How to Make a Fall Simmer Pot: Bring the Warmth of the Harvest Home
Simple ingredients, comforting fragrances, and a little inspiration from the garden.
There's something about autumn that makes me appreciate the simple comforts of home a little more.
After a long growing season spent tending flowers, harvesting vegetables, and gathering herbs, I love finding little ways to bring the beauty of the garden indoors.
Sometimes it's a fresh bouquet on the kitchen table. Sometimes it's dried flowers tucked into a favorite vase.
And sometimes, it's a saucepan filled with apples, oranges, cinnamon, and cloves gently simmering on the stove.
Botanical simmer pots are one of my favorite ways to celebrate the changing seasons. They're simple to prepare, easy to customize, and a wonderful way to enjoy the natural fragrances of fruits, herbs, and spices.
Today, I'm sharing how to make your own fall simmer pot, along with a few tips for using ingredients from your garden.
What Is a Botanical Simmer Pot?
A botanical simmer pot is a combination of aromatic ingredients gently heated in water to release their natural fragrances.
Unlike a candle or a traditional air freshener, a simmer pot allows you to choose the ingredients and create combinations inspired by the seasons.
Some of my favorite ingredients include:
Fresh or dried citrus
Apples and pears
Cinnamon sticks
Whole cloves
Rosemary and thyme
Other suitable aromatic herbs
You don't need an elaborate recipe or a collection of unusual ingredients. Sometimes the simplest combinations are the most enjoyable.
How to Make a Fall Simmer Pot
One of the easiest ways to begin is with a classic autumn blend featuring apples, oranges, and warm spices.
Autumn Harvest Simmer Pot Recipe
Ingredients
3–4 apple slices
2 orange slices
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
Approximately 3–4 cups of water, adjusted to your saucepan
Directions
Gather your ingredients and choose a small or medium saucepan.
Add the apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks, and cloves.
Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients generously.
Warm the mixture until it reaches a gentle simmer.
Reduce the heat and allow the fragrance to develop.
Check the water level frequently, adding more as needed.
Turn off the heat when finished, allow everything to cool, and discard the used ingredients.
The result is a warm, fruity, spiced fragrance that feels especially fitting for autumn.
An important reminder: Never leave a heating simmer pot unattended. Turn off the heat before leaving the kitchen or going to sleep. Keep hot cookware and ingredients away from children and pets. Simmer pot mixtures are for fragrance only and should never be consumed.
Bringing the Garden Into Your Simmer Pot
One of the things I appreciate most about botanical simmer pots is that many of the ingredients can come from our own gardens.
Herbs are especially wonderful because they serve so many purposes.
A rosemary plant, for example, can provide fresh ingredients for cooking, herbs to dry for the pantry, and aromatic sprigs for seasonal simmer pots.
Thyme, mint, sage, lavender, and lemon balm are other possibilities worth exploring.
You don't need a dedicated garden just for simmer pots. A few thoughtfully chosen herbs can provide plenty of opportunities to create throughout the year.
Here at Wendland Family Farm, I love finding ways to make the most of what we grow. Preserving herbs and fruits for seasonal projects is one more way to extend the enjoyment of the harvest.
Fresh or Dried Ingredients: Which Should You Use?
Both fresh and dried ingredients work beautifully in simmer pots.
Fresh ingredients are convenient when you want to create something right away. A few slices of citrus, an apple, and herbs from the kitchen or garden can come together in minutes.
Dried ingredients are especially useful when you want to prepare blends ahead of time.
Dried orange slices, apples, herbs, and whole spices can be combined into beautiful seasonal mixtures.
They also make wonderful handmade gifts.
If you're preparing jars to store, it's important that the fruit and herbs are thoroughly dried before packaging. Ingredients containing moisture can spoil or develop mold.
Creating Thoughtful Handmade Simmer Pot Gifts
I have always loved gifts that feel personal.
They don't necessarily need to be expensive or complicated. Sometimes a little time, a few beautiful ingredients, and a thoughtful note are all it takes.
Botanical simmer pot jars are a lovely example.
Imagine a clear glass jar filled with dried orange slices, apples, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and a sprig of rosemary.
Add a simple label, a piece of twine, and instructions for simmering.
It's a thoughtful gift for a holiday gathering, a teacher, a neighbor, or someone who could use a little extra encouragement.
And because you can change the ingredients with the seasons, this is a project you can return to throughout the year.
A Few Tips for Creating Beautiful Simmer Pot Blends
As you experiment, remember that more ingredients don't always mean a better fragrance.
I like thinking about simmer pot combinations a little like arranging a bouquet.
Choose one ingredient to be the main fragrance, another to complement it, and a smaller amount of something stronger to add depth.
For example:
Orange + Rosemary + Cinnamon
Orange brings brightness, rosemary adds an herbal note, and cinnamon contributes warmth.
It's a simple combination, but each ingredient has a purpose.
Start with just a few ingredients and discover which fragrances you enjoy most.
Keep Learning With Harvest & Home
If you enjoyed learning how to make a fall simmer pot, I created something to help you explore the process even further.
My Harvest & Home: Harvest Simmer Pots digital guide is a 42-page educational resource inspired by our experience growing, harvesting, and preserving botanicals here at Wendland Family Farm.
Inside, you'll learn how to:
Choose aromatic fruits, herbs, and spices
Grow and harvest botanicals for simmer pots
Dry citrus, fruit, and herbs
Understand fragrance combinations
Create balanced botanical blends
Prepare fresh and dried simmer pots
Make four seasonal simmer pot recipes
Assemble a handmade Farmhouse Harvest Simmer Pot Jar
Package botanical blends for gifting
Store ingredients safely and troubleshoot common problems
The guide also includes a printable simmer pot recipe planner so you can record your favorite combinations and continue experimenting.
Harvest & Home: Harvest Simmer Pots
If you enjoy learning practical skills that connect the garden and home, you can also explore The Complete Harvest & Home Collection.
This collection brings together all 11 Harvest & Home educational guides, covering everything from herbs and garden preservation to floral projects and seasonal home creations.
Complete Harvest & Home Collection
A Little Piece of the Harvest, All Year Long
For me, gardening has always been about more than what we grow.
It's about the things we learn, the traditions we create, and the ways we share the harvest with others.
A botanical simmer pot might seem like a small thing, but sometimes those simple seasonal comforts are the ones we remember most.
Whether you're gathering herbs from your garden, drying oranges for a handmade gift, or simply enjoying the fragrance of cinnamon and apples on a cool autumn afternoon, I hope you'll find a little inspiration to bring the harvest home.
Happy creating!
Erica Wendland
Owner & Farmer
Wendland Family Farm
Grown with purpose. Shared with gratitude.
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