This is an edible Chanukah Menorah. The base is a large cookie. The candles are chocolate disks with little globs of coconut oil rolled in ground almond on top that act as the wick. The coconut oil provides energy for the ignition of almond grounds. This melts the chocolate candles onto the cookie. Every night a new cookie can be created and eaten.

The brief was to create an object that facilitated eating and in the end was nothing. The challenge was making something that truly was "nothing" in the end, not just part of something that remained. I wanted to solve the mess that Chanukah candles create when they melt onto the menorah. I also wanted to create a more interactive experience with the menorah that brought the family together beyond lighting them and singing prayers.

Growing up, lighting the Menorah was something that my family did every year. Lighting the candles takes a few minutes and then they sit until they burn out and have to be cleaned either that night or at the end of the eight days. I remember my mom spending quite a bit of time using hot water to melt wax off of the three menorahs we would light. As a young child it was always my parents who would put the candles into the menorah by melting the ends a bit so they would sit straight. The only interaction my sister and I had was to light the candles. I wanted to make this tradition something the whole family could enjoy. From a sustainability point of view I also wanted to reduce the amount chemicals and embedded energy used. The majority of the ingredients are found in the average kitchen and coconut oil is far better than the Paraffin wax which is a petroleum byproduct.

I began by researching existing edible candles but found they were elaborate birthday candles that were only designed to burn for a few seconds with a sliver of almond at the top. I started by making a traditional cylindrical shape with almond/coconut oil in the middle but found that the wick mixture needed more oxygen and got smothered by the chocolate as it dripped.

I created disk shaped chocolate pieces with tinfoil molds to provide a larger surface for the wick to burn, allowing for the chocolate to melt. I explored various mixtures of almonds and oil, and how they were combined. A layer of coconut oil underneath a layer of ground almonds was easier to light but provided inconsistent burn. I also found that the coconut oil needed to be a certain consistency to be rolled into a ball allowing for the almonds the oxygen needed to start the burn.

To speed up the production of candles I made a hand operated wooden punch die to make the chocolate disks consistently the same shape, and experimented with the bees wax coating as mold release.

The Edible Menorah creates an engaging activity for a family to do together. It begins with the baking of the cookie, a basic introduction to baking which children celebrating Christmas experience when making christmas cookies.

Molding the chocolate disks is a learning opportunity for children to see how pieces can be made in multiples through molding and can be related to objects they see everyday.

Making the wicks can be explained through elementary science of how fire is created and maintained. The end result is a tasty treat that the family can enjoy as part of the Chanukah celebration.

I would consider this project monocultural in the way that it is based in the Jewish tradition of lighting the Chanukah Menorah. However in house holds that celebrate Chanukah and Christmas this would be an activity that could be done along side Christmas Cookie making and allow for children to experience both holidays equally.

It is also generational in that it, like the tradition of candle lighting is passed down from generation to generation, as are recipes.

Coconut oil and almonds both have many nutritional elements. Children often need healthy food hidden in a different form so they eat it. The almonds and coconut oil act as a topping to the chocolate covered cookie. These ingredients are available on a global level.