. He forgave me, happily slobbering juice all over the place while I scooped out the flesh, making sure the middle stalk of pith stayed intact.
I happened to have some vegetable oil left in the pantry that I didnt actually like using for food (had a weird taste), so using it for this was perfect. You can apparently use any type of oil – olive, sunflower, whatever. Once I had filled it to just under the stalk end I tried to light it. Yeah, that didn’t work so well.
Muttering that maybe the photos I saw online had been doctored I nevertheless perservered and after a few moments of the lighter drying/cooking the stalk it took light and has been burning ever since. It’s been going on 3 hours now. Update: It kept a lovely light going for just over 5 hours.
My observations
It works! It produces a nice warm light and a very gentle orange perfume wafts through the room. You could also use the other half to make a cover….perforated with a pattern for effect….and a hole in the middle to let the smoke out. This would be very pretty and effective. But then, you could also use the other half to make another candle.
Oh, I forgot to mention that this works with any citrus fruit. So if you have lemons, limes or grapefruits, you could make a nice arrangement of home made candles.
January 9, 2012 at 08:36
Oh WOW, this is a totally new use for citrus fruits for me, but such a brilliant one, I love the smell of orange, I’d added wax to an orange before with a wick added but never heard of using the pith and oil, thanks so much for sharing this Anke xxx
January 10, 2012 at 00:27
I thought it was a bit silly when I first saw it but the final product was actually a really nice candle substitute that had great light and great scent.
January 9, 2012 at 10:02
Love this idea! I would love to see an arrangement of lemons, limes and oranges.
January 10, 2012 at 00:21
I was thinking the same. Would have done some for the post but limes are so expensive at the moment.
January 10, 2012 at 00:07
totally fun and cool anke!xxx
January 19, 2012 at 20:16
I love the idea Anke
xxx
August 9, 2012 at 01:17
This sounds like a lovely idea for an outdoor dinner. I don’t think I’d feel safe using it inside, unless it was on a large cookie sheet or other safe surface.
August 12, 2012 at 03:51
Great idea! I would suggest making a SMALL slice on the bottom to give a flat surface on which to sit. Also, that you place it on a ceramic or metal coaster or something to protect your surface.