An easy Christmas simmer pot mix makes the perfect DIY gift. Find the recipe and instructions below, along with printable Simmer Pot gift tags.
Simmer pots seem to be everywhere this season.
First, dried oranges graced my news feed and convinced me I needed them for holiday decorating. It was a short jump to Christmas simmer pots from there.
In recent years, I’ve gotten away from conventional gifts for extended family in favor of homemade, consumable gifts.
It’s great giving things that won’t end up in a landfill, thrift store, or someone’s closet!
The aroma of a simmer pot is also a great alternative to chemical-laden candles. It’s a natural way to bring the fragrance of the season into your home.
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Christmas Simmer Pot Ingredients
The great thing about simmer pots is you can make them with a variety of ingredients, according to your preferences.
For this recipe, we’re going pretty simple with dried fruits and spices: Oranges, apples, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, and whole cloves. Lemons and star anise would be a lovely addition, too.
You could also add some dried rosemary sprigs, or snippets from evergreen trees like pine or cedar, if you have those available.
Drying Fruit for Simmer Pots
If you’re using a dedicated food dehydrator, the process is pretty straightforward.
(I bought this Magic Mill dehydrator with 10 trays this year and I’ve used it for preserving so many things from the garden.)
You’ll want to slice the oranges and apples fairly thin for the best results.
For cranberries, first know they’re mainly for color. They don’t really give off any fragrance. But they are pretty once dried!
You’ll want to put your cranberries on a piece of parchment paper if you have a dehydrator with slide-in trays like mine. Otherwise they’ll roll everywhere!
Temperature, Drying Time and Doneness
I set my dehydrator to 165 degrees F and put all the fruit in at once.
Running it about 10 hours at a time, it took me a few days to get everything sufficiently dried. (I don’t run it at night, though.)
You will want to check your fruit every 5 hours or so and pull out the pieces that are dry. Depending on size, moisture and thickness, there is a lot of variation in how quickly each type of fruit will dry.
If you pat your orange slices well with a paper towel, they may dry more quickly.
The cranberries took the longest for me. I was afraid they might shrivel up like the store-bought dried cranberries I put in my oatmeal, but thankfully they didn’t.
Just make sure the fruit isn’t sticky or tacky. For oranges, I pushed down slightly in the middle and if they “gave” or felt spongy, I put them in longer until they were hard in the center.
Store your dried pieces of fruit in a large jar with a lid while waiting for the rest of the batch to dry.
Dehydrating with an oven
I have not tried drying fruit in my conventional oven, but you definitely can if your oven goes down to 200 degrees F.
If you’re using a cookie sheet, you’ll want to flip your fruit pieces over halfway through, to allow both sides to dry.
Some people recommend cracking the oven door to keep the fruit from drying out too quickly or burning.
Just keep an eye on the fruit for color and dryness, and check them every few hours if you’re using an oven.
Christmas Simmer Pot Gifting
A simple cellophane bag is really all you need for a nice presentation! Mason jars work great, too.
Layer the fruit and spices in your bag or jar. Tie with a ribbon, twine or string.
Lastly, attach a Simmer Pot Gift tag with instructions on how to use it.
The basic instructions are to add 6 cups of water to a stockpot along with the simmer pot mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and add water as needed throughout the day.
You can refrigerate the mixture overnight to use it again the next day.
If you have essential oils such as cinnamon, orange, lemon, cloves, you can add this to the water for a stronger scent.
You can find our Simmer Pot Gift Tags below:
Free Printable Simmer Pot Gift Tags
I hope you enjoy making these DIY Simmer Pot gifts for all your loved ones this Christmas season!
Christmas Simmer Pot Instructions and Gift Tags
Christmas simmer pots are a beautiful gift to make and enjoy the fragrance of the season, naturally.
Materials
- 6-8 Oranges, sliced thin
- 6-8 Apples, sliced fairly thin
- 1 bag fresh cranberries
- Cinnamon sticks (2 per gift bag)
- Whole cloves
- Optional: dried rosemary stems, snippets from evergreen tree
Tools
- Dehydrator or oven
- Parchment paper (for cranberries)
- Cellophane bags or Mason jars
- String, ribbon or twine
- Simmer Pot Gift Tag with instructions (see below)
Instructions
- Place sliced fruit on dehydrator trays, using parchment paper underneath cranberries.
- Dehydrate at 165 degrees and set for 10 hours at a time, checking every 5 hours for doneness.
- Remove pieces that are dried and continue drying the rest of the pieces until firm and not spongy or tacky in the center.
- Once all pieces are dried, layer the fruit and whole cloves in a cellophane bag or mason jar. Add 2 cinnamon sticks per bag.
- Attach a Simmer Pot Gift tag with instructions for gift recipient.
- (Instructions are: Add contents of simmer pot mixture to a stockpot with 6 cups of water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Can add essential oils to the water like cinnamon, clove, orange or lemon for a stronger scent. Continue to add water as needed -- don't let it go dry on the stovetop. Refrigerate overnight and use again the next day if desired.)
Notes
You can dehydrate fruit in the oven at 200 F; just check it frequently and flip over halfway through if using a solid baking sheet. You may want to crack the oven door to keep it from drying too fast and affecting the color and quality.
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