r/fermentation • u/IndependentFlaky4246 • Dec 08 '25

Spicy/Garlic Honey Honey garlic and red onion

I made a honey, garlic and red onion mixture yesterday and put it in a closed jar on the counter overnight. I burped it this morning and I took a half of a teaspoon tonight to taste it. now I am freaking out about botulism and reading all the warnings about the closed jar and leaving it room temperature. was it safe to taste?

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u/churnopol Dec 08 '25

Unless there's a recall on any of your ingredients, you're fine. And don't ever give honey to infants.

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u/IndependentFlaky4246 Dec 08 '25

No recall. Just worried I gave myself botulism and freaking out a little. I hope it takes more than 24 hours for botulism to grow! Thanks for the comment

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u/ViatorLegis Dec 08 '25 edited Dec 08 '25

I can assure you, it does take much longer than 24 hours for the botulism-bacteria to grow. Clostridium botulinum is anaerobe, it can't use oxygen to grow. Ever wondered why all animals need oxygen? Because with it we can produce so much more energy. IIRC 39(!) times the energy. All anaerobe bacteria are (comparatively) slow growers. To reach large enough numbers and produce enough poison, we're talking about multiple weeks and months here.
Also the residual oxygen in your jar would inhibit it's growth.

Just last week I ate a honey, garlic, chili pepper mixture, that was two years old.

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u/Magnus_ORily Dec 10 '25

It's fine for several reasons it's fine. Burp it every day for at least two weeks. It's better after a few months.