r/fermentation • u/Consistent-Map4393 • 1d ago
Spicy/Garlic Honey First Timer
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/No-Dig_Enthusiast 1d ago
I'm assuming at this point the contents of the jar gained sentience and wrote the caption about it's creator.
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u/AsFarAsISay 1d ago
yeah, you need to toss this. probably burping it every couple of days let oxygen and didn't give a CO2 enough time to be created.
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u/nonnameavailable 22h ago
What's the white stuff on top? Is that foam or mold?
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u/Consistent-Map4393 15h ago
It’s foam actually. The picture made it look worse than it does irl. I’d just turned the jar and it got some bubbles moving
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u/nonnameavailable 15h ago
I thought so. I don't really have experience with this kind of ferment but I do believe people here are overreacting a lot. Can't tell you if it's safe. Good luck if you decide to eat it I guess.
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u/winterwookie271 1d 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off-topic, but I've been trying to figure out where fermented garlic/honey originates from but haven't found any historical reference.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 21h 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 9h 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 15h ago
And what led you to this conclusion.
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u/CheesecakeEither8220 11h 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/GeneralBurg 13h ago
You understand wrong and botulism is incredibly rare. Almost all instances come from poorly done home canning and storage
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u/MadeThisForDiablo 1d ago
Please eat it and report results!
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u/Busy_Garbage_4778 1d ago
With a seance?
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u/FishHookSammich 1d ago
Yeah, I'm pretty brave/foolhardy when it comes to ferments, but I would not sample this.
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u/Breaky-LegsMcGee 1d ago
That...looks extremely unsafe to consume.