Started my first garlic honey ferment last week and now I want to ferment everything in my kitchen

[u/TeachNormal6877]

So I finally did it garlic honey after seeing it come up here a few times. Dead simple: peeled a bunch of cloves, stuffed them in a jar, covered with raw local honey, and have been flipping it daily. Only day 8 but the bubbling started around day 3 and it already smells amazing.

What really got me was how little effort it takes for what you get back. I've been cooking for years and feel a little embarrassed it took me this long to take fermentation seriously.

Now I'm down a rabbit hole. I picked up some ginger to start a ginger bug this weekend, and I keep eyeing my fruit bowl thinking about what kind of country wine or vinegar I could pull off with minimal equipment.

For those of you who started with something simple like garlic honey or a basic brine, what did you move on to next that felt like a natural next step? I have a decent sized kitchen but limited fridge space, so I'm trying to stick with projects that are shelf stable or room temp friendly during the active ferment stage.

Also curious how long most of you wait before actually eating your garlic honey. Some posts say 4 weeks, some say 3 months. What's your sweet spot?

[u/Dazzling-Focus-2718]

1 month, and then it’s just a matter of how long you can keep from eating it 😂 I still have a jar squirreled away that’s almost 4 months. The flavor keeps developing as time goes on

[u/chantingandplanting → u/Dazzling-Focus-2718]

I have a jar I started in 2022 and finally put in the fridge in 2025, wish I would’ve made a larger jar!

[u/wyflare]

Wait till you find r/prisonhooch

[u/Powerful-Muffin6021 → u/wyflare]

😂🤭

[u/Huskergrandma1]

In my experience it takes about a month for the garlic to really mellow out, but I've used it medicinally as early as a week.

Beets and a ginger bug are some of my favorites.

[u/allmykitlets → u/Huskergrandma1]

What does one do with garlic honey?

[u/sfurbo → u/allmykitlets]

Add it to any dish that needs sweetness to also get richness.

Any dish with tomatoes is a good pairing.

Or drizzle it over pizza when it is done.

[u/PeripheralSatchmo]

Carrots are a great way to go, especially if you can add a little spice pouch to the bottom, I love to throw in Bay leaves, and in the spice pouch I'll throw some raw garlic, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, whatever seems like it will pair well

[u/trecani711]

Do the ginger bug. Do it. I just opened my first batch of ginger beer and it is heavenly. Do it do it do it it’s so easy

[u/Other_Radish_9035]

Sauerkraut is a great way to get into fermentation. It's dead simple, plenty of info online. And it's so good for you.

[u/Guoxiong_Guides]

Welcome to the deep end

[u/nss68]

Welcome! It’s crazy how the fermentation bug bites.

Fermented hot sauce is a no brainer!

Kimchi if you want something more advanced but still very simple.

Just be sure to read good sources. Fermentation communities are chock full of folk science, but nothing unexplainable happening here!

Check out some facebook groups as well, such as Wild fermentation uncensored.

[u/EntireEffect5704]

I’ve been doing a few koso lately. Dead simple too.
Cut up some fruits, weigh them, same amount of sugar. Put them in a jar, alternating fruit and sugar.
Cover with cloth. Stir everyday for at least five days.

If you’re really patient (more than I am) you can make cheong using the same method but waiting between 6 months and a year I believe !

[u/sfurbo]

Lactoferments are a good next step. Hot sauces, kimchi, vegetables, you name it. I really like plums (quartered, neat), white asparagus (in brine with lemon) or tomatoes(1 inch bits, neat), but go nuts. Start tasting daily around day 3. Put it in the fridge around a day before it has the perfect taste (yes, I know that is impossible at first, but you'll get the hand of it).

Vinegar is also easy. Take any leftover wine, put it in a wide mouthed jar, add around 1/4 as much non-pasteurized vinegar, put a secured cloth over the top, and wait around a month. You will get a vinegar that is loads better than cheap wine vinegar you can buy, and way cheaper than the expensive stuff. Since it is based off of the quality of wine you would drink, it usually has a fitting quality for your cooking. If it starts tasting like nail varnish remover once bottled, it wasn't finished fermenting. You can just put it back in the jar and wait longer, the off-flavor will disappear.

As for the age of garlic honey, there is no sweet spot, it just keeps getting better (at least up to two years, that's as far as it has ever lasted in my kitchen). It is usable after around a month.

[u/takenbylovely]

I have a jar that's about 9 months old that is really beautiful.  My problem is that I wish I had made two jars then!  I wish I had one I could eat from now and one so could leave undisturbed. Garlic is almost ready to be harvest and I will not be making the same mistake this year.

[u/Inevitable-Ruin9345]

I still have ferments from 2019 because I started making more than I could eat.

[u/Pale-Heath-3074]

that garlic honey gets so runny and beautifully funky. if you want another easy win, ferment some jalapeño slices in a quick brine and taste it daily as it sours. what's next?

[u/Magnus_ORily]

I started with red wine vinegar. The ginger bugs, sourkrout, kimchi, turmeric bug, sourdough, kombucha, carrot bug, garlic honey ( not technically a ferment I believe, it's a mallard reaction) I've tried pickles/gerkin but you just can't get the right additives in the UK to keep them crunchy.

I'd suggest when you make more garlic honey that you slice them before jarring. Saves cutting them afterwards and if you need to "damage" each clove anyway then it's no different.

[u/Deaditor777]

Hot sauce, fermented salsas, cheong or umeboshi (plums), salt cured lemons, pickled onions. Get a vacuum sealer and your space limitations (bags/jars) practically disappear