Fermented Garlic Honey: Wild Alchemy in a Jar

Honey fermentation has become one of my favourite techniques. There's something wonderfully alchemical about the process—watching raw honey thin and bubble as wild yeasts wake up, cloves soften and sweeten, flavours deepen over months and years. It's living food, constantly transforming, each jar developing its own character.

I now keep a dedicated porous wooden stick for each batch to transfer wild yeasts between ferments. Once you've got a successful garlic honey going, that stick carries its microbiome—the specific strains of yeast and bacteria that made that batch work—into the next jar. It's like maintaining a sourdough starter, but sweeter and more forgiving. You're cultivating wild yeasts, building a relationship with fermentation that gets stronger with every batch.

This is the star recipe of my honey fermentation chapter in Ferment for Good. It's where most people start with honey ferments because garlic honey is so easy - delicious - and useful: medicine when you're sick, condiment when you're cooking, pourable flavour and...well even a little snack perhaps. The cloves become sweet, chewy "lollies" that taste nothing like raw garlic. The honey becomes liquid gold—dark, complex, still sweet but with layers of savoury umami underneath.

But garlic is just the beginning. Once you understand honey fermentation, you can ferment anything with enough moisture: summer berries, stone fruits, autumn persimmons, quinces, pomegranates, rhubarb. Each one creates a different flavour profile, each one transforms in its own way.

What's Happening: The Science

Raw honey contains dormant wild yeasts and bacteria. Bees worked hard to reduce moisture content to around 17-18% (through fanning their wings over honeycomb) specifically to prevent fermentation. But when you add fresh ingredients with moisture—garlic, fruit, herbs—you raise the water content above 20%, and fermentation begins.

The wild yeasts (primarily from the honey itself, but also from the garlic or fruit) consume sugars and produce:

• Lactic acid (gives slight tang)
• Acetic acid (vinegar notes in aged batches)
• Small amounts of alcohol (usually 1-2%, rarely noticeable)
• Carbon dioxide (bubbling you see)
• Enzymes (break down cell walls, make nutrients more bioavailable)

This is lacto-fermentation, the same process that makes kimchi, sauerkraut, and makgeolli. The yeasts and bacteria create an acidic environment that:

• Preserves the food (nothing bad can grow at that pH)
• Enhances flavour (complex, developed, deeper)
• Increases probiotics (beneficial bacteria for gut health)
• Makes nutrients more accessible (fermentation pre-digests)

Unlike vegetable ferments that need salt, honey ferments are self-preserving. The combination of sugar, acid production, and honey's natural antimicrobial properties means these ferments can last years.

The Two-Jar System

I maintain two garlic honey jars at all times:

Jar 1: Young honey (3 weeks to 3 months)

• Cloves still translucent, firm but starting to soften, can be like lollies
• Honey bright golden, thinned but not deeply coloured
• Flavour is sweet-garlicky, relatively straightforward
• This is your medicinal honey—take by the spoonful when sick
• This is also where you harvest liquid honey for drizzling

Jar 2: Aged honey (6 months to years)

• Cloves dark brown, soft, chewy, almost jammy
• Honey dark amber to mahogany, very liquid
• Flavour is complex—sweet, umami, slightly tangy, deeply savoury
• This is condiment territory—use it like aged balsamic
• The cloves are "garlic lollies"—eat them whole or sliced over food

Why two jars? If you only keep one jar, you're constantly eating from it, never building up the aged, complex batch. With two jars:

• Start Jar 2, age it undisturbed for 6+ months
• Meanwhile, make Jar 1 for immediate use
• When Jar 1 is empty, start a new Jar 1
• Jar 2 keeps aging, becoming more complex
• After a year or two, Jar 2 becomes something extraordinary

The oldest garlic honey I have is 7 years old. It's dark, almost black, intensely complex, and I use it like liquid umami—a teaspoon in soup, a drizzle over blue cheese, a glaze for roasted vegetables. It's nothing like young garlic honey. It's its own thing entirely.

Ingredients

For basic garlic honey:

• 1 head of garlic (or more—I usually do 3-4 heads per 500ml jar)
• Raw, unpasteurized honey (enough to completely submerge garlic with extra)

That's it. No water, no starter. Just garlic and raw honey.

Critical: Use MORE honey than needed Don't just barely cover the garlic. Fill the jar 3/4 full with honey. Why?

• Gives you young honey to harvest and use within first few months
• Leaves plenty of honey to continue aging the cloves long-term
• Prevents cloves from being exposed as honey level drops from use
• Allows you to both use and age the same batch

About the honey:

• Must be raw and unpasteurized—this is non-negotiable
• Pasteurized honey has no live yeasts, won't ferment
• Local honey from beekeepers or farmers' markets
• Any variety works (clover, wildflower, eucalyptus)
• Crystallized honey is fine—will liquify during fermentation

About the garlic:

• Fresh garlic, plump cloves, no sprouting
• Peel completely—skins don't ferment well
• Organic preferred (no pesticide residues)
• Whole cloves work best (crushing releases too much moisture initially)
• Australian garlic is ideal; imported garlic is often irradiated

Method

1. Prepare Garlic

Peel:

• Separate head into individual cloves
• Peel each clove completely
• Remove any brown spots or damaged areas

Dry:

• Pat cloves completely dry with clean tea towel
• This is important—surface moisture can dilute honey too quickly
• Leave cloves to air-dry for 30 minutes if washed

Optional—lightly crush: Some people lightly crush cloves (not smash, just crack slightly) to release more moisture and speed fermentation. I don't do this initially—I let them ferment whole, which takes longer but gives more control. But both ways work.

2. Load Jar

Use clean, dry jar:

• 500ml mason jar is perfect size
• Must be completely dry (moisture dilutes honey)
• Doesn't need to be sterilized—fermentation handles it

Add garlic:

• Fill jar no more than 1/3 full with garlic cloves
• Don't pack tightly—leave room for honey to flow around

Cover with honey:

• Pour raw honey over garlic until jar is 3/4 full
• Leave 1/4 headspace (fermentation produces CO₂)
• Make sure all cloves are submerged with at least 2cm honey on top
• Use chopstick to release air bubbles trapped around cloves

3. Seal and Begin Fermentation

Cap loosely:

• Screw lid on finger-tight (not cranked down)
• Fermentation produces CO₂ that needs to escape
• Regular canning lids work fine if loosely tightened
• OR use airlock/fermenting lid (makes it hands-off, but unnecessary)

Place on plate:

• Honey may bubble over during active fermentation
• Plate catches any overflow

Daily maintenance (first week):

• Flip jar upside down once daily to redistribute honey and coat all cloves
• This prevents mold from forming on exposed garlic
• Burp jar (briefly loosen lid to release pressure) if using tight seal
• After a week, reduce to every 2-3 days
• After a month, no longer necessary

4. Watch Fermentation Progress

Days 1-3:

• Not much visible change
• Honey might thin slightly
• Garlic begins releasing moisture

Days 4-7:

• Small bubbles appear around cloves
• Honey becomes noticeably more liquid
• Gentle fermentation smell (yeasty, sweet, garlicky)
• Cloves start to soften slightly

Weeks 2-4:

• Active fermentation—more bubbles
• Honey very liquid now
• Cloves soften more, lose translucency
• Flavour starts developing complexity

Months 2-6:

• Fermentation slows but continues
• Honey darkens gradually
• Cloves become soft, chewy
• Flavour deepens—less raw garlic, more umami

6 months to years:

• Honey dark amber to mahogany
• Cloves very soft, almost jammy, dark brown
• Flavour extraordinarily complex
• This is aged garlic honey

5. Transferring Wild Yeasts: The Wooden Stick Technique

Once you have a successful batch fermenting, you can use a dedicated wooden stick to transfer those specific wild yeasts to new batches. Here's how:

Get a stick:

• Untreated hardwood (not pine, not bamboo)
• About 15-20cm long, 1-2cm diameter
• Could be a wooden spoon handle, chopstick, dowel
• Porous wood (not lacquered or sealed)
• One stick per type of ferment (I have one for garlic honey, one for fruit honeys)

Inoculate the stick:

• When your garlic honey is actively fermenting (week 2-4), insert clean wooden stick
• Leave it in the jar for 2-3 days
• Wild yeasts colonize the wood grain
• Remove stick, let it dry completely at room temperature
• Store in clean, dry place

Use for next batch:

• When starting new garlic honey, insert your inoculated stick
• Leave it in jar for first 3-4 days of fermentation
• Fermentation will start faster and more reliably
• You're "souring" your new batch with proven wild yeasts

Why this works: Wild yeasts colonize porous materials (like wood, like sourdough baskets). By maintaining a dedicated stick, you're:

• Building consistent flavour profiles batch to batch
• Speeding up fermentation time
• Reducing risk of fermentation failure
• Cultivating a "house culture" like breweries do

This is exactly what Korean rice wine makers do with nuruk, what sourdough bakers do with bannetons, what cheese makers do with aging rooms. You're building terroir—a specific microbial environment that produces consistent, reliable results.

Seasonal Fruit Variations

Once you understand garlic honey, you can ferment any fruit with enough moisture. Here's what I make:

Summer :

• Strawberries - hull, halve if large, cover with honey
• Blueberries - whole, pierce each berry with pin (releases moisture)
• Cherries - pit and halve, or leave whole and crushed slightly
• Apricots - quarter, remove stones
• Peaches/nectarines - slice, remove stones
• Currants (red, black, white) - whole, stems removed

Autumn :

• Persimmons - peel, cube (use firm Fuyu variety)
• Pomegranate arils - seeds and flesh
• Quinces - peel, core, thin slices (tough when raw)
• Rhubarb - chopped into 2cm pieces
• Figs - quarter or halve

General rules for fruit:

• Leave peels on (unless specified)—they contain yeasts
• Wash and dry thoroughly
• Cut large fruits to increase surface area
• Pierce or lightly crush berries to release moisture
• Fill jar 1/3 full with fruit, cover with honey 3/4 full total
• Same fermentation process as garlic
• Time varies: berries ferment faster (1-2 weeks), dense fruits take longer (3-4 weeks)

Fruit honey results: Fruit softens and breaks down, honey becomes fruit-infused syrup. Use over:

• Porridge, pancakes, waffles
• Yoghurt, cream cheese, ricotta
• Scones with butter
• Ice cream
• Stirred into milk kefir for instant flavour
• In cocktails or mocktails

The fruit itself: Often disintegrates or becomes jammy. Some people eat it, some strain it out. Depends on fruit and personal preference.

Medicinal Uses

Young Garlic Honey (3 weeks to 3 months)

Immune support:

• Take 1-2 teaspoons daily during cold/flu season
• Take every 2-3 hours at first sign of illness
• Garlic's allicin + honey's antimicrobial + probiotics from fermentation = powerful combination

Throat soother: My daughter is an opera student and relies on this throughout winter. Garlic honey coats throat, reduces inflammation, tastes pleasant (unlike raw garlic). Take 1 teaspoon before singing, rehearsals, or bed.

Digestive support: 1 teaspoon in warm (not hot) water aids digestion, supports gut flora.

For enhanced medicinal properties, add:

• Nigella seeds (Nigella sativa, black cumin) - 1 tablespoon per jar - powerful antimicrobial
• Fresh thyme - 2-3 sprigs - respiratory support
• Turmeric - 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated - anti-inflammatory
• Ginger - 2-3cm fresh, sliced - warming, digestive

Add these along with garlic, ferment as usual. Creates a potent cold-fighter.

Aged Garlic Honey (6+ months)

Less about acute medicine, more about ongoing wellness:

• General immune support (1 teaspoon daily)
• Digestive bitters (small amounts before meals)
• Antioxidants from aged garlic
• Probiotics from ongoing fermentation

But honestly, by this stage it's so delicious you're eating it more as food than medicine.

Culinary Uses

Young Honey (liquid, bright, sweet)

Drizzle over:

• Soft cheese (goat cheese, brie, ricotta, cream cheese)
• Blue cheese (incredible combination)
• Labneh (Lebanese strained yoghurt)
• Toast with butter
• Roasted vegetables (especially carrots, squash)

Stir into:

• Soup (especially potato leek, pumpkin, lentil)
• Salad dressings
• Marinades for chicken, pork, tofu
• Stir-fries (add at end)

Glaze:

• Roasted chicken
• Pork chops
• Salmon
• Tofu

Young Garlic Cloves (translucent, firm)

• Slice into salads
• Chop into stir-fries
• Add to pasta
• Blend into hummus

Aged Honey (dark, complex, umami)

Use like aged balsamic or soy sauce:

• Drizzle over blue cheese or aged cheddar
• Finish roasted Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, eggplant
• Add to beef stew or rich soups
• Deglaze pan after cooking meat
• Mix into gravy
• Drizzle over pizza (yes, really—especially with pork or mushrooms)

Aged Garlic Cloves (soft, dark, chewy)

"Garlic lollies"—eat them like candy:

• Whole, straight from jar (surprisingly sweet!)
• At first sign of cold (medicinal candy)
• Sliced over:
  • Soft cheese
  • Ramen or pho
  • Fried chicken
  • Grilled meat
  • Pizza
  • Grain bowls
  • Avocado toast

They're sweet, umami, slightly tangy, with ghost of garlic flavour but nothing harsh. People who hate raw garlic love these.

Wild Soda from Fermented Honey

Once you have actively fermenting honey (garlic, fruit, whatever), you can use it to make wild sodas:

Basic method:

1. Mix 1 part honey ferment : 5 parts water
2. Strain out solids (garlic/fruit)
3. Bottle in flip-top bottles or plastic soda bottles
4. Ferment at room temperature 2-3 days
5. Refrigerate to stop fermentation
6. Burp bottles daily (pressure builds!)

Result: Lightly fizzy, sweet-tangy soda with probiotic benefits

Variations:

• Add dried burdock root (earthy, medicinal)
• Add fresh ginger (spicy, warming)
• Add dried reishi or chaga mushrooms (adaptogenic)
• Add lemon juice and zest (more citrusy)

Warning: Bottles can explode if pressure builds too much. Use plastic bottles (you can feel when they're hard) or burp glass bottles daily. When in doubt, refrigerate.

This is basically making mead or honey water but with the added flavour from whatever you fermented. It's closer to kombucha than soda—probiotic-rich, slightly fermented, lightly carbonated.

Troubleshooting

No bubbling after a week:

• Honey not raw (buy from different source)
• Temperature too cold (move to warmer spot, 18-22°C ideal)
• Not enough moisture from garlic (add 1-2 teaspoons filtered water, stir)
• Give it more time (some batches are slow starters)

Mold on surface: This usually means garlic wasn't fully submerged. If you catch it immediately:

• Scoop off mold and affected garlic
• Make sure everything else is covered in honey
• Flip jar more frequently

If mold is extensive or fuzzy, discard batch and start over.

Honey extremely thin/watery: Garlic released a lot of moisture. It's safe, just more dilute. You can:

• Leave lid off for a few hours to evaporate moisture
• Use it as is (it's great for drizzling, marinades)
• Continue aging (water content will balance over time)

Smells alcoholic/vinegary: Fermentation went very far—producing alcohol or acetic acid. Still safe to eat. This often happens with fruit honeys more than garlic. Some people love this flavour (it's like fruit shrub), others don't. If you don't like it, catch it earlier next time.

Cloves turned black/very dark: Normal for aged garlic honey. The Maillard reaction (same thing that browns cooked garlic) happens slowly over months. It's caramelization from long exposure to acid and sugar. Perfectly safe, deeply delicious.

Honey crystallized on top: Sometimes honey crystallizes at the honey-air interface. Just stir it back in. Or leave it—it'll re-liquify over time.

Storage and Shelf Life

At room temperature:

• Actively fermenting batches: keep at room temperature until fermentation slows (1-3 months)
• Aged batches: can stay at room temperature indefinitely as long as everything's submerged
• Store in dark cabinet (light can degrade some properties)

Refrigerated:

• Slows fermentation dramatically
• Once honey reaches flavour you like, refrigerate to hold it there
• Still safe at room temperature, but flavour will continue developing

Shelf life: Essentially indefinite. As long as:

• Ingredients stay submerged in honey
• No mold develops
• Jar is sealed enough to prevent excessive drying

I have 7-year-old garlic honey that's still perfect. Gets better with age.

The wooden stick technique especially feels like joining a lineage. Korean makgeolli makers use wooden nuruk molds to cultivate specific yeasts. Japanese sake brewers use koji-covered wooden trays. European cheese makers use wooden aging boards. When you maintain a dedicated wooden stick for honey ferments, you're doing the same thing—building a relationship with specific microbes, cultivating terroir, making fermentation personal and place-based.

And watching young garlic honey turn into years-old liquid umami teaches you about time and patience and the intelligence of fermentation. You can't rush it. You can't force it. You just set up conditions and wait, and slowly, the honey darkens, the cloves soften, the flavour transforms into something you could never buy in a shop.

Further Learning

Garlic medicinally:

• "Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs" by Rosemary Gladstar
• "The Herbal Apothecary" by JJ Pursell
  

Korean fermentation (for context on wild yeast cultivation):

• "Chae: Korean Slow Food For a Better Life" by Jung Eun Chae
• "Koreatown" by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard

Fermented garlic honey is where many people start their fermentation journey. It's easy, forgiving, delicious, and teaches fundamental principles: wild yeasts, time, transformation, trust. From here, you can ferment anything. That's the magic of it.