USING HERBS AND FRUIT TO MAKE YOUR HOME SMELL FRAGRANT & DELICIOUS
You can simmer just about any food that has a pleasant aroma to make your house smell good naturally. Apples, berries, orange peels, lemon peels, lime peels, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon sticks, mint leaves and more. A simmer pot is a great way to do this. You can add items to a stove top or better yet a crockpot if you have one.
Fill a small saucepan or cast iron pot with water. Then add your simmering ingredients, using your own recipe or one of the recipes below, and simmer on low for a couple of hours. Add water as needed.
Fill the slow cooker most of the way with water, and add your ingredients. Turn it on low and let it simmer all day.
Always be sure there is enough water in the pot to keep the items from burning (really important tip).
Check a stovetop simmer pot every couple of hours to be sure the water level hasn’t gotten low. A slow cooker simmer pot will need less “babysitting”, so use this method if you get distracted easily or think you’ll forget to check.
Be sure to keep your simmer pot on low – whether you use an electric pot, a stovetop pot, or a crockpot.
Your simmering potpourri blend will last longer if you drain out old water and add fresh filtered water each day. You will likely get 3-4 days out of one mixture this way.
You can leave a crockpot simmer pot on all day, if you wish. A stovetop pot should only be left on for a couple of hours. Unless you are very careful.
Never leave a simmer pot simmering while you’re sleeping or if you go out.
General idea of a recipe ratio is listed below, but mix and match as you want there isn’t a real rule to do this.
Ingredients
1 small or medium navel orange
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
3 cinnamon sticks
2 Tablespoons whole cloves
3 bay leaves or a pine or rosemary sprig
1 whole star anise (optional)
Instructions
Slice the orange into 4-5 rounds and put them, along with the rest of the ingredients into a medium sauce pan with 6 cups of water.
Suggestions to try:
Apple Spice
- apple slices
- cinnamon sticks
- Cloves
Coffee
- coffee beans
- cinnamon sticks
- cardamom, anise, or allspice (optional)
Winter Bonfire
- cedar sprigs
- pear slices
- mesquite wood chips
Warm Winter Citrus
- cedar sprigs
- bay leaves
- rosemary sprigs
- clementine slices or peels
Lemon Rosemary
- rosemary sprigs
- lemon slices
- vanilla extract
Lime Mint & Thyme
- lime slices
- mint leaves
- sprigs of thyme
- fresh ginger (optional)
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