Garlic honey is a traditional remedy for winter illnesses like colds, flu and upper respiratory infections. These traditional foods are staples in most people’s kitchens and when combined create a powerful and delicious way to help soothe winters ills. Honey is well known for having a wealth of anti-oxidants and nutrients that support health and garlic is known as Russian Penicillin for its antibiotic and heart supportive properties and has been used for hundreds of years to ward off colds and other afflictions.
Gather your supplies
To make this simple remedy you will need a jar with a lid, a head or 2 of garlic, raw honey and a paper plate to sit the jar upon. Raw local honey is preferred in this remedy since it has not been heated and therefore it’s nutritional properties have not been destroyed by heat. However if commercial honey is all you have access to it will work.
Fill the jar with garlic
Next, fill your jar with separated garlic cloves. You do not have to peel them before you put them in the jar. I found a bag of peeled garlic on sale at my grocery store so I used them but unpeeled cloves from garlic bulbs will work just fine.
Pour the honey over the garlic
Pour the honey slowly over the garlic making sure that it flows to the bottom of the jar and covers all the garlic cloves. This can be a slow process as the honey is thick and takes it’s time flowing around all the garlic. Fill the jar full of honey but leave a small space at the top so the honey does not expand out.
Cap and label your jar
Put a tight lid on your jar and label your jar GARLIC HONEY XX/XX/XXXX with the date you made the remedy. Place jar on a small paper plate or a saucer to catch any honey overflow that may ooze out of the jar.
Place in warm cupboard out of direct sunlight for 24 hours
As the honey sits in the garlic it will get thin as it absorbs into the garlic. The garlic will begin to float to the top of the honey. Turn the jar upside down a few times during the day to make sure the honey is getting to all the garlic. After 24 hours you can eat the garlic but I like to let it sit for a month before eating. The honey will begin to ferment so make sure you have your jar on a plate to catch any honey that oozes out of the jar. You may want to loosen the lid every so often to let any fermentation gasses escape. Since I begin to eat my garlic at 24 hours I don’t worry about gas build up but if you let it sit for the month without opening it gas may build up. Oh, if you do eat the garlic after 24 hours, use a clean spoon to dip into the mixture each time.
Take a spoonful of the honey or eat a clove of the garlic daily
You can eat the garlic clove right out of the jar or just eat the honey from a clean spoon. There is no need to remove the garlic from the honey. The taste is delightful and the honey mellows out the sharp bite of the garlic. You can also use this garlic honey in cooking in things like marinades, glazes or even vinaigrettes. This is a remedy that even some children enjoy. Remember DO NOT give this to children under one year of age due to the risk of botulism in the honey. This remedy will keep for up to a year although I have had some last almost 2 years with no ill effects.
Fermented Garlic Honey
1-2 heads of Garlic
Local raw honey
small. jar with lid
small plate to catch drips
Separate garlic into cloves. There is no need to peel the garlic
Place garlic in jar
Pour honey over garlic to cover garlic
Cap and label jar
Flip jar to mix honey and garlic
Place on small plate in cool location for 24 hrs to one month
Store in cool cupboard up to a year