Knowledgebase
Garlic #935461
Asked June 14, 2026, 3:55 PM EDT
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Bill,
It is not recommended to ferment garlic in honey.
Garlic fermented in honey has garnered a lot of interest of late, but there are significant food safety concerns about this process and a lot of unknowns.
Whenever we are doing a fermentation, we are creating an anaerobic environment (no oxygen) and this can create an opportunity for Clostridium botulinum spores that are present in the food to grow and produce botulism toxin. Botulism toxin is very toxic and can result in progressive muscle weakness, descending paralysis, and potentially respiratory failure. We are very cautious about safe recommendations for fermented products and unfortunately, we don't have a lot of data to demonstrate what is consistently safe and what is not, and garlic fermented in honey is one of these foods.
