Fill Your Kitchen With An Inviting Aroma With A Citrusy Simmer Pot

It's happened before — you visited a friend's house for a casual evening hangout and were met with a beautifully cozy, welcoming scent that wrapped its arms around you the second you crossed the threshold, leaving you wondering aloud, "What is that amazing smell?" But just before you asked exactly what candle provided that fragrant essence, the host revealed that it wasn't a candle at all — and that the aroma was coming from ingredients simmering on their kitchen stove.

Simmer pots, also known as "stovetop potpourri," are an increasingly popular way to create an inviting home environment that appeals to the senses. Since garnering modern attention via the Williams-Sonoma signature version, which includes vanilla, lemon, rosemary, and peppercorns, these easily made, long-lasting fragrance pots are utilized in many homes as a pleasantly genius way to repurpose leftover fruit peels and herbs — and because they are filled with all-natural ingredients, as opposed to the heavy chemicals in the average scented candle, they're a much healthier way for you to capture that cozy home vibe, too!

The first step to creating a citrusy summer pot your guests will practically sing about is choosing the right pot. While many people use Dutch ovens effectively, small to medium pots work best, as they provide even heating. Fill your pot about halfway with water, then add the appropriate ingredients to the water to create the scent and overall vibe you're going for. For a citrus simmer pot, use lemon or orange slices or peels, rosemary, and lavender to create a fresh, clean scent that delights year-round. After adding your ingredients, bring them to a light boil and switch them to a simmer.

Alternatively, use a crockpot or another slow cooker for your simmer pot. If you utilize this method, you'll want to fill the pot almost full with water, add your preferred ingredients, cover it, and turn it on high. Once you notice steam, turn the crockpot down to low. But whichever pot you use, it's important that you keep an eye on it to ensure that the water doesn't completely evaporate; add water as it simmers to keep your pot at least halfway full. Smell not quite what you'd expected? You can add more ingredients as it simmers to reach (and keep) the desired aroma strength. With careful supervision, your simmer pot can keep your home smelling amazing for hours and even days.

Using a simmer pot to add aromatic atmosphere to a home isn't limited to citrus scents. In fact, there are many other natural ingredient combinations that you can use to enhance your home's vibes for both seasonal and evergreen enjoyment. For example, cinnamon sticks, orange rinds, apple peels, cloves, vanilla, anise, and nutmeg create a warm, inviting Fall scent profile. Create a calming lavender simmer pot with dried lavender, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves that can delight in no time. If you like your home to smell like the holidays all year round, you can simmer cranberries, orange peels, cinnamon, pine, and rosemary together for a wintery ambiance.

The good news is that there aren't any rules on what ingredients to mix and match — you can play around with your ingredients and create whatever scents you like. So go forth and simmer! You'll be so glad you did.