Yes, you can use food extracts to scent your candles. You can use fresh or dried herbs and spices, or blend them together. For example, you can add 15-20 drops of peppermint oil to melted soy candle wax.
Vanilla extract can also be used in candles to give them a light scent. However, vanilla extract is made by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol, which can create a different smell and appearance in candles than real vanilla beans. Before selling your candle, you should try vanilla extract.
You can also use a candle-approved fragrance that won't build up or sink or cause flare.
Use food to make homemade candle scents
Strong, sweet, sour, and spicy essential oils add delicious scents to homemade candles. Sometimes it's more satisfying to create your own candle scent using aromatic foods from around the house. Homemade essential oils are made through a relatively passive process. Certain foods smell better than others. Herbs and spices have very strong scents that penetrate easily into carrier oils. The resulting scent is lovely and has many more uses than just making candles.
base oil
A carrier oil is needed to absorb and retain the aroma of any food you want to turn into a perfume. Carrier oils are light or completely colorless and have almost no odor. They are almost always vegetable oils, so they last a long time. Good carrier oils to consider are olive oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, almond oil, and canola oil.
Aromatic herbs, spices and foods
Herbs and spices are some of the easiest foods to use to make sesame oil. Flowers and fragrant peels are another good choice. Citrus peels provide a very strong, unique flavor to candle scents. You can use fresh or dried herbs and spices. Take a look at your cupboards for last-minute inspiration. Cinnamon, vanilla, peppermint, and thyme can all release their own scents in carrier oils. You might even consider mixing foods to get a unique flavor. Try mixing orange zest with a few drops of vanilla for a scent reminiscent of orange creamsicle.
Enfleurage creates fragrance
The term "enfleurage" refers to the cold-infusion method used to make scented oils. Place aromatic foods in a container of cold carrier oil and leave for up to several weeks. Shake the container daily and place in a sunny location. During this time, the oil is infused with the essential flavors of these foods. Food can be periodically removed from the oil and replaced with fresh ingredients to create a richer flavor.
Macerate for flavor
Another similar technique is "dipping," which uses heat to speed up the process. As with enfleurage, food is added to the oil and the container is sealed. Place the entire container in hot water for a few hours each day. The water heats the oil and botanicals, helping to extract more of the natural fragrance.
