Honey-Fermented Garlic (Refrigerator Ferment)

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Peel the garlic cloves and place them in a clean, dry pint jar, filling it about two-thirds full.
2. 2Pour raw honey over the garlic until every clove is fully submerged, leaving about 1 inch of headspace for expansion and bubbling.
3. 3Cover the jar loosely with a lid, or use a fermentation airlock lid, to allow gases to escape, and set the jar on a small plate or tray to catch any overflow.
4. 4Store at room temperature away from direct sunlight, opening the jar briefly once a day for the first 1 to 2 weeks to release built-up pressure, and push any floating cloves back under the honey.
5. 5This is a wild fermentation that relies on moisture drawn from the garlic diluting the honey and encouraging natural microbial activity, not on a measured 5% vinegar acidification, so it has not been validated as a safe, shelf-stable, water-bath-canned product; garlic-in-honey and garlic-in-oil mixtures have historically been associated with botulism risk when kept at room temperature for extended periods without proper acidification, so this ferment should be handled with care.
6. 6Once the bubbling slows, usually after 2 to 4 weeks, and the flavor has mellowed, move the jar to the refrigerator to slow the fermentation further.
7. 7Store refrigerated for up to 6 months, always use a clean, dry spoon to serve, and discard the batch if you see mold, a foul smell, or a bulging lid beyond the normal small fermentation bubbles.