Fermented Garlic Honey Oxymel Recipe (Safe from Botulism!)

Why We Use Vinegar or Kombucha in This Recipe

Many historical texts mention the use of both garlic and honey in traditional medicine. Still, none explicitly describe the modern method of combining only these two ingredients and leaving them to ferment. In all my readings on fermentation history, I’ve never come across any historical descriptions of fermented garlic honey, made with only garlic and honey. However, I did come across many accounts of over 1,200 types of oxymel in Ancient Greece and Persia, many of which include garlic.

The ancient Greeks and Persians used oxymels to extract and preserve potent herbs, including garlic. Oxymel is an ancient preparation, and Hippocrates wrote records about its benefits around 400 B.C.E. in On 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 fermentation and develop my recipes in one of two ways. First, I learn from 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 this is why I call for raw vinegar or raw kombucha in this recipe: “garlic honey” was most likely historically an oxymel, and I think it should be made as an oxymel.

When garlic oxymel is made with raw honey and raw vinegar, it essentially ferments into a potent, medicinal garlic vinegar. The microbes in raw vinegar consume the honey, turning it into alcohol. The microbes also simultaneously convert the alcohol and sugars into acids. This makes it a fantastic process for extracting the medicinal compounds of garlic, making them more bioavailable. You can also use raw kombucha in place of raw vinegar, since the microorganisms are very similar and will facilitate the same type of fermentation.

Fermented Garlic in Honey

Out of curiosity, I’ve tested quite a few batches of garlic mixed in plain honey (no vinegar or kombucha added). Honey is naturally acidic, usually starting around pH 3.8. However, each time I’ve run this test, as the honey thins out and the water activity increases, the pH always rises, usually ending up somewhere around 5 to 6. This is absolutely not a safe pH for preservation.

My best educated guess is that this increase in pH is due to non-ideal microbial activity. Acid-producing microbes in honey may be negatively affected by the garlic, possibly leaving us with wild microbes that “eat” acids instead. Wild yeast acid consumption is a recognized phenomenon that can destabilize the pH of foods, including honey. The problem could be a high proportion of microbes that eat acids, rather than microbes that produce acids.

You see, the thing about “garlic honey” is that it’s a fairly new recipe and trend. Simply combining raw garlic and raw honey in a jar is not a time-tested, historical recipe. We need raw vinegar microbes in the mix.

Is Botulism really a concern in fermented garlic honey?

Yes, it’s a valid concern. Honey and garlic can both contain endospores of Clostridium botulinum. Like I wrote above, “garlic honey” is a relatively new recipe and trend. Simply combining raw garlic + raw honey in a jar is not a time-tested, historical recipe. So, I’m not saying that if you’ve made garlic honey without raw vinegar, it is destined to have botulism. I’m just saying that without raw vinegar, it is a concern, and it can happen.

When we make fermented garlic honey as an 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) ensure the honey is metabolized into more acids. These microbes “eat” sugars similarly to the way they do when making kombucha, wild mead, and vinegar. When we add raw vinegar or raw kombucha to a garlic honey oxymel, we are guaranteeing the presence of many acid-producing microbes that keep the mixture acidic and safe.