Garlic Honey and Coleslaw Dressing Recipe

This post is written by contributing author Cory Trusty.

Garlic is a common kitchen herb with many medicinal uses. It can help resolve colds, coughs, sore throat, and sinus infections. Externally it can be used for skin infections.

Photo: Dreamstime

For chronic concerns, garlic helps reduce blood sugar and high blood pressure. It is also helpful to treat Malaria and boost immunity for AIDS. It is famous as a de-wormer. I remember my grandpa taking it powdered on everything.

The fresh garlic is the most potent to use medicinally, but I am just not one of those people who can handle a raw clove. The first time I tried raw whole garlic was in Belize. One of the locals was taking it raw and suggested I try it. Too strong for me! I prefer mine chopped fine in small amounts, cooked, or made up into garlic honey.

Photo: Cory Trusty

It's very simple to make garlic honey for medicinal or culinary use. Just chop up a whole garlic bulb: peel and chop the cloves. Chopping helps release Allicin -- the most potent chemical ingredient in garlic. Allicin is created when Allin reacts with the enzyme Allinase, which is activated when garlic is chopped or crushed. After your cloves are ready, put them in a clean pint jar. Cover with honey. I used raw wild flower honey. It takes a long time for the honey to seep through all the chopped cloves, so pour slowly.

You can use a knife or a chop stick to get the air bubbles out from among the chopped cloves. Photo: Cory Trusty

The next step is to cover and label and date your jar and put it up in a cupboard for 2-4 weeks. You can use the honey with or without the garlic at the end of this time. The shelf life of garlic honey is 3 months. You can take this honey by the spoonful or add it to tea if you have a cough, cold or sore throat.

I love making coleslaw dressing with garlic honey. You too can give it a try. Here's what you need:

• 3 tablespoons of herbal vinegar of your choice
• 3 tablespoons of Virgin Olive or Coconut oil
• 2-3 tablespoons of garlic honey
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix the above together and cover with 4 cups of shredded cabbage and 1 cup of shredded carrot. Toss and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Have you tried garlic honey for medicinal use or as a salad dressing?

This post is part of Eat Healthier month on Kanelstrand. Read the rest of the posts here and join in the discussions, we'd love to know what you think!









Cory's Kanelstrand blog posts are licensed under Creative Commons. You are free to copy, distribute and adapt Cory's Kanelstrand content provided you attribute it to her by linking back to the original post as well as Cory's AquarianBath.com website.

 

Cory Trusty is a soap maker, community herbalist, organic gardener, and homeschooling mom to two girls. Cory and her family live in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cory's background is in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Biology.  She is sharing tried and true natural home remedies and mini lessons from herbal classes that she teaches. Cory works full time making soaps, shampoo bars, herbal salves, flaxseed heat packs and more for her website AquarianBath. Read more from Cory at the Aquarian Bath blog. Cory is also a Food and Gardening writer for EcoEtsy and has published in The Essential Herbal Magazine and on the Herb Companion Blog. Connect with Cory on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and Pinterest.