A simmer pot is a pan of water with orange slices, cinnamon and cloves bubbling gently on the hob, and searches for it have shot up this autumn. It smells lovely, but it ties up a ring on the cooker, needs topping up and cannot be left alone. Simmering granules give you a scented room from the dish of an ordinary oil or wax burner instead, with no water, no peel and no pan to scrub afterwards.
The short answer
Simmering granules are scented granules you spoon into the dish of an oil or wax burner and warm with a tealight. They need no water or oil. Start with a spoonful, add a little more if the room needs it, and replace them when the scent fades. Unheated, a small dish of them will also scent a drawer, wardrobe or cloakroom.
What is a simmer pot?
A simmer pot, sometimes called a stovetop potpourri, is about as simple as home fragrance gets. You fill a saucepan two thirds full of water, add a sliced orange, two or three cinnamon sticks, a teaspoon of whole cloves and perhaps a star anise or a sprig of rosemary, bring it to the boil and turn it down to the lowest simmer. As the water steams, it carries the scent of the spices around the house.
The drawbacks are practical ones:
- It needs watching. The water evaporates, so you have to top it up every half an hour or so. Let it boil dry and the fruit scorches, the pan is ruined and the house smells of burning instead.
- It needs the hob. That is a ring you cannot cook on, and it means staying in the kitchen.
- It adds steam. On a cold day that means condensation on the kitchen windows.
- It is mostly one kind of scent. Spices and citrus, which is perfect for autumn and Christmas, but little else.
Why simmering granules are tidier
Simmering granules carry their fragrance in the granules themselves, so they need nothing added. You use them in the dish of an oil or wax burner, the same burner you might already use for wax melts, warmed by a small tealight beneath. There is no water to top up, nothing to boil dry and no pan to wash. You can put the burner in a living room or hallway rather than the kitchen, and you have a wider choice of scents than a spice cupboard offers.
How to use simmering granules
- Use a burner with a dish. Any tealight oil or wax burner with a shallow dish on top works. Make sure the dish is clean and dry, and empty of old wax.
- Start with a spoonful. A teaspoon or so, spread in a thin layer across the base of the dish, is plenty to begin with. Piling them high does not make the scent much stronger, it just uses them up.
- Light an unscented tealight underneath. As the granules warm, they release their fragrance. Give them ten minutes or so to get going.
- Replace them when the scent fades. Blow out the tealight, let the burner cool completely, then tip the old granules into the bin and add a fresh spoonful.
- Do not add water or oil. Granules are made to be used dry.
- Burn safely. Stand the burner on a heat-resistant surface out of reach of children and pets, never leave it unattended, and do not move it while it is hot.
Using granules without heat
Because the scent is carried in the granules, they also work cold, a little like potpourri. Put a small dish of them in a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a downstairs loo or the corner of a bathroom shelf, and give them a stir now and then to refresh the scent. The colourful granules can look tempting to small children and pets, so keep any open dish well out of their reach.
Matching granules to the season
- For a simmer pot feel: Fig and Cassis is rich and fruity, and Frankincense is resinous and wintry, which suits Christmas.
- For something fresh: Sea Breeze is light and clean-smelling, good in a bathroom or hallway.
- For florals: Jasmine and Lily of the Valley are sweet and soft, and bring a little spring into a dark month.
- For summer: Citronella has a sharp, lemony scent that suits open windows and long evenings.
For more seasonal pairings, our guide to autumn and Christmas wax melt scents works just as well for granules.
Common questions
Do simmering granules need water?
No. They are used dry in the dish of a burner. Adding water or oil only makes a mess.
Can I use simmering granules in a wax melt burner?
Yes. A tealight wax burner is exactly what they are for. Clear any old wax out first so the two do not mix; our guide to cleaning a wax melt burner shows how.
How long does a pack last?
Our granules come in 200g packs, and you only need a spoonful at a time, so one pack lasts for a good number of sessions. How long each spoonful keeps its scent depends on the fragrance and the room.
Is a simmer pot safe to leave on?
No. A simmer pot should never be left unattended, because it can boil dry quickly. The same goes for a lit burner: blow out the tealight whenever you leave the room.
Our simmering granules and burners
All six scents in our home fragrance range are £2.45 for a 200g pack: Fig and Cassis (£2.45), Frankincense (£2.45), Sea Breeze (£2.45) and Jasmine (£2.45), with Lily of the Valley and Citronella alongside. Colours can vary slightly from pack to pack.
To warm them, our ceramic Pebble Wax Burner in speckled off-white (£6.95) or matt black (£6.95) takes an ordinary tealight, and you will find the larger pebble in our wax burners. A burner and three packs of granules come to under £15, and delivery is free in the UK on orders over £40.
