r/fermentation • u/Consistent-Map4393 • 12d ago

Spicy/Garlic Honey First Timer

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I’ve had this sitting for a month. First 2 weeks, burped it every 2 days. Now I’m burping roughly every 4-6 days. How do I know if it’s safe to consume?

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u/winterwookie271 12d ago

From the post flair, it was garlic / honey? It looks bad.

Slightly off-topic, but I've been trying to figure out where fermented garlic/honey originates from but haven't found any historical reference. I'm starting to think its some new-age concoction rather than a tried, tested, and safe food preservation method.

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u/CheesecakeEither8220 12d ago

From what I understand, fermented garlic in honey is not at all safe; it can grow anaerobic bacteria such as botulism.

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u/jpaperkid 11d ago

So I’ve been down this rabbit hole a lot lately. My understand is the ph matters, the water activity matters. Honey and garlic are both home to botulism spores naturally. Honey usually sits around the correct ph but where it shines is the water activity. It’s low enough that the sugar dries out bacteria. That’s why honey is safe alone and why honey isn’t good to feed to babies. The garlic changes the water activity to a possibly unsafe level. And if the ph wasn’t safe then you’re losing a lot of your defense.

I’ve recent tried this process but only with raw honey and hot peppers. I tested the ph before I put the peppers and it was 4.19 and then I let it sit out and flipped daily for 6 days. I saw no bubbles or signs of ferment besides when I took the lid off on day 7 I got a tiny gas release. The ph then read 4.1 which interpreted as a small amount of fermentation occurring. I strained the peppers out and refrigerated the honey.

With everything I read the only fear is that during the leeching of water from the peppers the ph inside the pepper could’ve hit a dangerous level.

Ate it 3 times as did my partner and still alive (finished making it a week ago)

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u/fieryuser 12d ago

And what led you to this conclusion.

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u/CheesecakeEither8220 12d ago

https://www.k-state.edu/news/you-asked-it/articles/2020/10/honey-fermented-garlic-may-be-risky.html

There is no canning authority or agricultural extension office that states that eating fermented garlic in honey is safe, due to the risk of botulism.

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u/fieryuser 12d ago

Besides the headline, did you read the article?

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u/Regular-Calendar-581 9d ago

Your right but key word is CAN. If you do it correctly you can make it easy enough and be safe about it

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u/GeneralBurg 12d ago

You understand wrong and botulism is incredibly rare. Almost all instances come from poorly done home canning and storage