OrangeClove Pomander (airfreshner)

My better half showed me this one, seemingly 'everyone knows this', I must have been off sick that day. Produces a fantastic autumnal citrus aroma.

Step 1 Ingredients

Orange and about 20g of cloves

Comments

[bwilliams-1]

You can buy cloves much cheaper in large bags at middle eastern or asian markets. I bought a pound for under $5.

[maxyano]

I made one 4 years ago - it still works!! it works better if you cover it more completely - I covered it totally

[mattsochist]

doesnt it eventually begin to mold and get rotten?!

[hot-fresh-rider]

awesome, just made one! I like being methodical (read OCD) about clove placement, it's not perfect but it does follow the number 6, vs say a regular 4 or 8.

[motke]

Nice One but i can use only orange ????

[Oscelot]

I've heard of people using apples, but your mileage may vary.

[shortone]

i think any kind of smallish citrus works well-i've used limes with good success!

[porcupinemamma]

I like to completley cover the orange in cloves, and instead of poking individual holes, I use a fork-4 holes in one jab tee hee hee

[kirnex]

Off the subject, I have this same lamp. It's a three-way touch-lamp from Target, right? I swear to God that it has an ETERNA-bulb in it or something. For three years, we've used this every night as a night-light in our hall for the kids. Sometimes, it accidentally gets left on all day. At least, it stays on 12 hours each night. I guess it's the low-setting, but three years later, it's still working on the same damned bulb we put in it when we bought it. Maybe someone's changing it secretly, I dunno. I want to bronze that bulb when it finally kicks out.

[Oscelot]

There's a really old bulb from around the turn of the century in a California firefighter department that's been burning for just over 100 years, iirc. It's spiffy. :) They covered it in an episode of Mythbusters.

[creative zen]

thanks, i made this for my mom.

[Angadgsingh]

me 2 just like a minute ago she loves it

[the fat hobbit]

i didn't know about this either but tell her i said thanks because my room really smells

[dejapong]

they also cure cancer and aids

[pluish]

in the summer, they keep wasps away from food at bbq`s and food!

[Taper]

Even if the climate isn't dry enough, if you notice the orange is starting to go bad, you can microwave the pomander for about 1 minute on high once a week, and it will slowly dry out. The deterioration process stops. I've got a couple for about 3 years now, and they still smell great!

[jennybean42]

actually, if you make them in a dry enough climate, they will dry out and not rot. i've had a couple for more than ten years in a bowl in an old china cabinet.

[antonc81]

the citrus aroma comes from the peel of the orange not the flesh, so perhaps a mod would be to cut an orange in half and scoop the flesh out (and eat it ofcourse) then poke the cloves through the hollow hemispherical orange-skin. That way you do't have to worry about the fruit going off, the skin will simply dry up.

[shelleibean]

they DO NOT last forever, even if completely covered w/ cloves. they will eventually go soft and rotten and gross.

[mr. hankey]

I always like to keep airfresheners around.

[nak]

Mentos fails compared to this Freshmaker

[radiorental]

Certainly use other stuff. There are plenty of recipies on the internet. I would imagine any fruit with a thick skin (e.g. a lemon but not an apple) would world. Also anything with a strong smell, e.g. Lime but not a banana. So maybe its just citrus fruit (a banana could get super messy) but this is would be a great way to mix and match scents and avoid polluting the air in your house with chemical airfreshners. Good luck - pauric

[susie]

I used to totally cover the orange or apple with cloves so you couldn't see the fruit at all. I think then it lasts forever and you can put it in a drawer as a potpourri.

[goldkear]

Another use for these is to drop them into appple cider for flavor.

[poulw]

Also carried and held in fron of the nose by the wealthy in tudor england as a way to mask the stench of the streets

[kevinsummers]

We used to make these every Christmas. They are called pomanders.

[psylux]

Whatever you may think this WILL NOT WORK if you sub in a lychee for the orange.

[zeno63]

I remember spending a Christmas, making these as presents, for sticking in decorated cloth bags to freshen drawers and stuff. I'm sure there's a word for it. My wife tells me that that they smell even better if they've been rolled in cinnimon.