Today I went to the fridge to get out some margarine to put on some pancakes that I was making.
It went mouldy and was totally unedible.
After breakfast I scooped out the ick to put in the composting....then I thought to myself..... I wonder what I can do with this? After a little thinking I thought. I know, I'll see if it burns! That will make a great topic for the creative Sunday in the Hive Learners.
So I decided I'd try to make a candle of some type.
Trial #1 :
Does Cardboard work as a wick.
I mean they make matchsticks out of cardboard so why not a candle wick.
It lit but didn't even get down to the margarine.
Disappointing
**How about the string from a disposable mask?**
Everyone has extra masks after the COVID pandemic, right?
So, took the string from one and greased it up then gave it a try.
The string burnt but the margarine didn't.
Very Sad No luck there.
When I thought to myself.... Ohh,.. maybe its the jar. No fresh oxygen gets into the jar. Maybe I should try a saucer.
And how about a match? Maybe a wooden matchstick can work as a wick?
Yet another failure. The match burns and melts a bit of the margarine but not enough to be useful.
Then I thought...how about using a wick that is guaranteed to be useful!
I went and got a birthday candle and lit it.
This time I had more success. The margarine melted. The candle burned down through the wax then started burning the margarine. However, the platter was too wide and the liquid margarine ran away from the wick. Only the liquid margarine can travel up the wick to burn. Also margarine has a lot of water in it (2nd ingredient) and I heard a lot of hissing and spitting from the flame.
Next up. Smaller and taller container. Also add some vegetable oil to thin out the margarine and reduce the water content.
Success. Finally
This time two wicks. One wick from a candle. The other wick from a cut up rag.
After two hours both wicks are still burning.
After 5 hours the candle is still burning. The margarine is melting because the oil is now yellowish in colour instead of clear like originally. Now I know that if I'm every desperate for a long lasting candle I can make one out of a short acting birthday candle and some canola oil hanging around in the pantry.
Not really useful....
But still getting more fun out of the old margarine that just throwing it into the compose.
Thanks for reading,
Have a great day.