Place a rubber band around the middle of a pink grapefruit or orange. Use it as a guide to make an even ring of cloves around the fruit, piercing the skin first with a wooden skewer or nail. Remove rubber band, and make additional rows. If desired, use a hot-glue gun to attach star anise; let the glue dry.
To encourage pomanders to dry evenly and retain their scent for up to one year, shake each in a plastic bag of powdered orrisroot (available at health-food stores) before displaying. Stack the pomanders in a pyramid, using clear plates between the layers and tucking in greenery, such as this mountain laurel, as you go.
Pomander How-To
Martha Stewart Living, December 2004
I make clove/orange pomanders this year. Three days after I made them, my daughter picked one up to admire it, and to my embarrasement there was mold all over the bottom. When I looked at the rest of them they were all covered in mold too. What did I do wrong?
ive only been able to find orrisroot powder online at expensive prices, does anyone know where else to buy it?
My secret to perfect pomanders is to cover the orange with cloves as completely as possible. I usually use masking tape in a vertical criss-cross pattern much like a wrapped gift and fill in the four "slices" between.
After completing all four sections, I leave my pomander to DRY IN THE FRIDGE for about a week before attaching ribbons with hot glue. Your orange should shrink a bit, and the masking tape should be slightly wrinkled and loose before you leave it out.
wish i had seen this article before making mine. they have all molded:(
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