Orange Clove Pomanders

Ok, I promise I will eventually get to the arcane, obscure and occult (sometimes literally) recipes of Ancient Rome and Iron Age Britain and such at some point. Trust me, it will get weird around here. But for now, I shall stick to the merely quaint and antiquated prettiness of the Victorian period.

Orange Clove Pomanders are an old idea, they make pretty decorations in both period and modern homes, and are pleasant, all natural air fresheners. They're also a simple, if time consuming, craft that can be done while watching TV. Kids would be perfectly safe doing it, but young ones might get bored or have sore fingers before the oranges are completely covered with cloves.



Pomanders in general date back to at least the Middle Ages, when they were worn on the body to ward off disease, which was thought at that time to be caused by bad smells. I imagine medieval cities were rather stinky, so they probably provided some relief anyhow, if not from diseases.

More recently, pomanders have been used to scent the home, and that's what these ones are for. Oranges were a common Christmas treat in Victorian times, and so the use of oranges to make pomanders has also been associated with Christmas, and Christmas decorations.

What you need:

• Oranges - small navel oranges, or any small, thick-skinned variety is good. I'm a bit wary of using mandarins or satsumas because of their thin skins; I think they might just fall apart from all the hole-poking. I've also heard of people using lemons, which would have a slightly different scent and shape.
• Cloves - Whole cloves. Get them in bulk if you can, that's probably the cheapest way. If you are Canadian and shopping at Superstore, you can get them much cheaper in the "ethnic foods" section (around $2.50 for a decent sized bag) than in the "spices" section (around $8 for a teeny little jar!). Similar pricing situations may or may  not exist elsewhere.
• A Pokey Thing - A knitting needle, a toothpick, a skewer... You need something pointy to make holes to shove the cloves into. I'm using a cocktail toothpick because that's what I had...
• Finger Protection (optional) - if you're feeling tough, you can go without, but lemmie tell you, my clove-pushing finger was sore after making the first one. A thimble, glove or even some masking tape on your finger can help push those cloves in without your finger getting sore.
• Ribbon and Pins (optional) - if you want to turn these into something that can be hung on a clothes hanger, or a doorknob, or even a Christmas tree, you'll want these materials.

What to do:

1. Give your orange a bit of a scrub, just with water and a cloth/brush. This is just to make sure it doesn't have any dirt or mold or other nasties on it that might make the orange go bad before it dries out. Dry it off.
2. Poke a hole into your orange with your pokey thing. I like to start near one of the ends, but really you can start wherever you want. Make the hole big enough to let the clove in, but not so big that it's going to fall out again.
3. Stick a clove into the hole.
4. Repeat. A lot.
5. It's possible to make patterns by leaving some of the orange bare, but I find it's better to cover the whole orange with cloves. For one thing, the orange's skin goes all brown and wrinkly when it dries, which really isn't that attractive if its showing, and also, the cloves both smell nice and help to preserve the orange, so you want to put in as many as you can to make it last.
6. Your orange should now be all brown and spiky with cloves. You can stop here, if you want something that just sits on a shelf, perhaps make several pomanders and stack them in a bowl or a basket, or:
7. (optional) Tie a ribbon around your orange as though you are wrapping it around a package. Wrap it around once, cross the ribbons, and then wrap again at a 90 degree angle and tie securely at the top.
8. (still optional) Stick a pin in the bottom where the ribbon crosses itself and one in the top where you tied it, just so it will stay securely.
9. (more optional) Tie the ends of your ribbon into a loop for hanging. Also, you can cut another length of ribbon and tie it around your knot in a bow, just for decoration.

Yeah, the ribbon isn't exactly true to period, but it's what I had in the cupboard...

That's it! Now we have a warm, spicy, sweet-citrusy smelling pomander. Barring any unforeseen mold or ugliness, it should last for months, if not years, of air-freshening decorative use.

I should note that you might have to re-tie the ribbons later if you plan on keeping the pomander for a while, as it can shrink quite a bit when it dries. This is another reason (besides being true to period) to use pins to hold your ribbons steady rather than something like hot glue!