How to Make Pomanders

Pomanders - fruits studded with cloves - have been used for centuries for their fragrance. They will add a wonderful holiday scent to your home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Metal Or Wooden Skewers
• Ribbons
• Tissue Paper
• Masking Tape
• Potpourri
• Masking Tape
• Apples
• Cloves
• Lemons
• Oranges
• Tangerines
• Large Airtight Resealable Bags
• Large Bowls
• Toothpicks
• Toothpicks
• Lemons
• Apples
• Oranges
• Tissue paper
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. powdered orrisroots
• 1 tbsp. ground allspice
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1. Choose a variety of fruits for your pomanders. Apples, lemons, tangerines and oranges work best.

2. Use a toothpick or a wooden or metal skewer to pierce the skin of the fruit. Insert cloves into the fruit so that cloves form close, vertical rows. Make patterns with the cloves, if you desire. The goal is to cover the fruit with cloves as completely as possible.

3. Combine the powdered orrisroot, ground cinnamon, ground allspice and ground nutmeg in a large zipper-lock bag. (This mixture will cover approximately two pieces of fruit.)

4. Place the fruit in the bag, and roll the fruit around in the spice mixture. Cover the entire fruit with spices.

5. Remove the fruit from the bag and shake off excess spice powder.

6. Wrap the fruit in tissue paper and store in a cool, dry place for three to four weeks.

7. Unwrap the pomander and display as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Hang pomanders in doorways, on mantles or even on a Christmas tree.
• Display four or five pomanders in a bowl filled with potpourri.
• Consider whether or not you want to hang your fruit with a ribbon after it has dried. If so, lay a piece of masking tape (the same width as that of your ribbon) around the circumference of the fruit before you add the clove studs. Stud the rest of the fruit with cloves, and then remove the masking tape.

on 12/8/2005 I have done this activity with fourth graders. They choose three ribbons and we put them around the oranges using straight pins (the ones with the balls on the end) before we put in the cloves. This gives them sections to fill with cloves. It also makes the oranges prettier.

We also use sharpened pencils to poke the holes in the oranges before trying to put in the cloves. This saves your fingers a lot of hurt.

on 11/22/2005 After the pomander dries out and sits for a couple weeks, it still smells wonderful, but starts to wrinkle and shrink. The cloves can even begin to come out. To solve the problem, simply wrap the finished fruit in a mesh or tulle of your choosing. Bunch the mesh at the top, tie it with a string or ribbon, then place it around the house as usual. You will keep the aroma, and lose the potential mess.