by Lois Breneman - Heart to Heart - 2014
This project is perfect for doing with your older children or with girlfriends, such as "Girls' Night Out!" It's easy to talk while you craft this fun project! My sister-in-law, Linda, makes these every Thanksgiving with her daughter and daughters-in-law to add to their bowl of fragrant spicy pomanders each year. They even made small pineapple pomanders recently, covered in the same way! Linda Walker in Pennsylvania is my inspiration for this project!
I saw orange pomanders for sale online with a beautiful bow and a cinnamon stick at the top for more than $35 including shipping. These would make wonderful gifts as well as decorations in your own home. I keep mine setting out all year long.
Supplies:
1. Fresh Orange (I used an orange with a thinner skin, verses a naval orange with a thick skin, but either will work fine.)
2. Metal or wooden skewer (to make it easier on your fingers as you push each whole clove into the orange)
3. Bottle of whole unbroken cloves (I bought mine in bulk at a lower price at our natural foods co-op)
4. Container of powdered alum or orris root (preservatives found with spices - a must if you want your orange not to get moldy and rot) I will refer to only alum in this article.
5. Ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice (choose the ones you want, but definitely cinnamon and cloves)
6. Ziplock bag (gallon size if making more than one or saving mixture for another year)
Photo of the supplies, except for the bag of spice and alum mixture. The skewer was shortened, making it easier to handle.
The best way to cover an orange with cloves so it will last for years, is to cover it completely,
rather than make a design. If covered completely, it will keep for
years. Those with designs where part of the orange rind is showing tend
to mold or rot.
Directions:
1. Starting at the top of the orange, remove the part that attached to the stem, poke a hole there with the skewer, and insert a whole clove by pushing the pointy end into the hole.
2. Poke more holes next to the first clove, so there will be no spaces of orange showing through after the cloves are inserted. After you get the idea, you can poke an entire row of holes before inserting the whole cloves. This will take quite a while, and don't rush the process. Enjoy listening to music or the radio - or listening and talking with family or friends.
3. After your orange is studded completely, pour at least 1 Tbsp. alum into a Ziplock bag, with a large container of cinnamon and a few tablespoons of ground cloves. Mix well. Dollar Tree has cinnamon in large containers for a dollar. Extra alum won't hurt either.
4. Wet the clove-studded orange with water, and shake off extra drops. While wet, put the clove-studded orange into the bag of alum and spice mixture and gently turn the bag until the orange is completely coated with alum. This is what will make your beautifully scented orange last for quite a few years. Without alum, your time, energy, and money will be wasted. Gently tap the orange on your other hand to get rid of any excess powder. Place on a paper towel or tea towel and turn it a little each day as it completely cures. Continue turning for 2 weeks so all the sides will dry out.
5. Save any alum and spice mixture for future orange pomanders. Label the bag. Add more spices and alum when the mixture is running out
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Below is another orange I started last night after this was posted. I used a juicy orange with a thin skin, as I did for the one above. You can see the juice oozing out in the front. It smelled so good, and juice ozzing out is not a problem. I will need to fill in with small cloves to completely cover the orange peel in that area. It's a good idea to refrigerate any partly completed orange to keep it fresh. Tonight I plan to finish it. Then I'll coat it with the spice and alum mixture, by following the recipe above. |
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