Fermented honey garlic is a simple recipe that combines two simple ingredients and turns them into an amazing immune-boosting mixture.

Not only is this simple mixture good medicine, it's also very simple and a great place to start for fermenting foods. If you're trying to live a more natural lifestyle from the food you eat to the medicine you take and the products you put on your skin, this is definitely a recipe you'll want to try.

Over the past several months I've been feeling a pull to dive deeper into natural living. We make our food from scratch, we make soap, lotion, and household cleaners. We grow a lot of our own food, and raise animals for meat, eggs, and dairy and locally source the rest.

But it wasn't enough, I have a deep yearning to continue on this journey and use nature for every aspect of my life that I can, from clothing myself and my family to healing us and preventing symptoms.

So, I began making our own cough syrup, cough drops, and elderberry syrup. I started making fire cider and that sparked an interest in the medicinal properties of garlic and fermented honey garlic.

I'm always open to learning new things, and this was no exception. Since garlic is one of the few crops we grow enough of to feed us all year and we source raw local honey from a nearby beekeeper, I felt like I needed to learn more about how amazing it could be and utilize it in more than just cooking, canning venison, and making bone broths.

Thankfully, I found an incredibly simple way to do that by making this easy fermented honey garlic. This is seriously one of the easiest ferments, with just two ingredients. No special equipment is necessary, and the final product is excellent to utilize during the cold and flu season.

Is fermented garlic honey good for you?

Absolutely. It's good as food and as medicine. Absolutely delicious as is, added to a dish, or simply utilized for all of its medicinal properties when the yuckies begin to try to take their hold during cold and flu season.

Garlic and honey both possess antiviral and antibacterial properties as well as beneficial properties to boost your immune system. Allow the process of fermentation to happen by mixing the two and you not only have two incredibly potent ingredients mixed together but a probiotic environment.

What does this matter? Because that probiotic environment makes the nutritional and medicinal benefits even more potent and easier for your body to absorb.

Not only that, but fermented honey garlic is easier to stomach than some may find fire cider, still incredibly beneficial, and super easy to digest (and absorb all those amazing medicinal properties) because of the created probiotic environment.

Ingredients to make Fermented Garlic Honey

Yes, it only contains garlic and honey... a no-brainer, right? Not so fast.

Fresh garlic should be from your own garden, a local farm, or a trusted source. The reason? A lot of grocery store garlic was grown in China and probably has things on it you don't want to ferment.

The honey in this recipe should be local, unpasteurized honey to provide you with all the wonderful benefits. Also note it should come from a trusted, known source as honey is in the top three faked foods in the world, often cut with corn syrup.

What about botulism? Should I be worried?

When we're making ferments in the kitchen the question always arises of whether or not it's a good idea. What type of environment are we promoting by fermenting the food, is it safe?

The short answer is yes, it's safe and no, you do not need to be concerned about botulism. While both honey and garlic can contain botulism spores, the likelihood of the toxin growing in this environment that will be too acidic (because of the fermentation process) is very improbable.

If you're super concerned, a simple pH test strip can help ease your concerns. Botulism cannot thrive in an environment with a pH level of 4.6 or lower. If you find that the pH is too high, or you're super concerned just add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to increase the pH and it will be too hostile of an environment.

Making Fermented Garlic Honey

This is one of the simplest things you'll ever do. If you're anything like me, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner! As I mentioned, you don't need any special equipment, you just need a glass jar with a lid, honey, and garlic.

Peel the Garlic

This is the most time-consuming part of the entire process. It can be made quicker by placing the garlic in a bowl with a lid. Lid the bowl, shake it vigorously and most of the paper will come off the garlic.

If that's not something you want to do, you can simply take a chef's knife and press the side of it gently on the garlic to bruise it which will make it peel more easily.

While you're peeling, be sure to cut off any bruised areas of the garlic as well.

Optional: Slice or Chop the Garlic

You don't have to slice or chop any of it, but you can. Personally, I use whole garlic cloves and just lightly bruise them, which is necessary to release some of the juices to allow the honey ferment to occur.

You may want to slice the cloves into smaller pieces if they're particularly large so you can fit more in the jar.

Pack Jar with Garlic

Find a clean jar of any size you prefer. I usually use a pint jar. Place the peeled garlic, bruised or sliced, in the bottom of the jar and fill it approximately ½ to ⅔ of the way full with the garlic.

Pour Honey

Pour enough honey over the garlic to completely cover it. Allowing it to filter through the packed garlic. Some of the garlic may float above the surface of the honey a little, that's ok.

The small amount of juice being released from the bruised or cut garlic is just enough to start the fermentation process within the honey.

Lid & Shake

Place a lid on top of the jar of honey and garlic and give the jar a light turn to coat all of the garlic and allow the honey to work its way into all the nooks and crannies. Flip it back upright and loosen the lid, this will allow gasses to escape.

Shake the jar every day or two, tightening the lid when you do, and then loosening it again when you're finished.

How long does it take to make fermented honey garlic?

In a few days to a week, you'll start to see tiny bubbles developing in your honey garlic, indicating the fermenting process has begun! Exciting times.

It will take approximately one month for the entire process to finish. However, the fermented garlic honey can be eaten at any time during the process.

Note if any of the garlic cloves take on a blue or green cast... they're still fine, it's just a product of the fermentation process and they're completely safe.

How long does fermented garlic honey stay good?

I'd say indefinitely. The longer it sits and ferments, the more potent it is going to be. I have two year old fermented honey garlic that is still good.

That said, the finished product stored at room temperature in a dark place it will keep for a minimum of one year.

How to Use Fermented Honey Garlic

Note: honey of any kind, including this remedy should never be given to infants under 1 year of age.

You've made it, it looks amazing... now how do you use the amazing garlic-infused honey? Good question!

You can take it during cold and flu season to help ward off nasties.

If you feel a cold coming on, eat a clove of garlic, a spoonful of honey, or a spoon of both to help reduce the length of the illness and reduce symptoms.

I like to put it in a mug of hot tea when I'm feeling under the weather to help soothe sore throats while still getting some of those immune-boosting properties.

It can also be used in all manners of cooking from marinades, salad dressings, sauces, and flavoring food.

If you're looking for ideas on how to reconnect with your food, nature, and the heritage way of life, you've come to the right place.

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