What are Simmer Pots?
A simmer pot is basically a homemade air freshener made by simmering fragrant pieces of fruits, herbs, and other spices in water. You throw some nice smelling things into a pot and let it just simmer on the stove all day. It makes the house smell amazing and adds humidity in a dry home. You can change your recipe to reflect the season both for scent and intention. I have included a long list of plant symbolism that I have cobbled together over the years below. I make simmer pots primarily in the fall and winter when it’s cold outside, but I was recent;y inspired to add some spring and summer recipes for dreary days. (Baltimore however, is quite humid enough on it’s own in summer…)
How Do You Make a Simmer Pot?
If you have never made a simmer pot before, just bring some water to a simmer on the stove (or in a crockpot, or pot on a wood stove if you have one) and add then your chosen ingredients. Let it simmer away all day and beautiful fragrance will waft into your home. Add water as needed. When you are done you can compost the contents. It doesn’t really matter what size your pot is or however much of everything you add. Let your nose be your guide! Click on a season below for some recipe ideas!
Why Make Simmer Pots?
There are three other important facets to this tradition beyond the lovely scent for me:
1) I use up discarded things like orange peels and fallen evergreen branches. It kills me when I see recipes that tell you to cut up 3 fresh oranges or apples. There is no reason. Eat the food. Lots of people don’t have enough food and I don’t want to be wasting it. The good news is that The parts of fruit that you don’t eat are perfect for simmer pots. All of the scent is in the citrus peel anyway! An apple core smells just as good as apple slices! If your kids are like mine they often mangle orange slices more than eat them… just dump the sad pile of remains right into the simmer pot. You can also save fruit discards in the freezer, or in the case of peels let them dry and just use them as you need them. All those pesky pine needles that fall of your tree are also perfect! The woody stems of thyme and rosemary sprigs, ginger that’s past it’s prime, it’s all great for simmer pots! Waste not want not.
2) In addition to smelling nice and adding moisture to the air (I live in an old house with radiators and the moisture is very welcome) many herbs and spices actually fight germs and bacteria and cleanse the air in their aerosolized form. Read some fascinating studies about it here, here and here. From one of the studies: “The EO of thyme, clove and cinnamon bark may provide promising antibacterial activity against respiratory tract pathogens either in liquid medium or in vapor phase.” We can all use any help we can get fighting colds, flu and worse. (Not to suggest that this is in place of medical advice, just another helpful option.)
3) Intention. I know, I know, I keep saying things like just dump it in… but one of my favorite parts of a simmer pot is acting with intention. I have been collecting information over the years about what each simmer pot ingredient symbolizes. We like to choose ingredients with intention and a nod to what we need that day. We also like to write wishes and intentions on bay leaves and add them to the pot. The whole family adds their bay leaves as they see fit- everything from “health and happiness” to “i don’t want to get another cavity.” Bay leaves have been used to cast wishes since ancient times. Daphnomancy was the ancient Greek art of telling fortunes with bay leaves. Daphno is thought to be a tribute to Daphne, an ancient Greek nymph turned into the first laurel tree by Apollo and manteia means divination.
Herb & Spice Symbolism
I have this list piecemeal all over my website, so I decided to make one spot where all of this information lives that can be added to over time.
- Allspice: wealth, success
- Angelica: balance, protection
- Apple peels & cores: immortality, abundance, knowledge & protection.
- Aster: love, wisdom & patience
- Bay: protection & the consecration of wishes (You can write wishes or intentions on them before adding them to the pot)
- Beautyberry: beauty
- Boneset: resilience, driving out negativity & protective shield
- Cardamom: clarity, joy & love
- Cedar: expels negativity
- Cinnamon: comfort, success, strength & prosperity
- Cloves: drive away negativity & attract positivity
- Evening Primrose: hope, renewal, intuition & secrets
- Evergreens: symbols of everlasting life & yule
- Fir: determination, honesty, passion
- Goldenrod: good fortune, wealth, encouragement, good luck & toughness
- Ground Ivy: clairvoyance & discovery
- Heather: good luck, protection, good health
- Juniper: purification, boundaries, hope, new beginnings
Lavender: peace - Lemon: cleansing & purification
- Maple Leaves: strength & endurance, transformation & change.
- Marigold: energy, good luck, warmth, creativity, prosperity & love.
- Mint: health, rebirth, virtue & hospitality
- Oranges: joy
- Pine: strength, rebirth, wisdom
- Pumpkin: protection, abundance, prosperity, stability & security.
- Rosehips: good fortune, peace, confidence & prosperity
- Rosemary: remembrance, mental clarity
- Sage: wisdom, health
- Spruce: generosity, protection, healing, resilience & strength
- Star Anise: magic, luck & divination
- Sumac: harmony, protection, care, restoration & connection to nature
- Sweet Autumn Clematis: clever, aspiration & mischief
- Sweetshrub: benevolence, wit, compassion
- Thyme: prosperity
- Tomato Vines: protection & patience
- Vanilla: love, increased energy & sharpened thinking.