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A kitchen rich with the aromas of cinnamon, peppermint, orange or apple fragrances says welcome home. How do you get those scents without spending a fortune or using the chemical wax fragrance blocks? Simple. Put together essential oil based kitchen potpourris.
Add the potpourri to boiling water and let simmer to fill your kitchen. These make lovely holiday gifts when packaged in cellophane bags and tied with festive ribbons.
Table of Contents
What You Need
- Dehydrator
- Apples
- Lemon Juice
- Cookie or cake rack
- Cinnamon, clove and lemon essential oils
- Cinnamon sticks broken into 2 inch pieces
- Whole cloves
- Cellophane bags
- Ribbon
- Card stock
- Hole puncher
Instructions
Combine ¼ cup lemon juice with ½ cup of water. This prevents the apple slices from browning and intensifies the red colour of the peel.
Slice bright red apples ¼ inch thick. Dunk each apple slice in the lemon juice mixture. Place on a cookie rack and blot dry.
Put the apple slices in a single layer on each dehydrator tray and place them in the dehydrator. Dry until pliable but not crisp.
Place a drop of lemon essential oil on each apple slice. Place a drop of cinnamon essential oil on each piece of cinnamon stick.
Place 3 or 4 drops of clove essential oil onto each tablespoon of whole cloves.
Package 8 to 10 apple slices, 4 to 6 cinnamon sticks and a couple of tablespoons of cloves in a cellophane bag. Tie with a ribbon.
On card stock, write “Apple Pie Kitchen Potpourri – place a few apple slices, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a pint of water. Bring to a boil then simmer gently.”
Alternative potpourri recipes
Citrus – Rosemary Kitchen Potpourri
Slice lemons and pink or red grapefruits ¼ inch thick. Plain grapefruit dries sort of brownish and isn’t that attractive. Quarter the grapefruit slices.
Cut fresh rosemary into 4 inch long sprigs.
Dry in the dehydrator.
Place a drop of lemon essential oil on each lemon slice, a drop of grapefruit essential oil on each grapefruit slice and a drop of rosemary essential oil on each rosemary sprig.
Package as for the apple pie spice.
Asian Inspired Kitchen Potpourri
Do not peel fresh ginger root. Cut into ¼ inch slices. Cut oranges into ¼ inch slices. Dry.
Place a drop of ginger essential oil on each ginger slice. A drop of essential oil on each orange slice and a drop of anise essential oil on each anise star.
Package as you did for the apple pie kitchen potpourri.
Adding essential oils to bought potpourri
Don’t forget that as well as making these recipes, you can also simply add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to an unscented potpourri. You can even mix up a seasonal blend of oils and add this to give the house a fresh smell that matches the time of the year.
