How to Make a Stove Top Simmer Pot
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Looking for a cozy way to make your home smell good without burning a candle? Try making a simmer pot! You can use items you probably already have on hand to make it. Simmer pots look beautiful and smell even better…especially during the Christmas holiday season!
We stopped burning candles in our home a couple of years ago (you can read more about that here), but I really miss having the cozy feeling of them and the good scents! Simmer pots give me the same feeling, though, so I thought I’d share with you, in case you’re looking for an alternative to candles.
Christmas is my favorite holiday to decorate our home for, especially getting to see all my vintage goodies again! You can see more of them in my Christmas Home tours!
How to Make a simmer pot
Stove top simmer pots are so easy to make—you probably already have most of the ingredients already in your fridge or cabinets! Other than the “ingredients” all you will need to make a simmer pot is the pot itself. You can use whatever kind of pot you want, as long as it’s ok to leave on the low heat for an extended period of time. Copper pots always look beautiful and you can also choose to use a small crock pot if you’d rather!
making a simmer pot
Supplies:
Sliced Oranges (Apples or pears are a great addition too)
Cranberries
Cinnamon Sticks
Star Anise
Whole Cloves
Rosemary Sprigs
Directions:
When I say a simmer pot is easy to make, I mean it! The most work you’re going to have to do is slicing your oranges (or apples/pears depending on what you choose). After that, you’ll need to fill your pot with water—I usually do half to three quarters full, add your ingredients, and place on the heated stove. You can start at a higher temp to get the mixture heated, but I then normally turn it down to low—it’s a simmer pot, after all.
gifting simmer pot ingredients
Every holiday season, I wish I could afford to give everyone I know and love a gift. That’s not really possible or reasonable, but there are special things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money.
Gifting the ingredients for a simmer pot is fun, easy, and budget friendly. All you will need are jars and the dry ingredients. In all actuality, you’re just making mulling spices, but you could definitely bulk up the gift by adding everything to a nice basket, including the fruit and a pretty pot. Make the gift even cozier by including a wooden spoon, tea towel, and trivet or hot pad.
I’m sure there are lots of smell-good combinations you could put together for a simmer pot, but I seem to gravitate toward the same ingredients. Any kind of citrus would smell great, you could add a bay leaf or two, ginger, vanilla or almond extract, even some sprigs of evergreen! Have a real Christmas tree? Snip a couple small pieces off and toss them in with your other aromatics!
If you decide to make a simmer pot, I would love to see it! Share a picture of it simmering away in your kitchen to your Instagram stories and tag me when you do! You can find me on Instagram at @hilaryprall.
