Jane Park Jane Park

Immune-Supporting Garlic Honey (Fermented + Gut-Friendly)

A fermented garlic honey that supports gut health, immunity, and cold-season wellness — a sweet, powerful staple in our home (and in my tteok-kkochi / Korean rice cake skewers!)

fermented garlic honey our daily gut and immune support routine for kids

Your immune system’s best friend (especially during the BER months)

The Gut-Healing Secret in My Tteok-Kkochi (Grilled Rice Cake Skewers): Fermented Garlic Honey

There’s a reason raw garlic and raw honey have been used for generations across cultures — they’re powerful on their own, but together? They’re next-level.

My garlic honey is the secret sauce I use in my Korean street food–inspired tteok-kkochi (grilled rice cake skewers). But beyond the flavor, this naturally fermented honey supports immune function, gut health, and inflammation — for you and your littles.

Health Benefits of Garlic Honey

This combination brings together raw honey’s gut-loving enzymes and garlic’s immune-fueling allicin (activated by crushing or chopping). It’s:

✔️ Anti-viral
✔️ Anti-inflammatory
✔️ Rich in antioxidants
✔️ Prebiotic — supports beneficial gut bacteria
✔️ Great for cold & flu season

You’ll Need:

  • 1 cup organic garlic cloves, peeled

  • 1–1.5 cups raw, unpasteurized honey (enough to fully submerge garlic)

  • A clean glass jar with an airtight lid

    • Choose one that leaves the top third of the jar empty to prevent overflow during fermentation.

How to Make Garlic Honey

  1. Prep the garlic: Peel and either slice in half or lightly crush.

    • Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before mixing — this activates allicin, a key immune compound.

  2. Fill the jar: Add garlic cloves, then pour in the raw honey until garlic is completely submerged.

  3. Stir gently, then seal with the lid.

  4. Ferment: Store in a cool, dark place (not the fridge) for at least 3 weeks.

  5. Burp the jar: Every 2–3 days for the first 2 weeks, loosen the lid to release gases (you’ll hear the air escape / burp!)

fermented garlic honey a sweet, powerful staple in our home

Garlic Honey

  supports gut health, immunity, and cold-season wellness

Shelf Life

✔️ Keeps for up to 12 months in a cool, dark space.
✔️ The honey will thin and the garlic will mellow/get less spicy with time.
✔️ Safe to consume as long as there’s no mold or foul smell.

Note: Mold can indicate that the jar wasn’t properly sterilized — be sure it’s quite clean before you start.

How to Use It

  • Add it to sauces, marinades, or glazes — it’s what gives my tteok-kkochi that sweet, sticky kick.

  • Use medicinally:

    • Adults: Take 1 spoonful of honey + 1 clove during early signs of a cold & during a cold.

    • Children 1–5 years: ½ tsp honey only

    • Ages 6+: 1 tsp honey + optional softened garlic clove, if tolerated

  • Note: Never give honey to babies under 1 year of age.

Over time, the garlic softens and the honey becomes beautifully runny. The garlic flavor also tones down — no spicy burn just an immune-supporting liquid gold.

Why I Make This

My goal is always to help others honor their body — and their littles’ — without giving up taste, culture, or fun. Recipes like this are a bridge between traditional wellness and modern family life. I love keeping flavor, simplicity, and function at the heart of everything.

Our Family’s Gut & Immune Support (Continued)

Histamine & Immune Capsules (Desiccated Organ Meat)

We use these ancestral nutrient powerhouses to support:

  • Histamine balance (thanks to natural DAO enzymes in liver)

  • Iron, B vitamins, and zinc for immune support

  • Fat-soluble vitamins like A and D

We mix the capsules into unsweetened yogurt or with honey — or sometimes my kids just chew them straight. Truly, nothing surprises me anymore 😅

Note: We only use pasture-raised, grass-fed organ blends — see my trusted source [linked here] Quality is key here.

3. Sunning Mushrooms for Vitamin D

A trick that takes less than 30 minutes and adds a huge nutrient win:

  • Exposing mushrooms (gills up!) to the sun naturally increases their vitamin D2 - I only recommend vitamin D from the sun & food as it is a hormone.

  • This is a whole-food way to support immune function — especially helpful in fall and winter / the BER months!

We add sun-kissed mushrooms to soups, stir-fries, etc.

Why I Share This

Our bodies — and our littles’ — are temples.
We’re not meant to outsource healing. We’re meant to participate in it.

Through intentional ingredient choices, faith-filled living, and gut-healing habits, I believe we can support the body in restoring itself.

Update:
After making the fermented garlic honey, the visual appearance of the garlic chunks makes me not want to eat it straight… so when I realized my tteok-kkochi (rice cake skewer) recipe required both honey & garlic, I added a splash of it to the paste and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. WOW.

Will drop the tteok-kkochi recipe soon… hang tight.

Seriously can’t wait for you to try it. Tag me when you make it!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep this page going, and I’m so grateful you're here.

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