Most Minecraft players use torches as their go to light source for lighting up a space, but there are plenty of options now that weren't around in the beginning. One of these relatively new sources is candles, and they are surprisingly modular in a lot of ways. Players can use these to adjust the light level of a room with much more precision than with torches or glowstone, and the candle's colors can even be changed. As great as all of this is, the recipe for crafting these isn't very obvious.
In order to craft candles, players need to be playing on the latest Minecraft Caves and Cliffs update, or version 1.17. At that point, it's just as simple as gathering the materials and crafting it, players don't even need a crafting table to make candles. Although there are only two ingredients involved, one of them can be a bit difficult to obtain. It's also important to be know that candles are not in Bedrock edition yet.
UPDATE: Minecraft version 1.17.10 makes candles available in Bedrock edition now.
The recipe for candles just requires a piece of string and a honeycomb. Place the honeycomb on the bottom and the string on top and it will make one candle. From here, players may want to make more than one, as the number of candles the player places in a block determines how bright they will shine. After crafting a candle, players can change the color of it with dye. To do this, simply place the candle and the dye in the crafting menu together (this recipe is shapeless, so it doesn't matter what pattern the player uses). In total there are 16 colors of dye in Minecraft, meaning there are 16 colors of candles including the default white color.
Candles are unique in several ways, but one of the most useful properties they have is modular light. If the player places just one candle, it will give off a light level of three, but players can put up to four candles in a single space. Each subsequent candle increases the light level by three more, meaning a single block with candles on it can provide either 3, 6, 9, or 12 light level. Another useful thing about candles is that they can be turned on and off. If the player uses flint and steel on an unlit candle, they will turn on, and using a lit candle will turn it off.
Finally, candles can also be placed on uneaten cakes. This gives the cake a light level of 3, but doesn't do much beyond that. Once players start eating a cake, the candle is dropped and the player gets it back again. Players wanting to make use of lots of candles will need to use bee hives as a steady source of honeycombs.
Minecraft is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.