{"id":41615,"date":"2024-10-14T00:05:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T07:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.com\/?p=41615"},"modified":"2024-10-13T21:32:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T04:32:30","slug":"butter-candle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamafoodblog.com\/butter-candle\/","title":{"rendered":"Butter Candle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Move over butter boards, the butter candle is here!<\/strong><\/p>\n

They add light, ambiance, and, of course, butter to any table, making serving bread, steak, or anything you love to dip in butter a fun and interactive experience. If you love warm butter and fresh bread, or you love butter boards<\/a>, you\u2019ll love the butter candle.<\/p>\n

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What is a butter candle?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s exactly what it sounds like: a candle made of butter. A food safe wick is lit at the table and the butter slowly softens, making the butter melty, dippable, or pourable. Butter candles are typically served with bread, but you can also serve them with anything that you love with butter. For dipping you can go with: seafood, vegetables, or meats. And for pouring, think: mashed potatoes, rice, popcorn – the list goes on and on. Is there anything that doesn\u2019t taste better with butter?<\/p>\n

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Who invented butter candles?<\/h2>\n

To be honest, butter candles are a modern take on delightfully retro tallow candles, which are candles made out of beef fat. Tallow candles have existed for ages, since Ancient Rome, in fact. Lately, adventurous restaurants have started serving steak with highly flavorful edible tallow candles. The resulting melty, warm beef fat is poured over steak or served alongside potatoes. Really, it\u2019s not that big of a jump to homemade butter candles for bread. The first version I saw on Tiktok was by Soozie the Foodie<\/a> who serves hers with bread. The other one I see on repeat is the steak butter candle by SAMO<\/a>. These two Tiktoks are perfect examples of the two different ways you can make butter candles.<\/p>\n

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How to make a butter candle<\/h2>\n

There are two ways to make a butter candle: hand shaping and pouring. Both work well, but hand shaping is a bit more rustic looking and if you don\u2019t have food safe gloves, I recommend going the pouring route.<\/p>\n

To hand pour a butter candle<\/h2>\n

This is definitely the easiest way to make a butter candle. Melt the butter, make a wick out of food safe twine, pour the butter in a container, and wait for it to set. That\u2019s it!<\/p>\n

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  1. Melt the butter.<\/strong> You can do this in a small pot over low heat on the stove, or in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring every time you reset the microwave.<\/li>\n
  2. Make the wick.<\/strong> Cut a piece of food safe string and dip it into the melted butter to create a food safe wick.<\/li>\n
  3. Set the wick in the mold.<\/strong> Tie the buttered string around a stick or chopstick and place the stick over the top of your butter candle mold, making sure the string touches the bottom of the mold.<\/li>\n
  4. Pour in the butter.<\/strong> Pour the melted butter into the mold, making sure the wick is in the centre of the candle.<\/li>\n
  5. Let the candle set.<\/strong> Place the butter candle in the fridge until it\u2019s nice and firm, at least 1 hour minimum.<\/li>\n
  6. Light your butter candle on fire and enjoy.<\/strong> When it\u2019s time to enjoy, remove the stick and trim the wick so it\u2019s about 1\/4 – 1\/2 inch above the candle. Use a match or lighter to light the wick and let the butter melt. Enjoy the melted butter by dipping or pouring!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    To hand shape a butter candle<\/h2>\n

    Start with slightly soft spreadable butter. Ideally, take your butter out of the fridge and let it sit a room temp, for 20 minutes. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and place your stick of butter in the middle. Use your hands or a rolling pin to lightly flatten the butter and place a piece of kitchen string in the middle for a wick. Use the plastic wrap to roll and shape the butter into a candle. Place in the fridge to set.<\/p>\n

    Butter candle wicks<\/h2>\n

    It doesn\u2019t matter if you hand shape or pour, either way, you\u2019ll need a food safe wick. My suggestion is 100% cotton food safe twine, the kind that you tie up roasts and chicken with. You can find it near the meat section in the grocery store or you can order it online<\/a>. Because it\u2019s food safe, it will be safe when you light your candle. All you need to do to make your food twine into a wick is dip it in melted butter so it holds a flame better.<\/p>\n

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    Butter candle molds<\/h2>\n

    You can go store bought or homemade here. Your mold really depends on if you want to have a free standing (de-molded) candle or a candle in a container. Generally, you want a free standing or shallow candle for dipping and a container candle for pouring.<\/p>\n

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    Dippable butter candle mold<\/h2>\n

    Depending on if you want to un-mold your candle or not, you\u2019ll want either a disposable or reusable mold. If you\u2019re going to un-mold your candle, you can use a paper cup that you can cut and then peel away from the butter. You can even make a cardboard tube, line it with parchment paper and tape on a bottom. If you\u2019re going for a dippable candle that you\u2019re going to leave in the mold, go for a shallow container that you already have at home like a ramekin or small dish. This butter crock<\/a> would work amazingly for a dipping butter candle.<\/p>\n

    Pourable butter candle mold<\/h2>\n

    These can be anything small with a spout. We use a tiny cream pitcher, which worked really well and is incredibly cute. Anything small and pourable is useable. Small cream pitchers or espresso pourers are great and there are so many out there. These mini glass espresso pouring cups with wooden handles are super cute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Salted or unsalted butter<\/h2>\n

    Most people will tell you to go with salted butter because that\u2019s what you serve with bread, but unsalted works too, just serve your candle along with some flaky sea salt. Really, use whatever butter you love.<\/p>\n

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    What to serve with butter candles<\/h2>\n

    Really you can serve anything. If you\u2019re going for a starter, a nice selection of crusty breads works well. On the other hand, if you want to serve up a butter candle at breakfast or brunch, pancakes, waffles, or freshly baked muffins come to mind. If you\u2019re serving it with dinner, melted butter tastes amazing on rice, noodles, vegetables, seafoods, and meats. Classic is a herbed butter with steak frites, you can\u2019t go wrong with that!<\/p>\n

    Butter candle flavors<\/h2>\n

    Any compound butter (flavored butter), can be a butter candle. To make, simply stir the ingredients into the melted butter.<\/p>\n