Honey Garlic Oxymel (Fermented Garlic in Honey & Vinegar)
Prep Time: 20 minutesTotal Time: 30 days
Equipment
- Equipment
- - 1 liter clip-top glass jar with glass lid
- - Water-seal airlock fitted to the lid
- - Glass fermentation weight
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- - 300 grams peeled garlic cloves, about 1 1/2 cups
- - 450 grams raw honey, about 1 1/3 cups
- - 250 grams raw apple cider vinegar, unpasteurized, with the mother (about 1 cup)
Instructions
- Instructions
- Peel all the garlic cloves and trim off any dry root ends. Discard any soft, moldy, or sprouting cloves.
- Add the peeled garlic to the clean, dry 1 liter clip-top jar. It should fill roughly the lower half of the jar by height.
- Pour in the raw honey until the garlic is completely covered.
- Add the raw apple cider vinegar to nearly fill the jar, leaving about 2–3 cm (1 inch) of headspace at the top.
- Gently tilt and swirl the jar to help the honey and vinegar mix and to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Place the glass fermentation weight on top of the garlic so that all cloves stay submerged under the liquid.
- Close the clip-top lid and attach the water-seal airlock. Fill the airlock with clean water or a splash of vodka or brandy.
- Set the jar in a cool, dark place at room temperature for about 30 days. Once a day, gently swirl the jar to keep the flavors even and confirm that the garlic remains submerged.
- After 30 days, taste the oxymel. When you like the flavor, move the jar to the refrigerator and use as needed.
Notes
Notes
- Do not add plain water to this recipe; the only liquids should be raw honey and raw vinegar.
- Keeping the garlic completely submerged under the liquid helps discourage mold.
- If you have pH strips, aim for a pH of 4.2 or lower once fermentation is active.
- As with all products made with raw honey, do not serve this to babies under 1 year old.
- If you ever see fuzzy mold, strange colors, or smell anything rotten, discard the batch and start again.
- Do not add plain water to this recipe; the only liquids should be raw honey and raw vinegar.
- Keeping the garlic completely submerged under the liquid helps discourage mold.
- If you have pH strips, aim for a pH of 4.2 or lower once fermentation is active.
- As with all products made with raw honey, do not serve this to babies under 1 year old.
- If you ever see fuzzy mold, strange colors, or smell anything rotten, discard the batch and start again.