Fermented Garlic Honey Oxymel Recipe (Safe against Botulism!)

Why we use vinegar or kombucha in this recipe

Many historical texts mention the use of both garlic and honey in traditional medicine, but none explicitly describe the modern combination method only these two ingredients and let them ferment. In all my reading of fermentation history, I have never come across historical descriptions of fermented garlic honey, made with just garlic and honey. However, I have come across many accounts of over 1,200 species oxymel in ancient Greece and Persia, many of which contained garlic.

The ancient Greeks and Persians used it oxymelen to extract and preserve potent herbs, including garlic. Oxymel is an ancient preparation and Hippocrates wrote about 400 BC. reports on its benefits About the regimen in acute diseases. The thing to note here is that oxymel uses a combination of honey and raw vinegar.

Many readers here already know this, but I learn to ferment and develop my recipes in two ways. First, I learn and create from an understanding of microbiology and microbial physiology. Second, I learn from and create with an understanding of historical, time-tested recipes. And that’s why I advocate raw vinegar or raw kombucha in this recipe: “Garlic honey” historically was most likely an oxymeland I think it should be made as an oxymel.

When garlic oxymel is made with raw honey And raw vinegaressentially ferments it into a potent, medicinal garlic vinegar. The microbes in raw vinegar consume the honey and turn it into alcohol. At the same time, the microbes convert the alcohol and sugars into acids. This makes it a fantastic process to extract the medicinal compounds from garlic, making them more bioavailable. You can also use raw kombucha instead of raw vinegar, because the microorganisms are very similar and will facilitate the same type of fermentation.

Fermented garlic in honey

Out of curiosity, I tested quite a few batches of garlic mixed with regular honey (no vinegar and no kombucha added). Honey is naturally acidic and usually starts around pH 3.8. However, every time I perform this test, the pH always rises as the honey thins and water activity increases, usually settling somewhere around 5 to 6. This is definitely not a safe pH for preservation.

My dear educated guess is that this increase in pH is due to non-ideal microbial activity. Acid producing microbes in honey, can be negatively affected by the garlic, potentially leaving us with wild microbes that ‘eat’ acids instead. The consumption of wild yeast acid is a recognized phenomenon that can destabilize the pH of foods, including honey. The problem could be that there are many microbes that eat acids, rather than microbes that produce acids.

You see, the thing about “garlic honey” is that it is a fairly new recipe and trend. Simply combining raw garlic and raw honey in a jar is not a proven, historic recipe. We need raw vinegar microbes in the mix.

Is botulism really a problem with fermented garlic honey?

Yes, it is a valid concern. Honey and garlic can both contain endospores Clostridium botulinum. As I wrote above, “garlic honey” is a fairly new recipe and trend. Simply combining raw garlic + raw honey in a jar is not a proven, historic recipe. So I’m not saying that if you made garlic honey without raw vinegar that you are destined to get botulism. I’m just saying that without raw vinegar it’s a concern, and it can happen.

When we make fermented garlic honey as oxymel, the pH starts at a safe acidity and remains at a safe acidity (below 4.6). This is because the microbes in raw vinegar (or raw kombucha) cause the honey to be metabolized into more acids. These microbes ‘eat’ sugars in the same way they do when making kombucha, wild mead and vinegar. When we add raw vinegar or raw kombucha to a garlic honey oxymel, we guarantee the presence of many acid-producing microbes that keep the mixture acidic and safe.