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Sauces and condiments from Home fermentation

Fermented honey garlic

Peeled raw garlic is covered with raw honey and left in a closed jar for a month or more. It is a home ferment that draws a lot of interest online, but extension food-safety specialists say no research shows it is safe, because garlic is low in acid and honey can carry botulism spores.

Fully documentedSauces and condiments30 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedAn Extension specialist says she is not aware of any published research-based recipe for home use. The list and steps here only record what home makers report, so the risk can be seen. They are not a recipe to follow.
Peeled raw garlic cloves[askext2023]
Raw honey, to cover[askext2023]

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days

Start
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What changes: Raw garlic cloves are peeled

Step 1 of 4
Home recipes start with peeled raw garlic
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The home recipe described to Extension starts with peeled raw garlic. Output: peeled raw garlic cloves.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Peeled raw garlic is covered with raw honey and left in a closed jar for a month or more. It is a home ferment that draws a lot of interest online, but extension food-safety specialists say no research shows it is safe, because garlic is low in acid and honey can carry botulism spores. Made in 4 steps over 30 days. The longest step, home batches stand on the shelf for a month or more, takes at least 30 days (Waite-Cusic J. 2023).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysReported[askext2023]Home batches stand on the shelf for a month or more
AciditypH 3.6–6Reported[askext2023][askext2023b]Home batches stand on the shelf for a month or more

What makes this one different

Most fermented vegetables rely on a quick drop in acidity to keep them safe. Here the specialist notes that garlic is well above pH 4.6, honey's pH varies from 4.0 to over 6, and the specialist calls the surface where the garlic's high water activity meets the honey's low one a good place for C. botulinum.

Related ferments

Safety

Extension specialists call it risky or say they are not comfortable with its safety, and this page is not a recipe. Fermenting makes an oxygen-free setting where C. botulinum spores can grow and make toxin, honey commonly carries those spores, and garlic, which grows in soil, is a higher-risk crop even when peeled. Honey's pH is too inconsistent to rely on, garlic is low in acid, and the final water activity of the mix is unknown. A home maker who reported pH 3.6–4.1 in batches was still told the specialist was not comfortable with the safety of the ferment. The acid must drop fast, no data show this mix does so, and vinegar added later does not destroy toxin already formed. Honey can cause infant botulism in children under 1 year, and CDC says not to give honey or products made with it to a child that young. That matters here, because people make this ferment to protect children in particular from colds and flu.

Hazards the sources name: Clostridium botulinum; honey commonly carries its spores, and garlic grows in soil.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [cdc-botulism] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Botulismgov
  2. [askext2023] Waite-Cusic J. 2023, answer to "Fermented honey" (question 822983, asked as whether garlic can be safely fermented in honey), Ask Extension (Oregon State University), 27 March 2023gov
  3. [askext2023b] Oehler N. 2023, answer to "Is this ferment safe?" (question 856241), Ask Extension, 11 December 2023gov
  4. [ksu2020] Blakeslee K. 2020, Honey fermented garlic may be risky, You Asked It, Kansas State University Research and Extension, 15 October 2020gov