Highlights

• Simmer pots use common grocery store ingredients that cost significantly less than luxury candles
• One batch can fill your home with holiday scents for several hours, and the ingredients can be reused
• The steam-based method works well in Louisiana’s humid climate for whole-home fragrance
• All ingredients available at Rouses, Albertsons, and Dollar General locations across Acadiana
• Recipe takes 5 minutes to prep and ingredients can be batch-made and frozen for convenience

Why Lafayette Families Are Ditching $50 Candles for This $10 Holiday Scent Trick

This centuries-old method costs less than a trip to any grocery store and works better in Louisiana’s humid climate than expensive luxury candles

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — Walk into any general or home goods store in Lafayette this holiday season, and you’ll see luxury candles priced at $35, $50, even $75 for a single jar. But families trying to create that warm holiday atmosphere without the sticker shock may want to consider dusting off a generations-old solution that costs a fraction of the price: simmer pots.

The math is simple. A luxury candle might set you back $40 to $50. A simmer pot uses ingredients you can pick up at a grocery store for around $10, and those ingredients can be reused multiple times. For families who go through several candles during the holiday season, the savings add up fast.

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Every year, you can see on social media all the families who discover what their grandmothers knew all along: simmering spices and citrus on the stove creates a home fragrance that candles can’t match, especially in our climate.

What Lafayette Families Need to Know About Simmer Pots

If you’ve never heard of simmer pots—also called stovetop potpourri or simmer potpourri—the concept is pretty straightforward. You fill a pot with water, add fruits, spices, and herbs, bring it to a boil, then let it simmer on low. The steam carries the fragrance throughout your house for hours.

What is the difference between this and just leaving potpourri in a bowl? It's night and day.

The hot water and steam actively release the essential oils and fragrances from the ingredients, filling your home with scent in a way dried potpourri sitting in a dish never could.

And here’s something interesting about Louisiana homes: the humid climate that makes so many other things challenging actually works in favor of simmer pots. The steam from simmering water disperses fragrance effectively through humid air, and when your AC or heating system kicks on, it helps circulate that scent throughout the entire house instead of dissipating it.

The Recipe Every Lafayette Home Should Use This Season

The classic holiday simmer pot recipe has been making the rounds on local Facebook groups, and for good reason. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and it smells exactly like you want your house to smell from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.

What You Need:

• 1 apple, sliced with peel on
• 1 orange, sliced with peel on
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1-2 tablespoons whole cloves
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• Optional: 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Total cost at Your Local Grocer: $10-15

Compare that to the $45 candle you were eyeing at Target.

How to Make It:

Fill a medium saucepan with 3 to 4 cups of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Toss in all your ingredients—don’t worry about being precise, this isn’t baking. Reduce the heat to low until you’ve got a gentle simmer with small bubbles breaking the surface.

That’s it. You’re done.

Let it simmer for several hours, checking the water level every 30 to 45 minutes and adding more as needed. Your whole house will smell like the holidays walked in and made themselves comfortable.

The clove and cinnamon are the stars of the show here, giving you that warm, spicy base that just screams “winter holidays.” But the fruit adds a bright, fresh note that keeps it from being too heavy. The cranberries add a subtle tartness, and if you throw in that rosemary, you get an almost evergreen quality that’s perfect if you’ve got a real Christmas tree.

Why This Works Better Than Candles in Louisiana Homes

Beyond the obvious cost savings—and they’re substantial for families who regularly buy candles during the holidays—there are some practical reasons simmer pots make sense for Louisiana homes.

You control exactly what’s in it. No synthetic fragrances, no mystery chemicals, no worrying about what you’re breathing in. Just real fruit and real spices releasing their natural oils.

It’s safer around kids and pets. No open flame, no hot wax that can spill, no concerns about curious little hands or tails knocking over a burning candle. You still need to watch it—never leave the stove unattended—but the risks are different.

The scent is stronger and more natural. When you burn a candle, you’re burning the wax along with the fragrance. With simmer pots, you’re just releasing the natural essential oils from fresh ingredients. The difference in scent quality is noticeable.

You can reuse the ingredients. Here’s something most people don’t realize: you can strain and refrigerate your simmer pot ingredients, stick them in a container in the fridge, and use them again the next day. Most batches can be reused at least once or twice before the scent starts to fade significantly. That initial investment now covers multiple uses.

The customization aspect is another advantage. You control exactly what goes into the pot, which means people with scent sensitivities can adjust ingredients to their preferences or avoid certain spices altogether.

Where to Buy Simmer Pot Ingredients in Lafayette

You don’t need to hunt down specialty stores or order anything online. Everything you need is sitting on shelves across Acadiana right now.

For fresh produce:

• Rouses locations across Lafayette carry apples, oranges, and cranberries year-round
• Fresh Market and other grocery stores offer organic options
• Lafayette area farmers markets for local, seasonal fruit

For spices:

• Rouses stores typically have bulk spice sections with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise
• Dollar Tree and Dollar General locations often stock cinnamon sticks and whole cloves at budget prices
• Specialty stores like World Market carry additional spice varieties

The whole spice thing is important, by the way. Ground cinnamon and ground cloves will work in a pinch, but they make the water cloudy and the scent doesn’t last as long. Whole spices release their oils slowly over hours of simmering, which is what you want.

How to Make Your Simmer Pot Ingredients Last Longer

Once you start doing this regularly, you’ll want to get smart about ingredient prep. The number one tip from Lafayette families who’ve been doing this for years? Batch prep and freeze.

Buy your ingredients when they’re on sale—cranberries especially, since they’re seasonal—and prep multiple batches at once. Slice your apples and oranges, portion out your spices, put each batch in a freezer bag, and toss them in the freezer. They’ll keep for several months.

Then, whenever you want your house to smell amazing, you just pull out a bag, dump it in boiling water, and you’re done. Five minutes from freezer to simmering.

As for reusing ingredients, the process is simple: strain everything out while it’s still warm, let it cool for a few minutes, then transfer it to a container with a lid and refrigerate. Next time you want to use it, just dump it back in fresh boiling water and simmer again. After a couple of reuses, the ingredients will have given up most of their oils and the scent won’t be as strong, so it’s time to start fresh.

Simmer Pot Variations Worth Trying

Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, it’s fun to experiment with variations. Some Lafayette families swear by different combinations depending on the occasion.

For Christmas tree scent: Some people add fir or pine clippings from their actual Christmas tree along with the citrus and cloves. It genuinely makes your whole house smell like you’re walking through a Christmas tree lot. Just make sure you’re not using a tree that’s been treated with chemicals.

For a spicier version: Add fresh ginger slices and a few star anise pods. The ginger adds a warm, almost peppery note that’s fantastic on cold days.

For New Year’s: Swap the cranberries for pomegranate seeds and add a splash of champagne or sparkling cider. Sounds fancy, smells incredible.

For everyday fall: Leave out the cranberries and add a few tablespoons of whole allspice berries and maybe a pinch of nutmeg. Less “Christmas” and more “cozy autumn.”

The beauty of simmer pots is that there’s no wrong answer. If it smells good to you, it’s the right recipe.

Common Questions Lafayette Families Have About Simmer Pots

How long does a simmer pot actually last?

A single batch will simmer and fill your home with fragrance for several hours as long as you keep the water level up. When you reuse ingredients, you’ll get less scent each time, but typically they’re still effective for at least one or two additional uses.

Is it safe to leave it going while I’m doing other things?

You should never leave anything on the stove completely unattended, period. That said, you can absolutely simmer a pot while you’re home doing other things—cooking dinner, watching TV, working in the home office. Just check it every 30 to 45 minutes to make sure the water level is good. Set a timer on your phone if you need to.

The water is the key. As long as there’s water in the pot, you’re fine. If it boils dry, you’ll burn your ingredients and your pot, and your house will smell like scorched fruit instead of holidays. Not ideal.

What if I don’t have a gas stove?

Simmer pots work on electric, gas, and induction stovetops. Keep the heat on low and you’re good to go.

If you want even less monitoring, use a slow cooker on the low setting. Fill it about halfway with water, add your ingredients, put the lid on, and let it go for several hours. The closed lid means less evaporation, so you don’t have to check it as often.

Can I make these if I have allergies or scent sensitivities?

That’s actually one of the best reasons to switch to simmer pots. You control exactly what goes in, so if you can’t handle cinnamon or cloves, you leave them out. Citrus and rosemary by themselves make a fantastic, clean scent. Lavender and lemon is another gentle combination that works well for people with sensitivities.

Where can I find whole spices if my regular grocery store doesn’t have them?

Most Rouses locations in Lafayette carry whole spices in their bulk section or spice aisle. Albertsons and other major grocery stores typically stock them as well. Dollar Tree often has small containers of whole cloves and cinnamon sticks at budget prices.

Do simmer pots actually save money compared to candles?

The numbers make a compelling case. A luxury candle at local stores typically runs $35 to $75 and provides 20 to 40 hours of burn time, depending on the size. A simmer pot costs $5 to $10 in ingredients, can be reused multiple times, and provides comparable hours of whole-home fragrance.

If you regularly buy candles during the holiday season, the savings can add up significantly. Even occasional candle buyers will notice the difference in their holiday budget.