Start These Ferments Now and Use Them All Holiday Season

Honey is good. Fermented honey is double plus good. Fermented honey is also one of the easiest, surest bets for fermentation out there, if you’ve been waiting to try it for yourself. You don’t need your own hive, either. You can grab raw honey at your regular grocery store, and in most cases, it’s not more expensive than regular honey.

There are lots of reasons to DIY the stuff, the least of which is that bubbles make people happy, and fermented honey is a really active ferment, bubbling away in the jar, giving you a very resounding pop when you let it breathe.

Fermented foods are one of those things that are not medicine, but are recommended by actual MDs. Full of probiotics, they are supposed to help you bring your gut bacteria into balance. Also, they’re super yummy.

Here’s three easy honey ferments to keep your gut in check through the holiday season.

Fermented Garlic in Honey

You will need:

• 450 g of raw honey
• 12 cloves of garlic

Pour honey in a jar. Add garlic cloves. Stir with a clean spoon. Secure lid and leave in a room that is in between 15°C and 30°C. Stir or shake once a day, and burp it starting on day two. Around day three, you’ll notice a release of pressure when you open the jar, and bubbles will appear. Burp it every other day afterwards, and after seven to 10 days, this honey is ready to be used. (It’s shelf-stable, so don’t put it in the fridge.)

Favourite uses: Biscuits, drizzled on brie, or as a glaze for any protein.

Fermented ginger in honey

You will need:

• 450 g of honey
• 7 g of ginger (a good sized knob)

Wash your ginger, and then simply slice it, skin on. Add it to your honey in a glass jar, and stir. Follow the same directions as above.

Favourite uses: Nothing is better in a toddy or tea, whether hot or cold. The ginger really comes through, and brings a delightful thwack of brightness. Add it to soy sauce for the perfect dipping sauce; the sweetness tempers the saltiness. Try it on apple slices for a zing.

Fermented cranberries in Honey

You will need:

• 450 g of honey
• 56 g of cranberries

I’ve covered these fermented crans more in depth here, but the right day to get some crans fermenting in honey is today. They last all year, and are an unexpected punch at holiday meals. In this case, you can enjoy both the honey and the cranberries.

Favourite uses: Mulled wine (add it to the wine at the last second off the heat). Drizzle on any breads or cakes. Top your sweet potatoes with a few spoonfuls of it.

While you can use Ball Jars and fermenting lids, I actually prefer to keep these in flip top jars, like these from IKEA. They’re stackable and easy to flip open to breathe. Keep the jars someplace you’ll see them daily, as they do need to be burped, but seeing them will remind you to use them.

Ferments stay “good” for years. The only thing you need to look out for is mould:  Once you see mould, it’s time to scrap it. And once you have these ferments in your larder, you’re going to start finding all kinds of ways to sneak them into your menu.