candle making in colonial America
Answers
Answer:
please follow me
Explanation:
please follow me
Answer:
In colonial times, candle making was an essential annual chore in all households. Taper candles were the only source of light for people’s homes, and there were no commercial candles available as there are today. Each household made its own candles, usually once a year. The average household needed around 400 candles a year, so this was a huge job.
Since the candles were made from tallow, or animal fat, this event usually coincided with the autumn slaughter of animals for meat. Tallow could be made from the fat of all farm animals, but that from sheep tallow was the most desirable. Pig tallow had a very bad smell, and was used by people who couldn’t afford either beef or sheep tallow.
The earliest settlers made their candles by the dipping method. A wick of cotton was dipped repeatedly into the melted tallow, with time to cool and harden between dips. This made a taper candle. These home made candles did not burn very well, emitted odors, and the light was poor.