Clove-Studded Oranges on a Windowsill

Pomanders began as little balls of perfume that people carried in the Middle Ages, when bad smells were thought to spread disease. The name comes from the old French pomme d'ambre, apple of ambergris. The clove orange is the homemade version that stuck. Cloves draw moisture out of the fruit, so it dries hard instead of rotting and keeps its scent for months. Six of them line a chipped white windowsill while snow sits on the roofs outside in this clove orange jigsaw puzzle.