Want your house to smell amazing all season long? Throw on a pot of these Fall Simmering Spices and all your neighbors will come running over to see what’s cooking! All you need are some orange peels, vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks!
When it comes to senses, I’ve always believed that my sense of smell is the best of them all. I have selective hearing, can only see clearly with my glasses, I encompass taste under olfactory senses and for point-making purposes I’m excluding touch.
I can literally relive a memory just by smelling something and if it were socially appropriate for me to smell everything before I ate it, I totally would. I think the reason I love cooking is because I truly enjoy being surrounded by intoxicating smells.
So for me, a recipe for simmering spices makes complete sense. Even if it’s only purpose is to smell great, I can get down with that.
What are simmering spices?
They’re basically a home diffuser made from spices and kitchen ingredients that you let simmer on your stovetop to make your house smell amazing. Instead of going out and buying home diffusers, essential oils or candles that can be expensive (and occasionally have questionable aka toxic ingredients!), you can make simmering spices in minutes with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry.
It may seem odd at first why anyone would want to do this, but once your house fills up with the intoxicating smell of fall spices, you will completely understand…and suddenly find yourself wanting to rake leaves, drink bottomless PSLs and debut your entire scarf and sweater collection. Oh, the power of smell.
Here’s What You Need:
- Peels from 1 large orange (or 3 small clementines)
- 1 vanilla bean
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- optional: 2 star anise, freshly grated nutmeg, cardamom pods
How to Make Simmering Spices
STEP 1: Add 6 cups of water to a medium pot and bring to a boil.
STEP 2: Stir in all ingredients and let the mixture boil for 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer for as long as you’d like! I recommend adding ¼ cup of water for each hour you leave simmering to make sure the spices don’t burn.
STEP 4: When you’re done simmering your spices, you can compost the mixture or toss the solids and pour the liquid down the drain.
I love to make simmering spices on any ole day but it’s especially great when guests are coming over. It’s the most welcoming smell to walk into a home to!
Fall Simmering Spices
Want your house to smell amazing all season long? Throw on a pot of these Fall Simmering Spices and all your neighbors will come running over to see what’s cooking! All you need are some orange peels, vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks!
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: N/A
Ingredients
- Peels from 1 large orange (or 3 small clementines)
- 1 vanilla bean, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- optional: 2 star anise, freshly grated nutmeg, cardamom pods
Instructions
- Add 6 cups of water to a medium pot and bring to a boil.
- Stir in all ingredients and let boil for 2 minutes
- Reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer for as long as you like. Add 1/4 of water for each hour you leave simmering to ensure spices don’t burn.
- Enjoy the fabulous smell within 10 minutes!
Keywords: simmering spices, fall simmering spices
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9 Comments
Janelle @ Wholly Healthy
November 3, 2015 at 3:31 amMmmm…this sounds amazing! I tend to be smell sensitive and get migraines from a lot of candles and other artificial scents, so this would be perfect for me.
Davida Kugelmass
November 3, 2015 at 9:14 amyes! this is super gentle on the senses so no migraines! I totally agree on those fakey-artificial candles. They give me the worst headaches!
Jami
November 2, 2015 at 3:36 pmIs there any way to re-use the spices a couple times? Do they break down after simmering for a while? I would love to do this regularly but would be a little costly using new vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks every time!
Davida Kugelmass
November 3, 2015 at 9:14 amMine last all day (12+) hours but I’ve never tried re-using them. You could certainly try though!
Jessica Wood
November 2, 2015 at 9:10 amMy mom used to simmer spices growing up and I completely forgot about it until now! I guess I got caught up in scentsy and forgot all about it! I know what I’ll be adding to my grocery list this week! Thanks 🙂
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health
November 2, 2015 at 7:06 ami usually simmer my apartment every week or so with cinnamon after cooking nepali food (fried onions and cumin are no bueno if you live a tiny apartment)..but love the idea of adding orange peel and vanilla bean.
Davida Kugelmass
November 3, 2015 at 9:13 amyes! After I make anything that requires frying an onion, this recipe is perfect! Oh man the post-onion-fry smell is the WORST.
Dani @ Dani California Cooks
November 1, 2015 at 10:18 pmI’ve never heard of simmering spices but I’m a huge fan of candles that make your house smell amazing, so I know I would like to try this!
Davida Kugelmass
November 3, 2015 at 9:13 amIt’s like a cheap and easy life-hack to candles…which this household can’t seem to keep for more than like a day (someone ahem C has a candle problem lol)