Stovetop potpourri is one of my favorite ways to make your house smell good. It also looks great in the jar. I really like to use them as gifts. All Spruced Up has a very clean smell. It makes me feel like I just did a spring cleaning just by simmering it on the stove.
I love making different combinations of scents. It is fascinating how adding different scents together can change the whole feel of a fragrance.
Ingredients
6 dehydrated lemon rounds
3 lemon balm sprigs
3 whole allspice
11 whole cloves
3 spruce branch tips
twine (18 inches)
wide-mouth pint jar
lid and ring
The lemons are dried by slicing them into 1/4 inch thick rounds, dehydrating at 135 degrees, or placing them in the oven on its lowest setting.
I really like to make my potpourri jars for gifting. So, I start by choosing my favorite lemon and two whole cloves. I set these aside for use later.
I then place a lemon balm sprig in the jar. I use this to hold up the lemon rounds so they don't fall over into an unartful stack. I add 1 spruce tip on each side of the lemons. I then add another lemon before placing 3 whole allspice. I like to make sure these disperse in different areas of the jar.
I then carefully place another sprig of lemon balm. These are very fragile so I try to be delicate with them. The smell will be the same if they are crumbled but they won't be as pretty.
Next, I place one more lemon on the other side. I scatter eight cloves over the top. I then add one more spruce, lemon, lemon balm and sprinkle the remaining cloves over the top.
The lid and ring are then added.
The last step is to cut a hole about 1/4 inch from the edge of the lemon that was set to the side earlier. It's easier than it seems due to the fruit being so dry. I usually just press a scissor tip to it and turn the scissors.
The twine is then folded in half and the folded end is placed through the hole in the lemon. The cut ends are threaded through the folded end and the cloves are placed in the loop before it is tightened. This fruit tag is then tied around the ring.
To use stovetop potpourri, just add the jar contents plus the "tag" to a small pan of simmering water or add it to a crockpot with water on the high setting. Maintain your water level so it doesn't burn and you should be able to get about 6 days of good scents out of one jar.
