Hello from NW Arkansas Ozarks! This past winter, my area lost power for several days due to trees & limbs falling on power lines from about 8" of heavy, wet snow. My fire pit was already deep in snow/ice. My porch, an ice sheet so no charcoal cooking. So I set up my tea light stove for tea 2 mornings before that cold, snowy morning that I lost power. I thought I was just going to get to test myself & my prep if I lost power. I got my water to a rolling boil for my morning tea. Then I fried some sausage & eggs. Still in test mode, breakfast cooked perfectly on my prepper stove. Then about 2 pm, down went the power. For 3 days and nights! I didn't just heat water or soup though during that time. I actually cooked full meals on that little stove. Sautéed chicken w vegetables; rice; fresh chili & beef stew (not canned); and fried hot water cornbread; more fried eggs plus scrambled plus bacon, sausage & ham. And some canned & stored foods from my prepper pantry...mustard greens w bacon grease, green beans w mushrooms, and a can of soup. And fresh hot coffee made using boiled water poured over a coffee filter with grounds rubber banded to a large mug to make a pour-over set up (expensive pour over coffee equipment not necessary! ) and it was spot on delicious! I used 9 tea lights set in an aluminum pie plate, set on a solid thin cement block, with 3 bricks (1 on each side, 1 at the back) and a grate I'd saved from a dead toaster oven. I had the grate positioned about 4 inches above the candles since the flame of a candle is hotter a bit higher up. That's how I got such heat to bring water and foods to a good boil. I was even able to wash dishes in hot water using my antique dish pans (stocked water since I'd shut off my water main & drained lines to avoid frozen pipes. I was cold, stuck inside for days, and unable to drive out of my holler for 10 days. But I was prepared, safe, ate good meals, had water, and I feel good about my skills in a power outage.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello wolfdoctor13, Interesting stuff and good experience. Glad to hear you did well without the power. I will be trying to make coffee like you did. Thank you for watching and sharing your real world experience!
@cecilemarot2357 Жыл бұрын
I will try to raise my kettle to 4 inches, like you say. I tried to boil water as an experiment as prepping but could not get the water pass 80 degrees Celsius. I am still learning as we never know when an SHTF may happen. From Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
@cecilemarot2357 Жыл бұрын
My next experiment will be with the tuna can methylated spirit stove . But that one cannot be used indoors.
@lilblackduc7312 Жыл бұрын
...@wolfdoctor13 ..Thank you for commenting!
@courtneytaylor2876 Жыл бұрын
Great information! Thank you so much for sharing. Glad you made it through 🥲👏🏾
@lilblackduc7312 Жыл бұрын
Success!!! You just showed me what to expect from my Tea Light candles, without experimenting, using my own. Thank you, Chef...🇺🇸 👍☕
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
You are welcome!
@josephmartin8632 Жыл бұрын
So glad to see another video so quickly from you. I always enjoy your videos, please keep them coming!
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Will do!
@brianr5665 Жыл бұрын
I like that you explained that it works great for soup but not so much for boiling impurities from a questionable source. Ideal conditions are not always in place when you have to use an alternative heating source for food. The soup is generally safe to eat right out of the can, but more enjoyable when heated up. To sum it up, if you are prepping for the worst case scenario and have omitted a key detail like fuel or an adequate heat source... That can of soup may be the last thing you eat, so enjoy it.
@eternalvitality Жыл бұрын
I'm a chef prepper as well and I appreciate your content.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Thank you
@frankdrake7759 Жыл бұрын
It's funny I just found your videos. I love them. Thanks for posting this! 👍
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Welcome!
@nothingtonooneinparticular8500 Жыл бұрын
I've always wanted to try using tea lights with my parents old folding Coleman oven they left me! Might have to get a Sterno stove as a base for tealights to use with the oven! I'm forever grateful for all the camping equipment I have and my parents left. Best thing my Dad ever taught me was prepping, though it was before prepping had a bad connotation. My parents were old enough to be my Grandparents. My Dad was born during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma to a farming family and they STAYED. His sage advice of just "putting food back" has saved my butter many times. Especially when we have catastrophic Democrat Administrations! Great vid Sir, yes I DID say just assume his gender lefties!
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello Nothingtonooneinparticular, Thank you for sharing your storing! And thank you for watching!
@happycat041111 ай бұрын
Great cooking idea that everyone needs to know for when the SHTF......! One can also use an IKEA kitchen utensil holder with a small steel grate on top for heat and cooking as well. As for the fuel, any scraps of wood will work but this cooking source should be done outside and in a small cake or pie pan for safety reasons.
@charylliss3741 Жыл бұрын
Add more tea candles, cook inside, start with a lid.
@DeeMoback Жыл бұрын
Takes 3 tealite candles to boil water
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
The candles heat better inside or with a windguard.
@DeeMoback Жыл бұрын
@@ChefPrepper yup ....tealites are GREAT THINGS TO HAVE.... can warm food inside the tent....also I know from personal experience that 2 tealites between your feet with you wrapped up with wool blanket(squatted down) can keep you warm down to 0 degrees (we use this on hunts in colorado)
@DeeMoback Жыл бұрын
@@ChefPrepper BTW, UCO makes a small tealite candle lantern (I have a few) ..... I love candles/candle lamps anyway.....I have quite a few 9-day candles also.....9-day candles are nice to have.....we use oil lamps too
@lilblackduc7312 Жыл бұрын
You are the 'Voice of Experience'.🇺🇸 👍☕
@rquest3059 Жыл бұрын
If you used an aluminum foil wind screen, sealing the heat as close to the pot as possible would have brought the temperature up.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello rquest, Yes it would have and I should have. I am usually inside when I test out various meals/etc cooking with candles.
@ronaldsimmonds1002 Жыл бұрын
It can get the job done.👍🏻
@Joeangel703 ай бұрын
I regularly cook with tea light candles so i can rotate them out and maintain my skill for using this method. 12 tea light candles in a bigger pan will get the water to boil. some tea light candles can last up to 6 hours but the ones from walmart last around 3 hours and they suck to relight if you try and reuse them. I would never trade out tea light candles for a portable gas stove. Stock up on tea light candles, practice often and rotate them out ( the wick sometimes rots). You will not regret it in a power outage as I managed to keep the house warm in 2021 for 2 days during the freeze.
@milnaortega-qi1dr Жыл бұрын
I have done it... great. Keep the information flow in.... Be safe be blessed
@cindybrewer3520 Жыл бұрын
Brand new here. Thank you for all your doing. Understood the playfull scenario. My question...why outside? We use tea candles inside for lighting when needed. Just curious and again thank you.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello Cindybrewer, You are welcome and welcome to our channel! I was outside because my wife was using the kitchen for quit a while that day as best I remember, but would usually use tea candles indoors.
@allenreddick7600 Жыл бұрын
I've cooked with a roll of toilet paper soaked in rubbing alcohol worked great and lasted for about 17 minutes
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Some folks do something similar to that for emergency heaters also.
@Libertycoins Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the video just found your channel and subbed. Great idea as an alternative to heating food with tea candles.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello Libertycoins, You are welcome! Thank you for watching and subscribing!
@mannyfragoza9652 Жыл бұрын
Good idea id like try this indoors .Im guessing heating indoors you would have got a rolling boil.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello mannyfragoza, Yes you can get a rolling boil indoors without wind blowing. Try it and let me know if you were successful.
@mannyfragoza9652 Жыл бұрын
@@ChefPrepper not sure when i can try this experiment but if i do ill let you know and thanks for your channel i enjoy it.
@jamesswain100 Жыл бұрын
Hey y’all what do y’all think about the statement we’re seeing now on most food items “Contains Bioengineered Food Products”?
@rainbocatz6376 Жыл бұрын
I'm told that's the "new" term for GMO!
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Bioengineered means GMO. I try to stay away from it!
@jdwoods2008 Жыл бұрын
most? nah
@docink6175 Жыл бұрын
I have brought water to a soft boil in a boyscout style cooking pan over 5 tcandles.. bc truck did a series with an elaborate tcandle stove several years ago thats worth a look at imo. Ive cooked a hamburger in about an hr over candles and even made cornbread but its really a last resort.. of course its good to practice just in case
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Agreed, they are a last resort, but good to have some and use them a time or two. And fun.
@Carbinsworth Жыл бұрын
Nice video with good info
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello lacycollinsworth, Thank you. I am glad you like the video and found it helpful.
@chirigablakemore99415 ай бұрын
Whole west side of Cleveland is out till the 14th
@MCH-9592 ай бұрын
Thanks but I used 6 tealights and they took so long and still didn't get hot.
@doktaahwho8858 Жыл бұрын
The candle tea light flame diminishes after a period of time. The wick kinda curls over and it just doesn't produce. My oil tea light kicks out a consistent flame til the fuel runs out.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello doktaawho, Yes that happens sometimes and is part of using tea candles., but they are readily available and easy to use. Thank you for watching.
@doktaahwho8858 Жыл бұрын
@@ChefPrepper are you familiar with the hobo buddy burner? It's basically a tuna can with a coil of cardboard wrapped inside and filled with candle wax. If you wanna cook with candle wax, that's the way to do it. I made a tea light version of the buddy burner as well.
@seanjohnfits Жыл бұрын
probably could have fit 2 more candles (7 total) really nicely under that pot.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello seanjohnfits, Yeah probably could have. More would be better if you wanted/needed quick heat like trying to fry something for sure! Thank you for watching.
@simplecountryliving7555 Жыл бұрын
Where do you get a grate for the top of the charcoal starter to use on top of cast iron pan to heat food?
@sam1258711 ай бұрын
I'm wondering the same. As I can't pin down what that grate came from.
@TheDarkSkorpion6 ай бұрын
The link in the description?
@ilovehomefree7578 Жыл бұрын
New subscriber. Will be checking out your other videos. A smaller pan would have boiled faster.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello Ilovehomefree, Welcome to our channel! Thank you for watching and subscribing! Smaller pan would probably have boiled faster for sure.
@lorrainecouch348 Жыл бұрын
Now this is more like what might happen... the main power gets turned off and your water no longer drips from your taps.. think minimalistic. So we have all seen the movies where a thimble of water is passed around to a dozen or so survivors... with that in mind... can a tea light candle bring 2 thimbles worth to a rolling boil...?
@doktaahwho8858 Жыл бұрын
Seriously, you just need to be more on top of your fuel preps. But I have a method to make cooking oil tea lights that use cardboard as a wick. In the event you run out of wax as well.
@cecilemarot2357 Жыл бұрын
Can the tealight candles be used inside for cooking? Hi from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Yes, absolutely
@cecilemarot2357 Жыл бұрын
@@ChefPrepper thank you
@am29078 Жыл бұрын
The lid doesn't fit the pot correctly. Bet it would have boiled with a good seal
@cmont5636 Жыл бұрын
I baked corn bread and heated up water for soup with just five tea candles! I place the candles in a baking pan, and then placed a small grid like the one that you used to cool down cookies after removing them from the pan. I only made one packet of corn bread from Jiffy and I cooked it in a 6 inch round baking pan. I have a small rice cooker so I decided to invert the empty rice cooker bowl to retain the heat and on top and covering the 6 inch pan. It took around 30 minutes the instructions in the jiffy pack say 15 to 20 minutes in the oven at 400.
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
Hello cmont, Glad to see I am not the only one trying out tea candles for potential emergencies! They really are useful. Thank you for watching and sharing your experience.
@alicerafferty9595 Жыл бұрын
More candles might have increased the heat. Why not do this in your kitchen?
@ChefPrepper Жыл бұрын
I use them indoors on occasion and they do work better and quicker indoors and without wind. I wanted to try them outdoors and see what I was capable of cooking with them in the event I might have to some day. Thank you for watching and commenting!
@lucyalderman422 Жыл бұрын
Partial success is my call
@earlofsandwich78845 ай бұрын
Get to the point! Video starts at 2:24.
@bettyir4302 Жыл бұрын
It'd get upwards of the same temperature inside a hot vehicle today. Save the candles.
@timothyweiss619 Жыл бұрын
The concept of using tea candles to cook is very valuable info. However you trying to be cute and funny in the beginning was obnoxiously boring and isn't your forte.