Try Your Hand at Orange Pomanders

Try your hand at Orange Pomanders

A pomander is a ball of sweet-smelling herbs or spices which is used to perfume the air. They were once thought to protect a household against infection. Typically made with citrus or apple and studded with other spices, pomanders can certainly freshen up a room and permeate it with a clean and lively scent. I love to hang them around the house with a festive ribbon or give them as gifts.

THESE HOMEMADE GIFTS WILL ADD A CLEAN, HOLIDAY FRAGRANCE TO ANY ROOM!

Handmade pomanders have fallen out of fashion in recent years, but I find they’re a fun project for middle-school children. They keep small hands busy, and the scent can be soothing or calming. If you’d like to try your hand at pomanders, here’s how.

Orange Pomanders

MATERIALS:

Makes one pomander

1 orange (lemons and limes work as well)

5 – 6 ounces of whole cloves

2 tablespoons of ground orris root (optional – available at health food stores)

ground nutmeg

ground cinnamon

rosemary twig cinnamon

stick yarn or ribbon

ice pick

tissue paper or cheese cloth

wax paper

DIRECTIONS:

The first thing to do is select your fruit. Because pushing the cloves through the rind can be a chore, I always select oranges with thin skins.

In a medium to large sized bowl mix equal amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of ground orris root. Orris root comes from iris roots and has long been used as a fixative. It will help the fragrance of the spices last longer, but it is not a critical ingredient. If you can’t find it, you can omit it from the mix. Set the bowl aside. Now you are ready to insert the cloves into the orange. Small children or people with sensitive hands may find it helpful if "starter" holes are pierced into the orange with an ice pick first. I also like to wrap the tip of my thumb with a bit of masking tape so that it is easier to push in the cloves. I often cover the orange with cloves, but you can make patterns as well by arranging the cloves in circles, lines or spirals. The fruit will shrink as it dries so space the cloves about 1/8" apart.

Once you have created your design, roll the orange in your spice mixture until it is fairly well covered.Set the pomanders on wax paper to dry. The drying process can take 3 or 4 days so I like to put them somewhere out of the way, but check on them periodically.

Once the pomanders are sufficiently dry, wrap them in cheesecloth or tissue paper and tie the top with a bit of yarn or ribbon with a cinnamon stick and rosemary twig tied into the bow. In addition to the clean scent, rosemary is symbolic of remembrance, so it is a nice touch if you are giving the pomanders as a gift.