What to do with Excess Animal Fat

Wether you cook at home, or are interesting in making homemade candles, this DIY is for you!

If you happen to have a big barbecue or a taco night with neighbours or friends, you might find yourself with a lot of leftover grease (animal fat). You can transform that grease into a homemade candle, that can be used for outdoor dinners, to repel mosquitos or to create a nice atmosphere out in the backyard.

Once you have cooked your meat, strain it and make sure that the grease itself and the stock has separated. Let it sit in the cold or in the fridge (if you leave it outside be mindful of animals that might want to dip their paws in your bowl).

In your jar place the wick which will burn through your candles. You can buy a wick at art stores or get a cotton rope as an alternative.

Once the animal fat has cooled and separated, heat it back up in the microwave and pour it into your candle base. During that step, strain the liquid once again to avoid any pieces of meat from falling into the candle container. We decided to add turmeric for the aroma, but several other spices and herbs can be added based on your own personal preference.

If you wanted to scare away mosquitoes lavender is perfect (see study done on mice, 2002), the oil it produces has repellent properties and also smells great!

Now that the solution is ready you can make your candles! Below are our candles, it is important to only use them outside as the fumes can contribute significantly to indoor air pollution.

Have a sunny day!

Comments

Bone Meal at Home

Bone meal is one of the most popular fertilizing amendments all across the world. It provides nitrogen and calcium as well as phosphorus (N-P-K macronutrients). Phosphorus is integral to a plants energy system and its structure as well as being central to photosynthesis. By cooking, boiling, pressure cooker, instant this depended on the bones, will clean them. This can take up to 6 hours, so it is recommended to plan accordingly. You can either pulverize the bones or cook them first. We decided to cook them first and then crush them. Once they were crushed using a mortar (which does less damage to the blades and uses less energy), you have on your hands the finished products. Feel free to generously apply the end product into your soil, given that high concentrations will not burn your plants. However it is recommended to put about a table spoon for each gallon of soil. Enjoy the free fertilizer!

Making citrus salt

Don't know what to do with the overwhelming amounts of citrus peels (orange, lemon, lime or clementine)? Make some delicious aromatic salt. In our previous posts, we talked about using food waste (cucumbers, brocoli, salad and coffee) in compost. However orange peels slow down the decomposition process and kill off beneficial microbes. Therefore an alternative to composting would be to turn it back into useful and flavourful seasoning. The video below offers a step by step approach on how to make your very own aromatic salt with orange peels, all in the comfort of your home. *Captions are available The finished product can be added to any dish you like, or can even serve as a gift or to trade with others.

Oxygen Plant

Search This Blog