orange with cloves

DECEMBER 3: Orange and clove pomanders offer warming, spicy scents

by Bruce McMichael

THE LEMON GROVE CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 3

Helping make yours a Cracking Citrussy Christmas #lovecitrus

Pomanders date back hundreds of years and evolved into mixtures of fragrant, dried herbs in cloth bags, and in this case oranges and often with a sprinkling of other spices and perhaps a spritz of cinnamon oil.  

The simplest way is to simply pierce the fruit with the cloves in a pattern or just randomly and hope the legends warding off illness or bring strength and good fortune. Hang them on your Christmas tree, the kitchen or perhaps the hallway to make a welcoming, fragrant welcome to your home.  

Adding a little spices to your DIY Christmas decorations (Photo: Alicja Gancarz,/ Unsplash)

Tips: Use a toothpick to break the skin and before inserting the cloves.

Get creative in the designs and patterns you make – spirals, diamonds, letters. Tie colourful ribbons around the orange to add a festive feel.For a stronger aroma, roll the finished pomander orange in a mixture of spices such as ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and allspice. Leave the orange in the mix for a week, turning once a day

To hang your pomander, run a long wire through the orange; make a knot at the bottom and a loop at the top for hanging. 

Tag me into any pomander oranges you make 🙂

Spices make all the difference to orange pomanders (Photo Tamara Gak, Unsplash)
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Bruce McMichael

Food writing, discovering food stories, meeting producers, chefs and food enthusiasts are all part of desire to inspire, inform my readers and fellow food lovers. I am a freelance writer, journalist and published author focusing on the international world of food and drink, culture and travel. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy with a Masters in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing. I am now a visiting Professor at the university teaching Food & Drink Writing. Based in London I travel widely, particularly across western Europe. I have chaired many conferences and meetings, spoken at conferences and events and often appear on radio and TV talking most about food, the business of food and being an entrepreneur. In 2017 I won an episode of the ITV (the UK-based national television channel) cooking competition show, 'Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius'. I took my children on holiday to Sicily with the prize money. As an experienced farmers' market manager and operator of a small marmalade/ preserves company, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding local food, farming, enterprise and the environment.