Honey fermented garlic can be used to combat cold and flu in the winter season or simply as a condiment to add a honey garlic flavour to any dish.
Honey fermented garlic? Yes, you heard it right!
This recipe is long over due: I first learned about the method to ferment garlic and honey together from the WFU Facebook group (at that time I didn’t have this blog yet), I was immediately intrigued and knew that honey fermented garlic deserves to be known by more people out there.
Most fermenters call it “fermented honey garlic”, but I think “honey fermented garlic” is more technically precise. It’s just my personal preference for naming, essentially “fermented honey garlic” and “honey fermented garlic” are the same thing.
Some call it “honey infused garlic” or “garlic infused honey”, because this recipe works much like an infusion in addition to fermentation. I think these names give you a good idea of what the final product may taste like – both the flavours of honey and garlic will have infused into each other, and you end up with a garlicky honey and sweet mellowed garlics.
Why should you make honey fermented garlic?
If you fall into one of the following situations, you may want to try fermenting honey and garlic:
- you are new to fermentation and want to start with something super easy – honey fermented garlic is one of the easiest fermentation recipes and one of the firsts you should try
- you appreciate the medicinal properties of honey and garlic and want to combine their anti-bacterial, anti-viral and immune boosting properties together – honey fermented garlic is a perfect preventative remedy for the cold and flu season
- you grow and harvest a lot of garlics at once and you want a way to naturally preserve your garlics for long term storage without refrigeration
- you want to eat more raw garlics for the health benefits but can’t tolerate the pungent taste – after a period of fermentation and infusion, the garlics will be mellowed and sweetened significantly to be eaten straight
- you love honey garlic flavoured foods and want to have a naturally preserved honey garlic condiment on hand to add to your dishes
I should add here that most people I know of who make honey fermented garlic do so to use it as a cold and flu remedy, based on anecdotal evidence that it works for them. We all know how honey and garlic are powerful antimicrobials against infections in the mouth and throat; honey is also a natural cough suppressant. Although I would use honey and garlic fermented or not, it is definitely a lot more palatable to eat a large amount of honey fermented garlic at times you want to pump up your garlic consumption – for example, the first sign of a flu.
Related: More Preventative Remedies for the Flu Season
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Fermentation Tips and Trouble-Shooting
This recipe seems very easy from the ingredient list, but getting it done right requires some understanding of how fermentation works. If anything, this section is the most important of the post, explaining the key points of this fermentation.
- You want just enough honey to cover the garlic, not too much. The garlic will release moisture into the honey to set stage for fermentation to start. If too much honey is used, the mixture may not reach the moisture content required (18-20%) for the fermentation process to begin. In that case, you may add a couple spoons of water into the mixture when you see no signs of fermentation (bubbles) in a few days.
- Like other vegetables you ferment, the garlic should be kept under the liquid to prevent mold growth. Since garlic naturally floats on top of the honey, you can stir with a spoon or chopsticks daily or flip the jar upside down a few times a day (as shown in photo above) to ensure that all garlic cloves are coated in honey. This should be continued until your garlic no longer float.
- Once the fermentation begins in a few days, bubbles will be produced varying from a little to a lot. Sometimes, the bubbling can be so active that it overflows the jar. Therefore, leaving plenty of head space in the jar when fermenting honey and garlic is crucial in saving yourself from ending up a sticky mess. It’s also crucial to open the lid of the jar daily to “burp” the jar by releasing the carbon dioxide. The bubbling will subside over the weeks, and eventually you will not see bubbles produced nor will you need to release carbon dioxide from the jar.
As you can see from the photos below, honey fermented garlic changes colour over time. On the left is freshly combined honey and garlic: the garlic cloves float on top of the honey for the first many weeks. On the right is a jar of my honey fermented garlic aged for 1+ year. Over time, the garlic cloves will gradually sink to the bottom of the jar, and the colour of honey will gradually darken. What you can’t see from the photos is the change of the thickness of the honey. The honey will thin out over time due to the moisture released by the garlic.
Related: More Fermentation Recipes to Try
- Fermented Pickles /w Green Tea and Dill Flowers
- Pineapple-Turmeric-Ginger Probiotic Sauerkraut
- Wild Fermented Salsa
- 11 Important Things To Know for a Successful Kombucha Brew
- Kefir Fermented Honey Thyme Sourdough Cornbread
- Raspberry Kefir Cream Cheese Spread
Comparision: Left – combined honey and garlic on day 1. Right – aged 1+ year old honey fermented garlic.
Should Botulism be a Concern in Honey Fermented Garlic?
What I learned is that in order for botulism to occur, it has to meet a list of right conditions, which I won’t go into too much details about. One of these conditions is the PH level. The average PH level of honey is too acidic for botulinum spore to produce, therefore the concern for botulism is close to none in acidic environment and fermented foods. The actual risk for botulism is much higher in canned or packaged pre-made food items, or non-acidic foods preserved in oil before they had a chance to be fermented to reach the <4.6 PH level.
Personally I am comfortably not worrying about botulism in honey fermented garlic, while I am someone who would not use oil topper for vegetable ferments due to the risk of non-acidic foods trapped in the oil layer that may lead to botulism. If you are still concerned about honey fermented garlic, I know some add a splash of apple cider vinegar to keep the PH level low. I encourage you to do your own research and decide on your comfort level.
p.s. Everything I learned about this topic comes from reading in the WFU Facebook group. I simply summarized what I have learned there with my personal understanding. If you are a member of the group, you already know how awesome it is!
Honey fermented garlic can be used to combat cold and flu in the winter season or simply as a condiment to add a honey garlic flavour to any dish.
- 1 cup garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 to 1 1/2 cup liquid raw honey (see recipe notes below)
- water (optional)
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Combine garlic cloves and just enough liquid raw honey to cover the garlic in a glass jar. The glass jar should be large enough to roughly double the capacity of your ingredients to leave room for expansion. Close the jar with a lid.
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Stir the mixture or flip the closed jar upside down daily to ensure all garlic cloves are coated with honey.
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Within a few days, air bubbles should be forming. This is a sign of active fermentation. Open the jar daily to release excess carbon dioxide. If fermentation doesn't begin, then add a spoon or 2 of water into the mixture. Repeat step 2.
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Continue the process until fermentation slows down, the honey thins out, the bubbling stops, and the garlic cloves sink to the bottom of the jar. It may take over a month. At this point, you can store the honey fermented garlic in a sealed jar, unrefrigerated, to let it age.
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For best taste, the honey fermented garlic can be consumed after 3 months. The finished products can be stored in a dark place in room temperature for years.
- If you prefer more honey than garlic in your finished product, you may use more honey than indicated in the recipe as you wish. Just note that you will more likely to need to add some water in order to start the process of fermentation.
- See "fermentation tips and trouble-shooting" section for more details.
Can you just continue to add more garlic or honey to the original pot as you eat the older garlic? Or should you start another ferment once the previous one has run out?
Lauren, I would just start another pot! If you add a small number of garlic to the existing pot, you still have to make sure they are coated in honey by stirring daily, then keep track of which garlic is older vs. newer. Honestly, I think it’s less work and less confusing to start a new ferment.
Can you chop the garlic?
Yes, you can chop the garlic if you like.
I love this recipe and will give it a try. Hopes to see more immune boosting recipes from you. Thanks Yang.
Can I use cactus honey(agave nectar) for this recipe?
Hi, Jamie. To be honest, I have not made it with agave before. The reason this recipe calls for raw honey instead of pasteurized honey is also for the naturally existing microbes in the honey. For example, when people ferment with maple syrup, they may need to add additional culture. If I were to take my best guess, agave will likely behave similar to maple syrup, because it’s cooked already. I do not know if it will work, but if you try, I love for you to report back! 🙂
I made this 2 days ago. It did not start to ferment. . I added 2 TBSP boiled cool water. Will this be okay to consume? Thank you.
Carol, if it doesn’t have mould growing and doesn’t smell or look bad, I would say probably ok to consume. Since it didn’t ferment, I would check the source of honey to verify it’s unpasteurized.
Hi there,
I just made this. Is it ok to put a weight on it to keep the garlic submerged, or will it cause it to ooze everywhere?
It really depends on how much space you have above the garlic. If there is plenty of room, then yes, put on a weight will be fine. Keep in mind that your garlic ferment will bubble with or without the weight on, so leaving space above is key. My reservations about using weight is the work of cleaning afterwards and possibly wasting some honey.
Your photos don’t seem to indicate expansion of the final product and I already filled my jar. If I burp it often, is there any chance it will be OK?
As we know fermentation is such a natural process that depends on factors in your own home. Some people’s honey garlic ferment doesn’t bubble as much as others, so yes you may have a chance it will be ok. However, if it does bubble over, you will have a big mess to clean up and waste a lot of the expensive honey. If I were you, I would take another glass jar and pour half of the content over, it takes 1 minute to do.
Should the jar be kept in a warm or cool location?
Sorry, I should clarify I’m referring to during the fermentation process. 🙂
Hi Suzanne, there is no particular requirements. Within the normal range of room temperature should be ok. I wouldn’t look for an extra cold or warm spot in the house. My indoor temperature is usually somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees.
With that said above, this is a yeast ferment and yeast ferment works fine in the 20+ degrees, and will get even more active in the high 20s.
Once the garlic has been all eaten up, does the honey have just as much healing properties? Also how much should you eat daily whilst feeling run down etc? I put raw onion and black pepper in mine for an extra boost 👍🏻
Hi David, please note that what I say are based on personal experience. I do think the honey has healing properties. Many people use honey for flu type illness, and honey is a commonly used cough suppressant. The infused honey, especially my aged ones, do taste quite garlicky. Of course, common sense tells us you get more benefits of the garlic from eating the garlic, less from the infused honey portion. My little kids would not eat the garlic at all, but I do give them the garlic-flavoured honey when they have a cough, so that they get some benefits of the garlic as well.
I would think you should eat the amount you feel comfortable with using this remedy. Personally I eat 2 to 3 cloves with honey, a few times a day when I feel needed. But I also take a few other natural herbal remedies and supplements too to support the immune system when I feel I have caught something. There are many natural foods that can help us through the winter, here is another example: https://yangsnourishingkitchen.com/ginger-orange-pickled-daikon-immune-shot/
Make sure you use a good quality raw honey. Hope this helps!
After the garlic is aged and you begin using it, do you need to refrigerate the jar? Or does it keep at room temperature after being opened? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! No, you don’t need to refrigerate the jar after you start consuming. It’s stored in room temperature all the way whether you have started eating them or not. Technically they have already been opened, because you have to let out carbon dioxide regularly while you are fermenting it during the early stage.
can i add ginger root to this
Kim, absolutely! You can even ferment fruits in honey too.
I love this idea. Thanks for sharing your creativity.
We love using garlic at the first sign of illness! It’s so effective! I’ve always wanted to make honey fermented garlic!
I love simple homemade recipes like this that are great for boosting the immune system! Thanks for sharing Yang!
I love what you said about the flavors infusing into each other, and the garlic mellowing. So yummy and healing! Thank you.
This is such a cool idea, I’ve never heard of it before (and I’m keen to check out that Facebook group!). Would love to try a honey based ferment!
I made some ferments garlic once and never used it because I had no idea what to do with it. Haha. Glad to see it last for a few years, I’m going to go dig it out of my cupboard and take some!
Isn’t it cool we can keep fermented garlic for so long? Now it would be the perfect time to use them.
I have never heard of such a genius idea!! Will definitely give this a try!
What a great idea! This is a good one to keep around for the cold season.
Amazing! I have never heard of this before. But will be trying!
Super cool! I’m going to make some! Thanks!
Oh my goodness this is so awesome! Such a wonderful natural remedy to have on hand to boost the immune system. Love this!!!
Thank you Emily! They so come in handy, especially with little kids around. It’s one of those natural remedies that taste good enough the kids are actually willing to take.