How To Make A Simmer Pot | BEST Simmer Pot Recipe
Don't you just love walking into someone's house and smelling the warm, spicy scent of the season? Are you wondering to yourself, how do I make my house smell good like that?
We are going to share how to make your own simmer pot, and how to keep those warm scents going all through the season! We are also going to share how you can make these into handmade simmer pot gifts to give to your friends and family.
How To Make A Simmer Pot | Best Simmer Pot Recipe
What Is A Simmer Pot?
A simmer spice pot is a beautiful fusion of spices, fruit, and herbs that blend together in a pot on the stove or slow cooker, and release their scent as the water heats up. Think of it as a natural, homemade air freshener! You can change your home scent as often as you would like, or as the seasons change! Create your own fall home fragrance or craft a natural Christmas potpourri to have your house smelling like your best childhood Christmas memories.
Why Make A Simmer Pot?
Tips For Making A Simmer Pot:
- Start by finding a medium-sized pot that is more tall than wide. The wider the pot, the more surface area you will expose, and you will find that your water evaporates much faster.
- You can also use a slow cooker or crock pot, which is good because it is both wide and deep. Plus, you can plug it into a safe space in any room.
- Put your simmer pot where you think your room scent should be concentrated if you are using a slow cooker! If you are making this simmer pot on the stovetop, don't worry, the scent will still carry throughout your home.
- Be sure to check it often and refill with water when necessary.
How To Make A Simmer Pot:
1. Fill your pot or slow cooker 3/4 of the way full with water.
TIP: Can use half water and half apple cider or apple juice in your simmer pot to have your home smell like apples or homemade apple pie!
2. Choose your spices! Depending on the season or simply how you are feeling, you can choose 2-4 spices to blend together in your simmer pot to make your room smell good! We will give you some ideas below of what you can choose from.
CINNAMON STICKS In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Cinnamon gives off a sweet, spicy and hot fragrance.
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Effects: In general, cinnamon is used as a physical and emotional stimulant. It has been known to reduce drowsiness and irritability! It evokes feelings of warmth and comfort.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: Cinnamon sticks take up the most space and look fabulous. Add 2 to a pot or 3-4 to a crock pot! Find them on Amazon here.
STAR ANISE In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Elicits childhood memories (either good or bad, depending on how you like licorice!) It also brings up notes of fennel or tarragon! Compliments cinnamon, orange, clove, nutmeg.
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Effects: Like fennel, star anise is associated with its digestive benefits. So this one might be a good one to add to a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner simmer spice pot!
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: This will literally be the star of the show!! These look absolutely gorgeous in a spice pot, so add a few! You can find them on Amazon here. We are in love with how these look and hold up in the warmth of the water.
NUTMEG In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Rich, warm, cozy, spicy. Nutmeg gives off true notes of both fall and carries well into winter.
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Effects: Let the scent of nutmeg comfort and soothe you. It brings about clarity and helps boost energy! Nutmeg is a good friend to clove and cinnamon, and gets along well with almost anyone ;)
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: You won't really see the nutmeg in your spice pot if you are using a powder, which you can do. You can find whole, organic nutmeg on Amazon here.
CLOVE In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Sweet and spicy, clove can be very powerful. Don't overdo this one!
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Effects: Clove is great for alertness and mental clarity. It is a scent associated with love and devotion. Clove has long been a friend of orange, and they blend beautifully together.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: Dried, whole clove buds are small and look nice upon close inspection of a simmer spice pot. But due to their strong scent profile, I would add 1 or 2 at a time, and wait before adding more.
ORANGE In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Cheerful, happy, energetic, uplifting.
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Effects: Great for a morning blend, it is mood-lifting and invigorates a sense of positivity and happiness.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: Orange essential oil is found in the peel of the orange, so sliced to get the full 'circle' of an orange is best. It looks beautiful in a simmer spice pot and holds up relatively well.
ROSEMARY In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Fresh, crisp, clean, detoxifying.
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Effects: Rosemary is another booster to mental clarity and denotes feelings of a fresh start.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: A fresh sprig of rosemary will add some beautiful color to your pot. However, as it boils on, it will lose this look as it absorbs the water and sinks a bit into the pot. Can take it out and add a fresh sprig if you are going for a 'green' fresh look.
CRANBERRIES In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: sweet and tart, but is not strong at all. Can add a few.
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Effects: Has been hailed as a headache reliever, this scent is very mild and compliments other spices in the simmer pot.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: This is the main reason you would add cranberry. The tart, red little berries are a wonderful color addition, especially at Christmas!
PINE In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: Invigorating and cleansing.
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Effects: This scent will totally remind you of childhood Christmas memories! Can pick a small sprig off a pine tree or even add a drop of pine essential oil from Amazon.
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: The green sprig will look beautiful in a simmer spice pot. You could even use a pine cone or two for the look of it!
VANILLA In A Simmer Pot
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Scent profile: A classic and a favorite. The warm scent of vanilla is smooth, mellow and romantic.
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Effects: A calming, relaxing warm scent. It calms stress and is a great mood enhancer. It is an all-over crowd pleaser!
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Looks in a simmer spice pot: This one is very fun if you are playing with a vanilla pod, which I recommend if using in a simmer spice pot. You can find whole vanilla beans on Amazon here. Don't be afraid of a whole vanilla bean! Once you use one, it will forever change how you approach every recipe involving vanilla (I promise you this!) I never knew the subtle, satisfying little crunch the seeds leave when I use them in my recipes instead of extracts! Add them to ice cream, whipped cream, butter, and so many other recipes. We could write a whole post on vanilla pods... haha. Try to buy these in a glass vial to maintain their freshness and to keep them longer.
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How to use a vanilla bean: A sharp knife works best here: carefully slice the vanilla pod from tip to tip to expose the vanilla seeds. Depending on how strong of a scent you are going for, you can put the vanilla seeds in the pot, or the whole bean!
TIP: If you are only using the seeds from the vanilla pod, you can still keep the outer pod shell for other uses. Our favorite trick in the DIY kitchen is to put the pod casing into a cup full of white sugar. Stir it around, let sit for a few days. Then you will have vanilla-infused sugar! Sprinkle on your french toast, use it for a natural vanilla-flavored coffee... The list can go on and on!
Now, one final TIP (great Christmas gift ideas here!!):
Once you find the blends you like, you can pre-make your own for the season and store them in these cute burlap baggies from Amazon.
This is a great way to keep them handy to open and throw into your pot, and you can also make and give these away as Christmas gifts! Just print your ingredients and instructions, and tie them closed with ribbon. Remember, only put the dry ingredients in these baggies. In your notes, you might like to say "add 2 whole slices of orange" (do not put any wet ingredients in the bag.
We love how cute these little burlap baggies look!
We hope we have inspired you to create your own simmer spice pot! We would love to hear from you, please let us know what blends you came up with, and feel free to send us pictures too! And be sure to let us know if you used these for Christmas gift ideas! And if you really loved this post, be sure to pin it on your Pinterest page!
Enjoy the season!
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