In this blog post you’ll learn alllll about simmer pots: what they are, why they’ll be your newfound obsession, & how to use them to make your home smell like the holidays. Growing up, my mom used to place them on the fireplace around Christmastime & it was one of my favorite parts of the season. I’m excited to share this tradition with you!
A simmer pot is a pot when you simmer fresh ingredients (herbs & spices) in order for them to release a beautiful scent that will permeate your whole house. You can think of them as the OG essential oil diffusers.
Curious if these actually work? 👀 My boyfriend has a newfound citrus allergy. Today I was simmering orange peels & cinnamon, but I didn’t think it’d affect him since he wasn’t consuming the oranges. Not only did our cozy apartment smell amazing, his eyes started burning! Now I get to experiment with new recipes so that creating a holiday ambiance doesn’t make him suffer…so there ya have it, unfortunate proof of the power of simmer pots!
You’ll love these because of the ability to use fresh ingredients you might even have on-hand. You don’t have to buy any expensive essential oils or a diffuser you might not use in the future. You don’t need to spend any more money on candles you’ll throw out half-used once the season ends. Just use a normal soup pot or a beloved old tea kettle. While fresh ingredients are best, you can substitute for powdered or even the essential oil form if that’s what you have handy.
Now that you know what simmer pots are & how they can add another layer to your holiday bliss, let’s get into how to make them.
Step 1: Fill a pot or large tea kettle & fill it 3/4-ish way with water.
Step 2: Bring the water to a boil.
Step 3: Add in your ingredients. See below for a list of great options! Note: I normally find the whole spices easiest (& cheapest) at local Hispanic or Asian grocery stores.
Here are some add-ins to experiment with:
- Whole cinnamon sticks
- Orange peels (or thinly sliced fresh or dried oranges)
- Cranberries
- Pine (or other evergreen tree) sprigs–you might even be able to trim these from your tree!
- Rosemary sprigs
- Whole cloves
- Whole star anise
- Ground nutmeg
- Thinly sliced apples or pears
- Sliced fresh ginger
Step 4: Turn the setting to low/medium & let your mix simmer.
Step 5: Enjoy the natural fragrance & continue adding water as it evaporates (this is important: you don’t want the ingredients to burn because, fire hazard!!).
Step 6: When you’re finished enjoying your simmer pot, you can pour off the water & compost the mixed ingredients…OR!
Depending on what mixture you create, you might be able to even drink it as a tea. That is what I did with this orange/cinnamon blend! Add in honey or some mulled apple cider (or even apple juice) if you need to make it a bit sweeter.
Try simmer pots for daily holiday cheer or use it to set the tone for a special gathering! Whatever you use it for I’m curious to know: what ingredient combo will you try first?
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