Fermenting honey & garlic

NOTE: This BLOG page contains affiliate links. Amazon makes me say that....and, all links on this page other than the clickable photos will take you to websites that I do not own.

So excited about my first ferments of 2022. This wonderful fermented food can be used medicinally or in a variety of recipes. Heat damages the properties of most foods including raw honey and garlic.

Before we get started, please note that honey is not recommended by the AAP for chidren under 12 months of age due to botulism. If you are concerned about botulism in your honey, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores reproduce when pH is greater than 4.6 - PubMed reference. The range of pH for honey is between 3.2 - 4.5 - PubMed reference. If the pH of your honey is too high before adding your garlic, add a bit of ACV with the "mother" (I like Braggs ) to increase acidity then retest. Add only a little ACV at a time because it's usually easier to add a bit more ACV than to add more honey.

Making it is super simple. If you don’t have some of the items, I’ve added Amazon affiliate links where you can buy them but you should be able to find most of these items locally if you don’t already have them. This recipe is being supplied absolutely free and you don’t have to use any of my links, however, if you appreciate my BLOGS, feel free to use one or more of the links or drop a donation to my Southside Bank loan account 246965 (routing 111923607) as I’m still paying off an original debt of over $100k incurred from 5 years of giving away free chiropractic care. High overhead does not go well with a soft heart.

• raw honey (buy locally),
• raw garlic (buy locally or grow your own)
• glass canning jars

• Peel garlic. You can eat the garlic now, but patience is a virtue.
• Crush slightly if desired, then put the peeled garlic cloves a glass canning jar. The jars pictured above are pint sized.
• Add sufficient raw honey to cover the garlic cloves completely but leave 1-2" at the top of the jar for the gases to escape. Don't worry that the cloves do not stay covered as the garlic will float. You can eat the garlic now, but patience young grasshopper.
• Add the lid, but loosely.
• Just in case, place the jar on a plate or in a bowl, then tuck into a dark area for the fermenting magic to begin.
• Once a day, burp your jar, then tighten the lip and flip upside down until all the cloves are again coated with honey. Loosen the lid again after the honey is all coated again and replace on the plate or in the bowl in an upright position.
• It should not take long for small bubbles to form on the surface of the honey.
• For best results, ferment the honey garlic for about a month. You can eat the garlic now, but the fermentation process will just make it so much more wonderful as time goes on. The honey will become less viscous (more runny) as the ferment progresses which is why you can use honey that has crystalized. Never throw away crystallized raw honey. If you are not able to get it out of the jar, gently warm until you can remove with a clean spoon into the jar with your peeled garlic cloves.
• Store in a cool place for up to a year. But, if you are like us, it won't last that long. Plan on making more in about 3-6 months. Maybe sooner.