Natural Remedy: Garlic Honey for Fending Off Germs

I’m not sure that this honey garlic will keep away any vampires still prowling around post Halloween, but I’m hedging my bets. And I hope that it will help kick the cold I’ve had for what feels like weeks. My pot of the garlicky elixir isn’t quite ready for tasting, but my herbalist friends tell me that the honey will mellow the strong taste of garlic, making an elixir that’s not only palatable, but actually tasty. I still might plug my nose on the first teaspoon.

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Photographs by Erin Boyle.

Above: A small jar (I used a 7oz. Le Parfait Canning Jar; $7.95 from Sur La Table), a 1/2 cup or so of raw honey, and three heads of garlic are all the supplies you need.

Above: I used a locally grown hard-necked garlic variety for my honey.

Above: Three heads of garlic was enough to fill my jar.

Above: As I poured the honey over the garlic, I used a small spoon to  encourage the honey into the cracks and crevices between the cloves.

Above: To finish, I made sure the cloves were submerged and sealed my lid.

Garlic Honey

Adapted from Susun Weed’s recipe for Garlic Honey.

Ingredients:

• Raw honey to fill your jar (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 3 heads of garlic, individual cloves separated, but not fully peeled

Instructions:

Gently break open the heads of garlic. There’s no need to peel the individual cloves, but do remove the outermost papery layer that keeps the cloves in the bulb. Fill a small jar with the unpeeled garlic cloves and cover with raw honey. Seal your jar, mark it with the date, and store. In just a few days, the garlic honey will be ready for eating. Over time the honey and the garlic cloves will darken and become more potent. Some people store garlic honey in the refrigerator, but honey at room temperature should be just fine.

N.B. This is an update of a post that originally ran on November 1, 2013.

Interested in other home remedies? Try making your own Elderberry Syrup or Fire Cider.