Home › Articles › Fermented Vegetables
43 Comments
Published: Mar 24, 2019 Updated: May 31, 2024by Emillie Parrish
Jump to Recipe
Honey-fermented garlic is so easy to make, it’s perfect for first-time fermenters. The hardest part is peeling a jarful of garlic!
In order to run this site, we may earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products we link to. We only feature items we would use ourselves and you'll never pay more for products. Thank you for reading!
Why make honey-fermented garlic?
Not sure if you want to make honey-fermented garlic? Here are a few reasons to try this simple and delicious concoction:
- Immune Boosting: Lots of people eat raw garlic to boost their immune system. Fermented garlic adds a dose of probiotics. However, the garlic only mellows slightly with fermenting, so if raw garlic isn’t your thing, then take a spoonful of the garlic-infused honey instead. It’s not nearly as sweet as you would expect!
- Food Preservation: Fermenting garlic in honey is a great way to preserve your harvest. Honey prevents the garlic from getting moldy or drying out. And the garlic can be fished out of the honey whenever you want to cook with it.
- Milder Raw Garlic: Fermented garlic is perfect for any dish where you want to add raw garlic, but don’t want the intense bite of raw garlic. It is perfect for hummus, fresh salsa, and other dips and dressings.
- Garlic-infused honey: I LOVE garlic-infused honey. It is amazingly delicious. Mildly sweet and flavored with garlic. It is perfect for salads, sauces, and drizzling on cheese. Try adding a few teaspoons to a halloumi salad. Or try my rainbow honey garlic coleslaw. It is oh-so yummy.
Concerned about eating fermented garlic and honey?
No one wants to eat something that could potentially make them sick. However, provided you don’t see visible signs of mold or discolored garlic, honey-fermented garlic is safe and healthy to eat.
Here are the two main concerns that readers have about fermented honey garlic.
Botulism
Botulism is a toxin caused by certain, unwanted strains of bacteria. It is frequently linked to improperly canned or fermented garlic.
On average honey has apH of around 3.9, so it is far too acidic for botulism to be an issue. However, it is important to use pure raw honey in this recipe. A lot of commercial honey isfake or adulterated, which wouldn’t have the right pH, nor thenatural microorganismsrequired for fermentation.
How do you know that your honey will work for fermenting? Look for the words raw or unpasteurized on the label.
Cloudy or Crystallized Honey
Pure, raw honey will naturally crystalize over time. Cooling honey makes this crystallization happen quicker. So honey fermented garlic that has been stored in the fridge for more than a few weeks, will become thick and cloudy from the crystallization of the sugars.
This is natural and should be expected. However, I recommend using up your honey-fermented garlic within two months for the best flavor and consistency.
Honey fermented Garlic
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 2 reviews
- Author: Emillie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 jar 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: Probiotic
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Fermenting garlic in honey is perfect for beginners because it is so easy! The raw honey naturally provides the right conditions for a delicious and probiotic ferment. See the section above for how to use honey fermented garlic, as an immune booster and a culinary delight.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 to 5 heads of fresh garlic (see notes)
- 4 to 6 tablespoon raw honey
Instructions
- Sanitize an air-tight glass jar (1 cup / 250 mL).
- Fill the jar with peeled garlic leaving a ½-inch of headroom. I like to bruise the garlic a bit to help with the fermentation. I do this by pressing down on the garlic with my kitchen knife until it cracks. Pour raw honey over the garlic until it is completely covered. The garlic will naturally float above the honey, and that’s fine.
- Cap with an air-tight lid and place the jar somewhere dark to ferment, like a closet. Open the jar every day for the first week to release the build-up of pressure (from the fermentation) then reseal the jar and turn it over. Rotating the jar will help keep the garlic submerged under the honey.
- After the first week, start checking the garlic every 3 days instead.See the notes below for a different jar option that will allow you to skip turning the jar and releasing the gas. The honey garlic needs to ferment for at least 1 week and can be left to ferment for several months.
- Once you start to use the garlic, store the jar in the fridge to prevent potential contamination.
Notes
- If you don’t want to have to keep checking and turning over your jar of garlic, then you need to use a jar that will release CO2 while preventing contamination. For example, you could use a Fido jar with a well-fitting weight to keep the garlic below the honey.
- Never use garlic that has any signs of mold, sprouting, or brown spots. You don’t want to contaminate your ferment!
- Because of the health risks associated with the consumption of raw honey, this ferment is not recommended for pregnant women, children under the age of 1 year, or anyone who may be immunocompromised.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Hans
Hello,
Have you ever honey fermented red chili?
I am about to prepare a jar, but cannot find if there are health benefits to this.
Thanks
HansReply
Emillie
Raw honey has natural probiotics. If you use local honey, it also is great for helping with seasonal allergies. I personally haven’t honey fermented chili, but it sounds delicious!
Reply
Nattymomma
as long as you use clean utensils, this stuff can be stored for years. both honey and garlic have properties that resist bad biota, so we do not need to refrigerate or use quickly. I use whenever I’m around a bunch of people or around sick people. I think of it as a natural immune booster this works better than the popular fizzy packs…
I love the ideas for extra uses like salads, salsas etc. imma share with my friend that likes garlic but thinks it’s strong flavored.anyone else get a weird, pungent smell after a week that eventually goes away?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Hum… I haven’t noticed that. But I hear you on the long ferment. I’ve got all sorts of honey-based ferments packed in my larder at the moment. Waiting for winter eating. Enjoy!
See AlsoFermented Garlic Recipe - Fermenters KitchenThe Art of Fermenting Garlic: A Step-by-Step Guide - GarlicFruit.comFermented Garlic { Easy Lacto-Fermentation Recipe }- Crave The GoodHow to Make Fermented Garlic - Chef Tariq | Food BlogReply
Bo
I just put this into my stirfry and it kicked it up to a new level! Thank you!
Reply
Anonymous
I don’t have liquid honey but I have raw honey that is solid. Can I melt it without high heat and use, will it work.
Reply
Emillie
Yes, as long as it stays below 40 C / 104 F then you won’t accidentally kill the probiotics. Enjoy!
Reply
Kimberly Miller
I made this in February. I have not used it often in recent months and found the contents to be cloudy after 6 months in the refrigerator. Is this normal? Can it be stored outside the fridge or should it remain chilled?
Reply
Emillie
It sounds like the honey has crystalized. It should be perfectly fine, and return to normal at room temperature, or if heated slightly. I don’t usually store my honey garlic in the fridge, but I doubt it’s an issue. However, at this point, I wouldn’t start to store it at room temperature. Just keep it in the fridge until it’s finished. Enjoy!
Reply
Kimberly Miller
Now I am confused. The recipe says to store the honey in the fridge once you start to use the garlic. However, your answer states that you do not store the honey in the fridge. In addition, after sitting at room temp, the honey remains cloudy, crystalized and separated. I have chosen to dump the honey garlic as I don’t want health issues from it.
Reply
Emillie
You’re right. If you’d already started to eat it, it should be in the fridge. It still might be crystallization. We usually finish our honey garlic within a month or so, but colder temperatures do cause honey to crystalize. And 6 months is quite a long time to be in the fridge. However, it’s always best to be safe. Sorry you had to throw it out!
Reply
Anonymous
Hi, I only have creamed unpasteurized honey. Is this OK to use? I also wanted to add ginger.
Reply
Emillie
I’ve used creamed honey before, and it worked out great! It’s also fine to add ginger or whatever other flavors you want. Enjoy!
Reply
Adam
Can I add extra garlic after the ferment is a week in?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
I haven’t tried it. However, it’s probably fine as long as the garlic is mold and blemish-free! If the honey is fermenting nicely adding more garlic shouldn’t be an issue. Good luck!
Reply
Adam
Thanks so much for taking time to respond! Great article.
Reply
Tony
Can you use the same honey over and over after you finish the first batch of garlic and honey can you reuse the honey that you made the first batch in
Reply
Emillie Parrish
See AlsoFermented Honey GarlicI haven’t tried that because I LOVE garlic-infused honey. It’s really not at all sweet… because the fermentation uses up most of the sugars so I recommend trying it before using it to ferment again. It should probably be able to ferment several times as it’s teaming with bacteria and yeast that can feed on the sugar in the garlic. However, subsequent batches will probably lack any of the honey sweetness. Cheers! Emillie
Reply
Shonda
any tips on how you stop the jas from leaking when turning upside down?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
If you don’t have a good seal on your jar, just give it a shake instead. The goal is to mix the garlic into the honey. As it starts fermenting it will become quite liquidy so that should be easy to do! Enjoy!
Reply
Jennifer
My jar leaked honey as I left it upside down overnight (1/4 cup or so). Can I add more honey to the jar? It has been fermenting about 3 days, has lot of bubbles. I would like to clean the lid and add more honey if possible without distributing the fermentation process, or is it better just to leave it?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Oh no! That must be messy. It’s fine to add more honey. If you can’t turn it upside down, then just give it a shake instead. The goal is to keep the garlic and honey mixing.
At first, the honey is very thick, but it will get thinner and more liquidy as it ferments. Enjoy!Reply
Alison Heeres
I understand the mold or blemish issue but why can’t the garlic be slightly sprouted? How would that contaminate the ferment?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
If the garlic is absolutely perfect in every way (firm, no blemishes on the whole head, not dried out), then sprouted garlic is fine to use in this ferment. It does have a slightly different flavor and less sugar. But that won’t impact the outcome. However, my concern is that sprouted garlic is usually quite old and is more likely to have mold or bacteria contamination. A little bit of unseen contamination is fine if you’re cooking the garlic. But much more of a concern if you’re leaving it to ferment. Cheers!
Reply
Anonymous
It is definitely older. We grew it and just let it go too long hanging out so it started to sprout. I got it peeled at a local sauerkraut place using a garlic machine. We have been sorting it and making sure it doesn’t have blemishes. We would track the PH for sure as well.
Reply
Emillie Parrish
That sounds like a good plan! Maybe make a few smaller jars rather than one big jar? That way if something happens to one jar, it won’t necessarily contaminate the whole batch. Cheers!
Reply
Molly
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I made this about a week and a half ago; I followed all the instructions but it never got bubbly, does this mean its bad? How do I know if my batch came out ok and when it is ready to eat?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
I’ve never seen a honey ferment not go bubbly. I suspect that the honey is either not raw, or has been adulterated with sugar. (Many brands do this to save on costs).
Alternatively, you may not have seen it bubble, but the gas is building up in the jar. Have you tried opening the lid? It could be you just need to release some CO2 to be able to see the bubbles. If this is the case, then I recommend opening it in your kitchen sink with a cloth over the top of the jar. It could really explode with carbonation.
If it’s 100% not bubbly, then unfortunately the recipe didn’t work. The garlic and the honey will still be ok to eat. It just won’t be the same as fermented garlic honey. Even pasteurized honey is naturally antibacterial. It has to do with the thickness of the sugars, not the bacterial culture. So pop it in your fridge and add the garlic to your next meal. It will still be raw, so I recommend dicing and cooking it. The honey will have a garlic flavor, so it’s probably best for salad dressing and sauces.
Cheers, Emillie
Reply
Stephany Henifin
I have a question I’m new to fermenting garlic honey. I started mine 4 days ago I accidentally tightened the lid last night and it’s real bubbly. is it still good or should I start over.
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Bubbly is good! Raw honey always makes for a really bubbly ferment. 🙂 However, be sure to open the jar to release the pressure every day for the first two weeks or you could end up with an exploding jar. I had that last week with a different ferment. When I opened a bottle, it erupted. I had to clean plum cider off my kitchen ceiling, cupboards, and fridge. Such a mess! With a mason jar, the pressure could actually break the bottle.
Enjoy!
Reply
April
My ferment was somewhat bubbly the first three days and now I’m on day 4 with next to zero bubbles. Is it ruined? What could have gone wrong?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
It sounds like your ferment is working just fine. If you placed it in a warm location, it can go quite fast. Usually, ferments are more active the first 3 to 5 days, then slow down as the sugars are used up (already converted to acids and CO2). It’s probably still fermenting, just going at a slower pace. I leave most of my honey ferments for several months (in an air-tight or fermentation type of container). When I open them, they aren’t still bubbly but are safely preserved and fermented. Cheers!
Reply
L
I have my very first batch of (organic) garlic and raw honey fermenting. 6 jars of it and I sterilized the jars and lids before filling. it’s been 3 weeks now and everything seems to be going right with 5 of them but 1 jar has some black stuff on the underside of the lid, and some black stuff here-and-there on the inside of the jar. I wiped off the black stuff that was on the underside of the lid ..it was very black and smeary and not powdery like a mold. What did I do wrong with this 1 jar, when the others seem to be doing right? What is this black stuff, and should I throw this 1 jar out?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Hello, If you are using metal jar lids, then the slightest issue with the coating that covers the metal can cause it to corrode. That may explain the black stuff on the lid. (It happens to me a lot). However black stuff in the jar is more concerning.
Every vegetable (garlic clove in this case) brings culture to the ferment. In the case of a honey ferment, we hope that the honey cultures will dominate. But there is a chance that some unwanted culture snuck through on your garlic. When in doubt, throw it out. However, you can safely enjoy your other six jars of garlic.
Cheers! Emillie
Reply
Jillian
So I accidentally thought you were supposed to put it in the refrigerator immediately so it’s been in there for 10 days . Should I take it out and put it on the pantry now? Throw the whole thing out?
Reply
Emillie Parrish
I bet it’s already a delicious infusion. It may even be slightly fermented. (Refrigeration usually just slows ferments. It doesn’t stop them completely). I think it’s fine to pull it out and put it in your pantry now. Just be sure that you release the pressure every day or two. It will be very active once it gets going. Enjoy!
Reply
Chris
Hi, I made this recipe and I put it in the fridge ( was confused I guess) and then it got shoved into the back of my fridge and forgotten. I think it’s been in there for 6-8 months! The honey is a dark brown. Is it still good and safe?
Thanks for sharing your recipes. I’ve made several and love them!Reply
Emillie Parrish
Hi Chris, I think it’s probably fine. I usually move my fermented honey to the fridge once I start using it. Colder temperatures typically benefit bacteria more than yeast. However, I’m not sure why that would change the color of the honey.
If you decide to try it, do so cautiously the first time. It should smell good. Usually fermented garlic and honey is more liquidy. Try a small taste to make sure it tastes good and your stomach tolerates it before diving into a larger helping.
Cheers, Emillie
Reply
Chris Dias
Thanks for your quick response! I was hoping that because the honey was in the fridge it made it not so liquidy. But I’m going to try it cautiously.
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Here’s hoping it’s good! I’m guessing it’s fine… just not fermented in the usual way. 😉
Reply
Sophie
Hi! I made my honey garlic about 10 months ago, left it in the pantry and just opened it now. It’s not the first time I do it but for some reason, this time, the sugar from the honey separated and is now sitting at the bottom of the jarr. Also, most of the garlic is not sinking. I think it’s because I might have put a little less cloves this time. Thoughts?! Thanks!
Reply
Emillie Parrish
Hi Sophie, Honey can separate while fermenting. It’s happened to me too. And I find that the garlic usually floats. The separating probably happened because the jar has been left for a few months without flipping. If you are concerned by anything else (smell, color, etc.) then don’t eat it. Otherwise, it sounds fine.
Cheers, Emillie
Reply
sophie
Ok great, thanks a lot Emilie 🙂
Reply