I love old traditions. I love nice smells. I love Christmas. I love the way clove-studded ham looks, but I don’t eat ham. Put all four together, and we get clove-studded oranges.
This tradition goes back to the Victorian age. Clove-studded oranges were used as a sort of mothball alternative. Stud an entire orange with cloves 1/4″ apart, put in a paper bag along with some ground nutmeg and cinnamon, store in a warm, dry place, and within a week or so you’ll have your very own closet air freshener. The orange shrivels up and you have what looks like a ball of cloves. Just one of these can be used for an entire season.
I like making the pretty kind, though, meant to be seen and smelled by all who enter your home. You can make one to hang on your Christmas tree, or if you have a lot of time and patience, you can make several. Put them in a bowl on your table. I had lots of other baking projects for the holidays, so I just made one. A bowlful would have been quite nice, though!
You will need:
- Orange
- Whole Cloves (purchased in bulk)
- a size 1 knitting needle (I used a cable needle)
- a flexible ruler (or you can eyeball it)
- masking tape or band aids
First, decide on a pattern. I have seen many variations. You can cover your orange with cloves, you can make horizontal or vertical rings, a swirl from top to bottom (like a barbershop pole), just be creative! I decided to make two vertical rings that intersected at the top and bottom. You can sketch on your pattern with a pencil at this time if you like to line it up just right.
Next, use your knitting needle (or similar tool) to poke holes along your pattern. Push the needle completely through the rind, but stop once you hit the fruit. If covering your oranges completely, they can be up to 1/3″ apart. Otherwise they should be 1/4″ apart. The flexible ruler can help you to be precise. Just do one part of your pattern at a time. If you poke all your holes first, the juice will start to leak, and your hands will get sticky.
This is the fun/tricky part. Put band aids or masking tape around the index finger and thumb on your dominant hand. Carefully push a clove into each of your holes. Try not to push right on the head of the clove, as they are fairly delicate and can break. If this happens once or twice, don’t worry about replacing the cloves.
Story time: My grandmother who taught me to knit and sew always shares with me the motto: Anything worth doing is worth doing right. While I completely agree, I would drive myself insane checking and rechecking my work. You pretty much just have to gauge your mistakes for yourself. That’s what my grandmother seems to do, anyway. We’re not Amish at all, but she likes to remind me (when I twist a cable too soon on my scarves) that the Amish make mistakes on purpose to remind them that only God is perfect. While her intent was to give me an excuse, I like to incorporate mistakes in all my hand-made work to say “See! I made it myself!” Imperfections give a piece character.
Now, back to cloves…
Once each of your sections is complete, decide where your orange will go. I wrapped mine in ribbon to be hung. It lasted a little over three weeks before the mold started. It really is a beautiful looking and smelling addition to your home for the holidays!
Spice Centric 