A simmer pot is a wonderful and easy way to add both humidity and amazing aromas to your home. In addition, by using herbs, spices, and fruit, it becomes an affordable and simple method to enhance your living environment. Furthermore, it’s a great way to create a warm, inviting atmosphere without much effort or expense,
During the colder months of late autumn, winter and early spring we spend so much more time inside and with that we want our homes feel warm and cozy. This is where simmer pots come in they are all natural and wonderfully cheap to create. The combinations you can create are endless.
A great way to do this is by making it smell amazing too. But essential oils can get quite expensive especially if you get the good quality ones, you also have to be cautious when using them too.
I love the fact that you can also forage for some of these ingredients or find them in your own garden. Go check out my herb series if you are interested in growing your own herb garden, I highly recommend giving it try you cannot beat fresh grown herbs.
The Benefits
Also, they are a great way to introduce more humidity into the air. You may not realize it but we do need some humidity in our environment, I’m not referring to damp though that is something very different.
Our heaters and fires during the cold months tend to remove a lot of the humidity in our homes hence drying the air and with this results in our skin drying out, our throats get raspy and sore. It is recommend our homes should have a relative humidity between 40%-60%.
One last key point to remember is that if you have any indoor plants then they tend to suffer when the humidity is low. In fact most house plants actually require a lot of humidity. It is something to keep in mind when you are choosing houseplants to buy. This is a very interesting article you may like to check out.
Let me share a few of my favourite simmer combinations with you. I truly hope that, in doing so, they will provide you with some inspiration for your own simmer pots. Furthermore, these combinations can offer you a variety of fragrant and warming options, which can be easily tailored to suit your preferences.
1. Ginger, Cloves, All spice and Orange Simmer pot
This is a wonderful spicy combination and perfect for a cold frosty winter day
- 2 inches of Fresh Ginger roughly sliced
- 5 Cloves
- 10 Dried Allspice berries
- Half an Orange sliced
2. Star Anise, Cinnamon, Cranberry and Cedar
The star anise is the highlight of this pot careful not to add too many though. It will shine through first but as it simmers away the other ingredients will take over rounding out the wonderful aroma.
- 3- 4 Star anise
- 2 Sticks of Cinnamon
- Small handful of fresh cranberries
- A few Cedar leaf fronds
3. Eucalyptus, Lemon, Pine and Lavender Simmer pot
This is a fresh simmer pot that is wonderful if you are looking to freshen up your space. It will invigorate and lift anyone’s mood.
- Small bunch of Eucalyptus
- 1 lemon sliced
- Handful of fresh pine needles
- 6-8 Sprigs of fresh or dried lavender
4. Rosemary, Sage, Lemon and Cypress
An earthy and woody yet fresh simmer pot, it has a wonderful citrus and minty aroma. Another one that is great for clearing the air.
- 4 -6 Sprigs of Rosemary
- 10-15 Sage leaves
- 1 Lemon sliced
- A few Cypress fronds
5. Vanilla, Cardamom and Nutmeg
This another warming combination, with the spice from the nugmeg, the creamy vanilla and then that ownderful citrus from the cardamom. This has to be one of my favourites, although I will say it is also the mildest in fragrance.
- 2- 3 Vanilla pods or 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.
- 8 Cardamom pods
- 1/2 Teaspoon grated (ground) Nutmeg
To make your simmer pots, simply add a generous amount of water to a small to medium pot. Then, add whichever combination you have chosen. Next, place the pot on one of the back burners and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer. In no time, your space will be filled with the wonderful aromas, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere
The amounts stated are just a starting off point you can tailor them for you own taste. You may also want to either increase or decrease the amounts depending on the size of your space.
Caution!! Do not forget about your simmer pots the water will eventually evaporate away leaving your ingredients to burn causing a fire risk. I like to simmer mine for around an hour or two so I set the timer so that I don’t forget about it.
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