DIY Fermented Garlic In Honey

Garlic honey! Or Honey with garlic. Or, as many of my older relatives would have called it, “smear that on some toast, and that kid will make it back to school in no time”.

Fermenting honey and garlic together makes a simple syrup that will kick a cold out very quickly or add a nice, rustic flavor to a number of dishes. Sadly, this long-time favorite seems to be dying a slow death. We admit that fermenting is a little bit scary for the first-time fermenter, but never fear: that’s why we’re here. We’ll take you through fermenting garlic in honey step by step and remember, it’s all the better if you have your own bees and your own garlic to do the work with. Let’s get started.

What Type of Ingredients Do I Need?

The freshest garlic you can get, ideally from your own garden. Not sure how to grow garlic? We have tons of articles on just that subject. No matter whether you want to try a square bale garden, a square foot garden, potted garlic, or dozens of other options, we can get you started growing on one of our favorite plants. If you can’t guess how old the garlic is at your grocery store, put out a request for locals with fresh garlic. There’s probably someone in your area growing it right now. The Amish have some ingenious methods you’ll find interesting, including one that will help you grow twice as much food on the same piece of land. And everything is explained in great detail here.

You’ll also need unpasteurized honey. This isn’t some woo hack or raw milk-adjacent kind of thing; you need the bacteria in raw honey for this project. The microbes are killed in pasteurized honey, meaning that there will be nothing to help your fermentation process happen. We do recommend that you follow your doctor’s instructions about raw honey for your family’s safety; we can’t possibly make those recommendations ourselves because we don’t know your family’s medical history nor the needs of your family’s health as it stands now or in the future.

You’ll also need jars. Whether they be the type of jars with a locking seal (not screw-on lids) or the type that burp themselves is up to you; both work equally well and are easy to use for garlic honey.

How Long Should I Ferment?

We recommend a minimum of two weeks, though a month or two is even better. The garlic is likely to change colors and the honey will probably darken over time. Keep in mind that this is perfectly normal. Humans stored things in honey for thousands of years to prevent rot prior to refrigeration being an option. Honey works to maintain freshness, or in this case fermentation, for a very long time. We’re talking about years, here. If you want to start a jar of garlic honey in June for use in December, you are absolutely welcome to do that.

Okay, But How Do I Do This?

Rinse, peel, and toss your garlic gloves in your jar. Add honey until the garlic is fully covered while leaving a very small headspace for the gases that will escape your garlic as they ferment. Tighten the lid, turn it upside down, and burp once daily for at least two weeks. If storing longer than this, we recommend burping each jar about once a week once the initial fermenting phase has taken place. If using self-burping jars, don’t worry about this step.

We also recommend shaking up your jar prior to turning it upside down for storage purposes. It re-coats the garlic and makes sure that it sinks all the way down into the honey, keeping a protective layer on the honey the whole time it is in the jar.

The Last Bits and Pieces

Jars that are not regularly burped can explode, as can any jar with building gases inside of it. Our main concern here is that you check for bulging, “tight” feeling glass, and so on and so forth prior to popping the lid off of a jar. Whether you’re burping the jar or simply fishing out a wonderful piece of garlic, it’s always best to be careful. The last thing that we want is for anyone to accidentally explode their jar: that is how people get hurt.

Related: Never Buy Garlic Again!

If you notice that your garlic has floated to the top of the honey and is not coated and/or is fuzzy or covered with mold, we recommend throwing that jar away. Garlic that changes color, even to blue or green, is perfectly normal. Fuzzy garlic or garlic that appears to be molding, is not and is not safe for consumption. If possible, we recommend throwing away both the honey-garlic mixture and the jar this happens in; it is very common for jars that have molded to continue to mold in the future, no matter how well-cleaned they are.

How to Use

We recommend using garlic honey on almost everything. Eat a clove if you’re feeling a little sluggish or if you think you may be coming down with a cold. Enjoy a drizzle of honey on your morning bagel or biscuit for a little extra added boost. Something else you can do with honey is a herbal parasite flush that does, well, exactly what the name says, and you only need two other ingredients to make it. You can find the complete recipe inside this guide, along with more than 249 natural remedies you can make at home.

One of our favorite ways to use garlic honey is in pizza. A white pizza with both the honey drizzled over the cheese and the garlic as a topping is an amazing double-hitter that will boost your immune system and help you fight back against seasonal allergies, colds, flu, and all those terrible things that keep you suffering indoors all winter long.

Have you used honey garlic or garlic honey in the past? How did it work out for you and would you make it again? Remember: this isn’t elderberry, and you aren’t likely to find it in most stories these days. You’re stuck making it the old-fashioned way: at home, with your own supplies. Tell us in the comments below about your experience with this neat recipe, whether you’ve used it before or you’re a first-timer. We’d love to hear from you. And, as always, happy fermenting. We’re sure to see you gaining confidence and interest in fermenting foods once you realize how very simple the process is!

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