Fermented Ginger Honey
Fermented ginger honey is a tasty and powerful duo to keep on your shelf for cold and flu season or when your immune system needs a boost.
Equipment
- A pint jar with a tight fitting lid - you will want to fill it ⅔ with sliced ginger.
Ingredients
- Raw, fresh, organic ginger root you'll need enough to fill your jar ⅔ full
- Raw unfiltered honey organic if possible
- Optional: Lemon slices organic if possible and unwaxed
- Optional: Turmeric and black pepper organic if possible (add about 2-4 tbsp if you use dried powder).
- 1 tbsp. Optional: Cinnamon powder or one stick organic ceylon cinnamon if possible.
Instructions
- Look over your ginger and remove any hard or not so perfect spots. Then cut it into thin slices.Don't remove the skin. There are health benefits in the skin and beneficial bacteria that will help to jump start your fermentation process.
- Fill your jar about ⅔ full with sliced ginger. Add a couple of lemon slices if you like at this point. If you're adding turmeric, slice it thinly as well and add a bit of fresh ground pepper along with it. Adjust the fresh ingredients to fill the jar ⅔ full combined!
- Pour honey over it to within about an inch of the top. Stir if your honey is not too thick. Otherwise, just let it slowly seep down. You'll want to leave a little room for the expansion that happens during fermentation. If your honey is crystallized, that is fine. Just add what you can now and add some more to fill to the correct level the next day.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid. I find that it helps to cut a little piece of parchment and place it over the jar before adding the lid, especially if you're using a metal lid. It'll keep the metal from oxidizing, and it can help prevent any lid from getting stuck. Screw the lid on slightly loose, so gasses can escape when it ferments.
- Now place your jar into a darkish corner where the temperature is around 70 to 80 ℉. This is the preferred temperature for your little microbial critters to do their work in the ginger honey.
- Once a day or so, turn the jar upside down for a moment to recoat all the ginger with honey. Be sure to tighten the lid for this, then loosen it again when you turn it upright.
- Ferment your garlic honey for at least 3 weeks and then enjoy its benefits and wonderful flavor! It's ok if you start using it before 3 weeks are up. But the full benefits need a few weeks to develop.
- While fermented ginger honey can be kept at a coolish room temperature for a few few months, it is best for long term to store it in the refrigerator.
Notes
How to use your ginger honey: When you feel run down or you have a cold, eat a piece of ginger or a spoonful of the ginger honey as needed. It is helpful for inflammed respiratory passages and to give your immune system some support when it needs it.
Aside from that, you can use the honey to drizzle over ice cream, yogurt, in smoothies, with a bit of Apple cider vinegar and seltzer as a tonic, or in your tea. However, if you want to benefit from the probiotics and raw honey properties, let your tea cool just a little before adding this ginger honey. The ginger itself is great to eat out of the jar, similar to candied ginger. It looses some of its pungency after fermenting.
Check out my posts on homemade Ginger Beer, Ginger Ale, and fermented ginger paste to help you incorporate more ginger into your daily diet.