Q and A: tallow candles, canning tomato soup, and apple trees

Tallow candles

Have you ever made candles from rendered tallow? I made 3 container candles in small jars as an experiment. They looked beautiful, but they only burned for about 20 minutes until the wicks drowned in the melted tallow on the top. What am I doing wrong? I got wicking that was supposed to be for container/column candles. Should I maybe use larger wicks?

Janelle Martinez
North Highlands, California

I’ve never had luck making container candles from tallow. The old way was to dip tapers in tallow. That way the tallow was not so liquid around the wick as the wick went down through the center of a thinner candle. Adding steric acid will help harden the tallow but tallow candles will slump in the heat, regardless. That’s why homesteaders in the old days made candles in the winter when they butchered and used them up pretty much by spring. The ones that were left over were stored in a cool place like the root cellar. Some homesteaders made “button” candles by laying a button on the tallow, set in a shallow dish, with a wick in that. The button helped stabilize the wick in the melted tallow but the dish wasn’t deep enough for the button and wick to sink and drown out. — Jackie

Canning tomato soup

My tomato basil soup recipe contains tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, vinegar and olive oil. How long should I pressure cook it and at what weight to can it?

Linda Collier
Nashville, Tennessee

You would pressure can your soup at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes (quarts). If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet, consult your canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude if necessary. — Jackie

Apple trees

Last year we lost our two 15-yr old Connell Red apple trees when they sat in flood waters for 6 weeks. We are heartbroken, as these produced the best apples and were at their peak production. This year there are some suckers growing up around the dead trees. My husband wants to let them grow, to see if they produce a new Connell Red tree. I told him what is growing is from the root stock and not Connell Red. Since we don’t know what that the root stock is, I don’t think it’s worth our time or care to nurture one of these suckers into a full-grown tree. What do you think? What are the chances that what’s growing now as suckers could ever become a useful apple tree?

Charlene Nelson
Casselton, North Dakota

The suckers are growing from the rootstock which is often a “wild” apple of unknown parentage. Some go on to make halfway decent apples but most end up small and not so hot. I hate to kill anything so I sympathize with your husband. You could let one of the suckers on each tree go on to develop then have someone with experience graft on Connell Red scionwood. That would give you a true Connell Red from your hardy sprouting rootstock. Or you could just dig up each tree and replant in the spring. Remember that in most areas of North Dakota, dwarf and semi-dwarf trees are not winter hardy over time. Plant standard trees for greater success. — Jackie