If you have ever been in a dispensary, odds are you have seen an edible for sale under the counter. These pre-made, pre-packaged marijuana infused treats are more accessible to patients nowadays than ever before. While these processed food delights can be a great way to get medicated on the go, some patients prefer making their own medicated snacks and meals.
Cannabis Edibles Continue to Grow in Popularity
While there are many reasons to make your own edibles, many just enjoy the process. In addition, you are able to control the portion and infusion levels to make the perfect edible for your needs, and you can use your own recipes and ingredients. Nothing beats a good family recipe, or your favorite dessert with an extra special twist. The best part is that you don’t have to be a chemist or a chef to create your own edibles either. If you can follow the directions on a pizza box, then you can make your own great edibles in the comfort of your own kitchen!
Equipment Needed To Make Infused Edibles At Home
Aside from basic kitchen equipment, such as a stove or hotplate, cookware, and silverware, there is not much that you will need to make edibles. Here is a list of equipment that will be useful in making edibles:
- Candy thermometer
- Large spoon
- Medium-large sized sauce pan or pot (for butter or oil)
- Pressure cooker (for glycerin tincture)
- Glass jar (for alcohol tincture)
- Colander or wire strainer
- Reusable coffee filter
- Well-sealed storage containers (Tupperware or glass)
What Ingredients Will Extract The Cannabinoids Most Effectively?
Cannabinoids are fat-soluble, which means they bond best with substances containing high levels of fat. This does not mean that all infused products have to be unhealthy, however. There are many different high-fat substances that are can be a healthy addition to anyone’s diet. The most well-known infused ingredient is without doubt butter.
While effective and easy to use for the first time cannabis cook, it is probably not the healthiest way for a patient to medicate on a daily basis, and for vegan patients, butter isn’t even an option. Instead, they tend to turn to plant-based fats, like olive, canola, or coconut oil. Lesser-known alternatives include cocoa butter, milk, and glycerin, a sweet plant-based fat created by breaking down the long-chain fatty acids of other oils.
What Grade Of Cannabis Should I Use For My Edibles?
Some people prefer to use sugar leaf trim in their edibles rather than buds because the flowers tend to be very absorbent, making it harder to extract the infused oil from them later. Others believe that the large amount of trim you must use (two to three times more than if you were using flowers) to create an edible of equal potency negates the benefits.
“The most important thing to consider when choosing what cannabis to cook with is cleanliness. It’s best to lab test the source material for molds and pesticides, just as you would do with the medication you smoke.”
In truth, you really can use any part of the plant (except the root balls) to make your infused oils. This is because the cooking process helps to extract the cannabinoids from inside the plant, not just the trichomes on the surface. However, like we said in our introduction to edibles, “you get out of it what you put into it.” If you make your infused product out of leaves, you can expect it to taste a little like leaves. If you make your edibles out of top-shelf Sour Dieselflowers, then your butter (and anything you cook with it) will have some of that diesel taste we know and love.
How Much Marijuana Do I Need To Make A Cup Of Butter Or Oil?
So you are wondering how much cannabis you will need to make a batch of edibles. It’s important to note that this will depend largely on how potent you want your infused product to be, and the potency of the material you are cooking with. Generally speaking, the lower the quality of your product, the more you will have to use to get the same effect. For example, if you use stems, you may have to use several ounces (three to six) to make a moderately potent cup of butter. If you use fan leaves or sugar leaf trim, you will have to use less, probably closer to two or three ounces.
When you use shake you can plan on needing about one and a half to two ounces, and if you are going for the gusto and using your primo buds, you will only need and ounce or so. Here is a simple equation you can use to figure out how much product you will need to use to make a cup of butter or oil: Rate the marijuana you plan you use on a scale of one-five with 1 being top-shelf buds, and 5 being the large main stems of the plant. Whatever that number is, use that many ounces per cup of butter or oil.
Can I Cook The Cannabinoids Out Of My Edibles?
Yes and unfortunately, it is pretty easy to do if you are not careful. However, using a candy thermometer and watching your edibles closely while they are cooking will ensure that they stay strong and effective.
“Once a cannabinoid, terpene, or flavonoid hits its boiling point it will turn into vapor, causing it to rise into the air and evaporate out of your edible.”
When cooking with cannabis, it is important to remember that different cannabinoids boil at different temperatures. Therefore, the temperature at which you would want to cook your edibles would vary slightly depending on what affect you are looking for. While some terpenes and flavonoids reach their boiling point at temperatures as low as 245⁰F, most cannabinoids do not reach this point until they hit temperatures exceeding 300⁰F.
It is also important to remember that every time you cook your canna-butter, you risk burning off valuable terpenes and cannabinoids. You can prevent this by using a lid if possible and keeping the temperature low enough that the cannabinoids do not vaporize.
I Am On A Restricted Diet. Can I Still Make My Own Edibles?
Many patients turn to home cooking for that very reason. It allows them to make medicated meals that fit with their special dietary needs. You can use your medicated oil, butter or tincture in any recipe, as long as you modify the temperature and baking time accordingly.
Most baked goods recipes use a standard temperature of 350⁰F, which is much too hot for your cannabinoids. Instead, cook your edibles at a lower temperature (never over 300⁰F) and increase the cooking time by about 50 percent. This means that if you are using a brownie recipe that cooks at 350⁰F for 30 minutes, you will reduce the temperature to under 300⁰ (I prefer about 275⁰F, just to be safe) and cook your medicated brownies for 45 minutes instead of 30.
Making Your Own Edibles Has Never Been Easier
Edibles are a great new way to stay medicated without the harmful effects of smoking. They are discreet, portable, potent, and if you follow a few basic guidelines, they can be delicious as well. Making your own edibles is a safe solution for people with allergies, or those unsure about the origins and contents of packaged edibles from dispensaries.
Whiles most of the time, you can trust in your local dispensary to serve you a high quality product, you can never be too careful. Not to mention, getting baking is therapeutic in it of itself. When you create your own infused foods at home, the possibilities are endless. You could essentially incorporate cannabis into every dish in a 5-course meal. Imagine that family dinner!
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