It’s the season for preserving our hard-earned harvests for year-round enjoyment, an art and a science I learned more about while interviewing Sarah Thrush, author of Preserving with a Purpose. Sarah is a total boss when it comes to canning and fermenting wholesome foods, and the following recipe appears in her fantastic guide. If you’ve got a massive haul of garlic this year, try making this delicious Honey-Fermented “100-Year Garlic”.
I call this recipe “100-Year Garlic” because it can last hundreds of years. The tradition of fermenting garlic in honey dates back thousands of years, as ancient Egyptian tombs have revealed—a captivating narrative that transcends borders and cultures. But you don’t have to wait a century to enjoy this time-honored treat.
Makes approximately 1 pint (473 ml)
20 to 30 peeled whole garlic cloves, approximately 1 cup (136 g)
1 cup (340 g) raw honey
✽ Bubbles in the honey. These are gases related to the fermentation process.
✽ Hissing or whooshing sounds when burping the jar every day.
✽ Honey becoming runny. Honey is hydrophilic and will draw the water from the garlic, thinning the honey.
✽ Garlic cloves with a bluish or greenish hue during fermentation. While this may look unusual, it’s not harmful and the honey garlic remains usable.
✽ It is crucial to use raw honey for this recipe, as it contains the necessary bacteria and wild yeast for fermentation. This recipe is unsafe to consume unless you use raw honey.
✽ Do not give any part of this recipe—honey or garlic—to infants or children under two years of age.
✽ Place a plate or napkin under the jar during fermentation. The mixture may bubble up as part of the process, causing some honey to drip out.
✽ To address concerns about botulism, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores cannot thrive in an environment with a pH below 4.6. Honey typically has a pH of around 3.9, though this can vary.
✽ Do not add more honey or garlic to the jar after fermentation. If you are running low, start a brand-new jar with new ingredients. Reusing honey can lower the pH to unsafe thresholds.
✽ Straight from the jar. A teaspoon of garlic honey with one fermented clove is a wonderful treat, and it also has good medicinal properties. Take at the first sign of a cold or as a routine immune booster for health maintenance.
✽ In cooking. Use in condiments, salad dressings, fruit and pizza drizzle, and marinades.
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