Burning lemon peels and cloves: The surprising benefits explained

If you somehow chanced upon a time machine and set it to a couple of centuries back, you'd probably expect London or Delhi or Florence to smell like history books never mention. Think smoke, drains, animals, unwashed wool. And what you might not expect is how people walking on those streets were carrying a small piece of fruit stuck full of cloves, either tucked into their pockets or hung from a chain.In the evenings, if you entered a home, either in the countryside or the city, you would find something smouldering on a plate near the doorway. Lemon peel, curling at the edges, with cloves pressed into it like tiny black studs. Though no one in that room could have explained the chemistry, they just knew that when the sun went down, this was what you did. And even today, you might have had the pleasure of witnessing it.