I hope you enjoy reading through this potpourri simmering pot guide and find a new recipe or idea to try. The right scents steaming from a simmer pot can boost our moods, invoke a cozy atmosphere and create a welcoming space for family and friends. In this guide, I will share simmer pot basics, tips and tricks, and 6 seasonally inspired recipes with photos!
What are Potpourri Simmering Pots?
A stove-top simmer pot is a pot filled with water, fruits, spices and/or herbs that gently simmers, creating a wonderful smell. It’s a nice alternative to lighting a scented candle, which is usually filled with toxic ingredients.
Simmer pots are also a wonderful way to add moisture to the air. All of that extra moisture in the air helps the heat to stay longer and carries the aroma throughout the house.
Simmer Pot Tips
- We love to find and collect items in nature to add to our simmer pots! Try flowers and garden grown herbs and fruits in the spring and summer. The fall and winter seasons are a bit more challenging, but orchard picked apples, juniper berries, and fragrant pine branches are the perfect seasonal scents!
- Add about 6 cups of water to these simmer pot recipes. A good rule of thumb is to make sure there is enough water to cover the ingredients. Keep an eye on the water level and add more when needed.
- Never leave a simmer pot unattended while on the stove. A Crock Pot is another option for simmer pots!
- Use a small cookie or vegetable cutter to make apple or citrus peel shapes. Kids love using the cutters and this offers a fun way to get them more involved in the process.
- Try freezing citrus peels or drying orange slices in the oven to save simmer pot ingredients for a later date. To dry oranges in the over: Preheat the oven at 200. Slice the oranges very thinly and place slices on a baking rack a few inches apart. Bake for 2-2 1/2 hours. They burn easily, so check often during the last 30 minutes of baking.
- Here is a list of fall and winter simmer pot ingredient ideas: oranges, lemons, limes, apples, cranberries, pomegranate seeds, juniper berries, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, allspice, cloves, star anise, bay leaves, rosemary, and mint.
Apple Potpourri Simmering Pot
Ingredients:
2 Apples
2 Whole Star Anise
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Teaspoon of Allspice
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
This gorgeous simmer pot is so fun to make! Here’s how to make it:
- Cut apples to reveal the star inside (against the core) and cut out mushroom shaped apple pieces with a vegetable shape cutter. This is optional. You can just slice the apple if you would like.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pot and simmer.
Thankful Simmering Pot
Ingredients:
1 Orange
1 Lemon
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Tablespoon of Cloves
4 Dried Bay Leaves
This fragrant simmer pot offers a unique way to practice gratitude. Here’s how to make it:
- Slice the citrus fruit.
- Write what you are thankful for on the dried bay leaves. We used a fine tipped sharpie.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pot and simmer.
Solstice Simmering Pot
Ingredients:
2 Oranges
2 Tablespoons of Cloves
2 Inches of Fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla
This bright and sunny simmer pot is perfect for any solstice celebration! Here’s how to make it:
- Slice one orange and gently peel the other orange. Cut out little orange peel suns with a vegetable shape cutter. Again, this is optional! The orange slices are beautiful on their own and also resemble the sun.
- Poke cloves in the peeled orange. (Kids love this step!)
- Add all of the ingredients to the pot and simmer!
Holiday Simmering Pot
Ingredients:
1 Lemon
1 Lime
3 Cinnamon Sticks
3 Small Branches of a Fragrant Pine Tree
1 Cup of Cranberries
This colorful simmer pot is perfect for any holiday celebration! Here’s how to make it:
- Slice the citrus fruit.
- Cut a few small pine branches from a tree. The trick is to make sure you have a fragrant pine tree. Some examples are: Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Scotch Pine, Colorado Blue Spruce.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pot and simmer!
Simmer Pot Gift
Ingredients:
1 Sliced and Dried Orange or Whole Orange
3 Small Branches of a Fragrant Pine Tree
3 Cinnamon Sticks
OR
1 Sliced and Dried or Whole Lemon
3 Springs of Fresh Rosemary
1 Whole Vanilla Bean
This is a beautiful and useful gift to hand out this holiday season! Place all ingredients in a jar and add a tag with instructions. Here’s an example of instructions to add:
Slice fruit and cover ingredients with water in a small pot. Simmer these ingredients on low to infuse your home with the scents of the season. Refill water as needed. (Instructions will be a bit different for the gifts with dried citrus slices.)
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I hope you have fun making these potpourri simmering pot recipes! I promise, your little nature lovers will love it as much as my boys.
∼Tara
