This fermented honey garlic is the perfect thing to make to boost your immune system! Both honey and garlic have strong medicinal benefits, so you'll want to have this delicious home remedy on hand for cold and flu season.
Place the peeled garlic cloves into a wide-mouth pint sized mason jar. Add enough honey to completely cover the garlic cloves. Make sure they are coated with honey.
Place the lid on the jar loosely, then tuck into a dark place.
Every day or so, tighten the lid on the jar and flip it upside down to coat the garlic cloves with honey. Loosen the lid again when you return it to the upright position.
Within a few days to a week, you should see small bubbles start to form on the surface of the honey.
The honey garlic will ferment for about a month, but you can eat it at any time. The flavor will continue to develop over time, the garlic will mellow, and the honey will become much runnier.
Store in a cool place for many months or even a year, if not longer.
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Notes
It’s important to use raw honey for this recipe, as it has all of the bacteria and wild yeast that is necessary for fermentation.
The small amount of juice from the garlic will create just enough liquid for fermentation to happen.
It’s a good idea to put a plate underneath the jar during fermentation, as it will likely bubble up and a little bit of honey could possibly drip out.
Occasionally the garlic cloves turn a bluish or greenish color during the fermentation process. While it may be a bit alarming, it is not harmful and the honey garlic can still be used.
If you are concerned about botulism, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores can't reproduce with a pH of less than 4.6. Honey is usually around 3.9, but that can vary between brands.
If the pH is too high, add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to add more acidity and retest. This is generally not needed, but I do want to mention it.
Honey garlic should not be given to babies under one year of age.