Fermented honey preparations — mead (honey wine), fermented honey garlic, and honey lacto-fermentations — demonstrate the unique challenge of fermenting honey: its natural sugar concentration (80%+) and its antimicrobial compounds (hydrogen peroxide, propolis, low pH) create an environment hostile to most microorganisms. The fermentation of honey requires dilution to a fermentable sugar concentration (typically 20–25% for mead production) or specific organisms (wild yeasts on garlic and other vegetables are resistant to honey's antimicrobial environment).
**Honey garlic:** - Raw garlic cloves submerged in raw honey — the honey's osmotic pressure draws moisture from the garlic, which dilutes the honey slightly. The garlic's wild yeasts begin to ferment the diluted honey-garlic liquid. - Time: 2–4 weeks at room temperature. The garlic transforms from raw and pungent to mellow, slightly sweet, and deeply complex. - The resulting honey: infused with garlic's allicin breakdown products and the esters produced by fermentation. **The antimicrobial balance:** Honey's natural antimicrobials must be respected — the fermentation is in dynamic equilibrium between the honey's inhibitory compounds and the wild yeast/bacteria community. Any contamination with non-honey-resistant pathogens is automatically suppressed.
Noma Fermentation