- This topic has 39 replies, 31 voices, and was last updated 2 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
-
I was recently informed that if you put garlic in honey then it ferments and becomes an antibiotic. Does anyone know how much of this is true? I started about three bulbs of garlic in honey a week ago. I’ve had to burp it daily and it has been producing bubbles. The honey has thinned out too.
7 users thanked author for this post.
-
We know that both honey and garlic have antibiotic properties. It will ferment and become fairly liquidy quickly. I flip it everyday in the beginning. You can use it at any time, and it lasts for a long time (months to years). I use it whenever I feel a sore throat coming on, and also throw it in my smoothies. I have found it to be effective if I start using it right away. I also chew the garlic.
Hope this helps.
PMR
Total of 11 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 10 listed.
-
I made my first batch of that about a month ago. I was skeptical that anything could make raw garlic palatable, but this combo really does mellow out the sharpness of the garlic and makes a great sweet and sour sauce base. My only issue is that a layer of solidified honey is now on teh bottom of may jar and I can’t get it to reintegrate with the more liquified honey that fermenting the garlic creates. Still, a good investment.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
Have you tried warming it slightly? I’m just wondering if that would help because that is how you get crystalized honey to turn back into liquid. I don’t think I would stick it in a microwave but perhaps putting the bottom of the jar into some hot water or something.. or if you have one of those wax warmers that people use, the flat ones for the big candles…. I’ve used that to warm the bottom of jars too. Just an idea. but be careful
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
I was wondering how long it would last, thankyou.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I have some from 2020, and it is still very garlicy. No mold either. So I assume it is ok, maybe not as potent but tastes verymuch like garlic.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
I’ve made some of this! It’s great, I think. The honey really does mellow the taste of the garlic. I think the smell is what I wasn’t expecting at first. It didn’t smell bad but it was a strong smell that I wasn’t prepared for the first few times I burped the jar. I’ve also used it to flavor chicken with a few other herbs and spices; Sort of like a glaze or a marinade. It’s good, if you like a sweet flavored chicken. Might be good on some other stuff too.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
We add garlic honey ferment to our herbal tea (which we obtained from Homegrown Herbalist). The garlic taste becomes very subtle when diluted in tea like this.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I only learned of this combination about a year ago and have since made several batches to pass to family members. I start taking 1 tsp 2 to 3x daily when I feel a tickle and haven’t gotten sickly since!
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
Wouldn’t warming the honey destroy the properties of the raw honey?
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
it shouldn’t if the temperature is very low. You’re just warming it enough to turn it liquid-y again. not boiling or cooking it. sometimes body heat is all you need. Also, it should only take a few minutes, not long enough to hurt anything. At least, that’s been my experience.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Does anyone know what a spoiled jar of garlic in honey would look ,smell like? I made a jar, left it in my fridge for a couple months. When I took it out, the smell was fine, it looked okay, but the honey had broken down and was so thin, I was concerned that it meant it had spoiled. I threw it out. Was it still good?
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Honey doesn’t go bad, as far as I know. It will thin out as it ferments but yeah, unfortunately it was probably fine. I heard honey and garlic can last years. As far as I know, it’s not necessary to keep it in the fridge either. Cold slows the fermentation process down.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Thanks for reply. Better safe than sorry, but I won’t make that mistake again!
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
The water in the Garlic gets drawn into the honey and thins it out. I just keep mine in a dark place at room temp. The color is getting dark….I’ve heard the color can go black, but that it is still good to use. Apparently, it doesn’t go bad. You should give it another try!
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
My understanding as well. Honey never goes bad. It can crystalize but it’s still not bad. The garlic infused makes it runny and eventually turns black but it doesn’t “expire”. Also, after eating the garlic, the runny black base can be used for a beneficial salad dressing base. Good to the last drop!
-
-
-
-
-
I made a quart size jar of honey with garlic and let it ferment for about 2 weeks. I used a lot of garlic and maybe not enough honey, not sure what the ratio should have been, but I was excited to try it. After the fermentation process time, I took a garlic clove out and ate it and within a very short few seconds I was vomiting. I love garlic, but I was not sure if I wanted to try to use it again. I tossed the jar in the trash after a while. Probably should have considered other ways to use it or maybe put fewer cloves in to ferment to begin with.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
The allicin in garlic is the chemical compound that is effective against bacteria. It has a shelf life of 48 hours. There are lots of other chemical compounds in garlic that are good for other things that last much longer but the allicin degrades quickly. Allicin is also very susceptible to stomach acid . So if you want a powerful delivery of the antibiotic properties a very warm infusion will work best due to the molecular bond with the hydrogen atom which gets it through the stomach in tact. Another important factor to consider is that the allicin is formed only after crushing the clove. It takes about 15 minutes to fully develop.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
What happens if you don’t see much activity with the fermentation process? I am making my second batch of garlic honey and neither time have I seen a lot of bubbles or needed to burp it. The first time I made it in the fridge and still ended up being an effective medicine. This time I am doing it on the counter. It has been there for almost two weeks and not a lot of bubbling is going on. I am using raw honey. Have I made only an infused garlic honey, or does it still ferment without a lot of activity?
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I saw a video that said to fill a jar with garlic cloves and then add honey to cover the garlic and leave it out after turning it for a week or two. I did that and the honey overflowed so I had it in a saucer that stopped the honey from spilling. I put it in the dark closet and 7 months later it is still doing well but has gotten more watery. I never ate the garlic but the honey is antibiotic medicine and I enjoy it when I feel run down. I haven’t had any problem with it so far. I don’t think I will eat a garlic clove but I admire those who were brave enough to do it.
Dr. Vickie Dubin Master
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Try chopping the garlic on top of a salad, or on your omlets just before serving, both tasty. The watery honey can be used in salad dressings, hot tea.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
I made garlic honey last spring for the first time. I filled a pint jar about 1/2 way with garlic cloves and covered with honey. Put a lid on tight and flipped the jar a couple times a day for a couple weeks, then once a day for another month. I did not like eating the garlic so eventually I strained the honey and stored it in the fridge. This month, I took a spoonful of this honey 3x/day during a cold and found that I had milder symptoms of shorter duration than my husband, who didn’t take it. I understand that this observation is not a scientifically definable result from a controlled experiment 🙂 but I did find my observation to be encouraging. I also took onion/honey syrup, made the same way, for my cough every couple hours and that was both very effective and delicious.
5 users thanked author for this post.
-
Tammy,
We have put chopped an onion in a jar and covered it with honey; let it sit out for a couple of hours and used as a cough syrup. Very tasty indeed! My daughter’s friends found it over whelming on the way to school though LOL
I was under the impression that it was only good for a couple of days. How do you do your onion syrup?
Cheryl
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
This topic is perfect timing for me! Thanks for the many bits of input!!
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I have made the garlic and honey mixture as well. I keep mine at room temperature. I am not a big garlic fan and am learning to take this mixture. It does help when you have a cold. I have heard the longer you let it ferment the better it is.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Yes! I made my garlic honey ferment for the first time in August this year. As time has gone on, the garlic tastes better. I like garlic anyway, but this tasted like candy! Nice surprise.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
I am planning to make my first Garlic/Honey next week!! All this information & experience is perfectly timed for my benefit!! Thank you to all who contributed. I love garlic but think I will approach it with a bit of caution, as it sounds like the flavor will be rather intense, even with the honey!! I am wondering if cutting up the garlic a bit before adding the honey to it would be a wise thing to do??? Any thoughts would be appreciated. I like the ideas given to not only use this Garlic/Honey for direct medicinal purposes but to also use it in salad dressings & other sauces or glazes.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Half of the garlic we grow is elephant garlic (allium ampeloprasum), which is apparently not a true garlic (allium sativum) — it’s considered a leek. We have used elephant garlic in our honey ferments, and I’m wondering if it has the same properties as regular garlic. I did locate a couple of papers on this (example here) which seem to indicate elephant garlic has similar properties but possibly lower levels. In future, I may skip the elephant garlic for herbal medicine use and stick with regular garlic.
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
Jill, I planted Elephant garlic this year – thank you for the information!
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Is there a specific ratio of honey to garlic? Is the garlic infused honey an antioxidant by itself? Do you need to eat the garlic? Sorry so many questions. I’m really a newbie at this.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
The longer it sits the better it tastes. I eat a couple cloves every day just because its delicious. The honey gets put in my salad dressings and marinades. I usually wait at least four or five months before using.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I’m wondering if smashing the cloves a bit would be good – for 2 reasons. One for the healing properties that come out from smashing AND because our cloves are fairly large to just eat as they are. I have made the onion honey for coughs and must say that to my taste buds, it’s pretty awful, but when I’m coughing my head off, it’s a God send cuz it works so great! Hoping the garlic honey will work as well for viral crud this winter if needed… So after you guys get it pretty fermented, do you then put it in the fridge? My onion honey has been in the fridge at least a year, probably longer.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I wouldn’t smash the cloves, but you can certainly cut them in half if they are large. Try to let it ferment at least a month before you take it. And no, you don’t need to refrigerate the honey-fermented garlic. The older it gets, the darker the honey gets, and the garlic does not taste nearly as strong but still works its wonders. It lasts for many, many months in the pantry. I took some just this morning that I made last June. To me, it tastes better the longer it’s been sitting in the pantry.
Since it takes it a while to ferment but lasts a long time, I usually have at least two jars in my pantry. I’m getting low on the one I made last June, but I have another one I made last November that I’ll be using next. And I made another jar yesterday since I’ve been going through it a bit more this winter. It’s been keeping colds and flus at bay, and garlic also seems to help my husband’s blood pressure. Page 131 of Dr. Jones’s The HomeGrown Herbalist tells what a remarkable medicine garlic is. 🙂
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
We do crush our cloves a bit. I was told this releases the allicin which is one of the main active compounds in garlic. Our garlic is kept on a shelf in a cool, dry place. I haven’t found a need to refrigerate it, but I’ve heard of people keeping it both ways.
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
We always have a garlic/honey ferment on hand. It’s a great idea to start a new one when you are halfway through your existing ferment. I like to crush the garlic cloves a bit to release the allicin into the honey.
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
I was wondering if you could add more garlic cloves to the remaining honey.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
I made garlic/honey and have used a fair amount of the garlic cloves but still have a lot of honey. When all of the garlic cloves are gone can I just add more garlic cloves to the remaining honey or do I have to start over?
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I believe you can add more garlic to the honey. Just be sure that the honey covers the garlic.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
So questions… My honey was already crystalized when I started the honey garlic project last night, but I “melted” it in a container of hot water and thought all was good. I filled the mason jar about half full, then poured the “almost liquefied” honey over it and thought all was well. This morning I look and it’s once again crystalized on the bottom of the jar. I am wondering about letting it ferment in my dehydrator on 95 degrees – would that keep it liquid from that point forward? How would the warm setting do for the fermenting? I’ve not put it back in hot water again since I added the garlic – not sure what that might do to/for the garlic overall. I’ve ordered some weights for the garlic and some pickle pipes so I don’t have to remember to flip it over all the time. Thanks all – this is my first time with honey garlic. I have done honey onion for coughs and have some questions on that, but will see if there is a thread for that, and if not, I’ll start one since I’m sure I’m not the only one with questions on that also. Appreciate all this great info!
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
i have fermented garlic in honey. makes taking raw garlic bearable. i have also fermented red onion in honey for cough syrup, and jalapenos in honey that i add to everything. after fermenting i store them in the fridge so i have no experience with them going bad, but can’t imagine it being a problem if you use within the year. if mold is a problem, there might be contamination?
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.