With the advancement of culinary arts, there is now a lot of cannabis edibles, these are food with cannabis flower or concentrates. There are now available edibles in the market from baked goods, infused drinks, and capsules. The effects of the edibles offer the same effects as to smoking or vaping the weed for pain relief, relaxation and for recreational purposes. The only disadvantage of consuming cannabis edibles is that it is absorbed through the digestive system so the effects may take hours before it can be felt but it can last longer than smoking or vaping weed.
Cooking cannabis is a convenient way of consuming it because it does not require many types of equipment. When it comes to taking in edibles, it is important to know and understand how they are made and their potency before adding cannabis in your diet. The ingredients and the methods of how they are made has an impact on the finished product and its potency. In this article we’ll know more about cannabis edibles, its do’s and don’ts and its benefits to our bodies.
Common Mistakes In Cooking Cannabis Edibles
1. Over-grinding the Cannabis
If your main goal in cooking your cannabis is to get high, do not over grind the cannabis buds or the flower because it is the part of the cannabis plant where the potency is. The little crystals on the buds are the one responsible for giving you a satisfying high. If you grind your cannabis into a powdery one there is a possibility that THC will change its chemical compounds resulting in low potency edible treat. Another reason why over grinding the cannabis plant is not advisable because the chlorophyll may mess up with the oil having a strong plant-like taste.
Solution: Use a hand grinder to control the texture of the cannabis so that it won’t be too powdery.
2. Cooking the Edible at a High Temperature
The optimum temperature in cooking an edible is up to 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature above 340 degrees Fahrenheit will make the THC level degrade, if this happens you won’t be getting the potency effects of THC.
Solution: Preheat the oven at the proper temperature and cook the cannabis within 30-40 minutes, be sure to be accurate in timing the cannabis to cook.
3. Not Adding Enough Water
The most common mistake in cooking edible is not adding water especially if the butter or oil is used to cook the cannabis. The reason why water is still an essential ingredient in cooking edible is that it helps flush out the greenish color and the strong flavor of cannabis that may influence the taste of your cannabis edible.
Solution: Add the right amount of water. Adding enough water also prevents cannabis from overheating protecting the potency of the edible.
4. Putting Too Much Cannabis into Your Edible
There is a misconception that the more flower or buds that are incorporated the more potent the edible is. Adding too much flower or bud in your edible is not helpful because cannabis that is infused with oil and butter can only bind with certain amount cannabinoids. That cannabis that can’t bind has already lost its potency making it useless.
Solution: Remember the ratio 1:1 or 1 cup of oil or butter is equal to 1 cup of ground cannabis. To save money, you can use parts of the cannabis plant that are unwanted such as the trimmings and stems.
5. Placing the Cannabis Straight to the Pot
The most misconception among the edible makers is using raw cannabis indirect cooking. The cannabis needs to undergo the process of decarboxylation where the cannabis is heated at a certain temperature to activate its cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBN). Once the decarboxylation process has been made incorrectly, your edible will not only taste undesirable but the cannabinoids will not activate resulting to waste of time and effort.
Solution: Follow the decarboxylation process to ensure that the cannabinoids will reach its maximum potency level.
6. Pre-heating Edibles with Cannabis-infused Oil or Butter
If you prefer to use cannabis butter or oil into your food it is not advisable to just add it in boiling water or in cooking food that is still in the stove because there is a tendency that the THC is degraded and evaporates when reheated.
Solution: Shut the heat off before adding the cannabis infused oil or butter directly into the food. You may add it up around the pan while it’s hot as long as the heat is turned off.
7. Not Having an Even Distribution of Cannabis Throughout the Batch
The cannabis product such as the buds, cannaoil or cannabutter is not evenly distributed throughout your dish because the mixture is not properly stirred or mix. Some concentrates don’t dissolve properly on some mediums, like kief dissolves properly in warm liquids such as water, mayonnaise or yogurt while dry hash can only be dissolved through grinder or food processor.
Solution: Stir the ingredient consistently especially if you are baking. It is also important to know the texture of each ingredient that you are adding into your edible to ensure that your edible has the right consistency and so that you will receive fair high level.
Step-by-Step Guide in Making Cannabis-infused Edibles
Step 1: Pick Your Strain
Your chosen strain depends on the mood you are in. Is it for a daytime or nighttime use Is it just for relaxation or you need something to boost your energy
Step 2: Decarboxylation
The use of heat is crucial because you need to ensure that the temperature is just enough to activate the THC, CBD, and CBN. If the cannabis edible is exposed to too much heat, there is a tendency of decreased potency.
Here’s how to do decarboxylation:
- Preheat oven up to 240 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Break the cannabis pieces into small pieces that can fit into a cookie sheet.
- Put the cookie sheets with cannabis over 30-40 minutes depending on your preference appearance
- Take out the cookie sheets in the oven and let it cool before processing it to become edible.
Step 3: Create Cannabis Infusion
The most common ingredient in our food is butter and oil. This ingredient is an important factor in creating edibles because it helps boosts the effects of the cannabinoids.
Video uploaded byRuffHouse Studios – No Bake Cannabis Cookies
Source: www.youtube.com
How to Make Cannabutter
1. Prepare the ingredients such as unsalted butter, two cups of water, decarboxylated cannabis, cheesecloth, and strainer.
2. Boil the butter and water. Wait for the butter to melt.
3. Mix in the cannabis and simmer it for five hours while constantly stirring it.
4. Strain the mixture with the use of a strainer and a cheesecloth to extract all the butter.
5. Refrigerate the mixture for about 24 hours. Make sure to cover the mixture with plastic wrap.
Common Mistake While Cooking Cannabutter: Not keeping the temperature low and steady.
Solution: Use slow cookers for making cannabutter. It’s also good to decarboxylate the cannabis bud before you add it to the bud.
Video uploaded byLucratyveMedia – How to Make Cannabutter Cooking with Marijuana 101
Source: www.youtube.com
How to Make Canna Oil
1. Prepare the ingredients such as 6 cups of olive oil or canola oil, decarboxylated cannabis, saucepan, strainer, and cheesecloth.
2. Heat the oil until you smell the aroma.
3. Slowly put the cannabis into the oil while stirring it constantly.
4. Simmer on low fire between 30-45 minutes while stirring it occasionally.
5. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cook.
6. Strain the mixture using the strainer and cheesecloth.
7. Store in airtight container and it can last up to 2 months in the refrigerator.
Common Mistake When Making Canna Oil: Extracting the last drop of the mixture. Squeezing the cheesecloth too hard to strain the canna oil will only result in extra plant material into the final product.
Solution: Don’t strain or squeeze the mixture using the cheesecloth too much.
Video uploaded by JeffThe420Chef – Quick and Easy Canna Oil
Source: www.youtube.com
Facts About Consuming Edibles
- The effects of eating cannabis edibles take longer than smoking the cannabis thus, the user may end up consuming a large amount. The high will last up to 1-3 hours because the cannabis edible is absorbed into the bloodstream through the liver.
- The amount of THC level is difficult to measure and to control when the cannabis is made into an edible.
- The potential for an overdose is higher when consuming cannabis edible that smoking or vaping.
- Consuming cannabis edible will have a powerful punch into your stomach that is why it is advisable to have something nutritious food to eat before consuming cannabis edibles. Consuming edibles without anything in your stomach is like taking in medicine that may cause dizziness, stomach ache or vomiting.
- If you are new to consuming cannabis edibles it is advisable to take it gradually. It is best to introduce THC into your system slowly to have a controllable experience and for you to know the extent on how much you can consume the edible.
- It is not advisable to combine alcohol with cannabis edible because the high is uncomfortable especially for beginners.
Tips in Making Edibles
1. Use high-quality buds when ingesting cannabis. Some factors that help you determine if cannabis is of good quality through its pungent aroma, has vibrant green buds and it should have dense appearance buds. You should also take into consideration that the bud should not be exposed to pesticides or chemicals.
2. Know the right of the ratio of ingredients. It is a no-no to use more than 1 cup of cannabis to one cup of oil so that the cannabis won’t be put to waste. The molecule in the oil can only bind to a certain amount of cannabinoids.
3. It may usually take 40-90 minutes to feel the effects after eating edibles but if you don’t feel anything or if you are not satisfied with the effects only eat more after 2 hours to avoid overdose.
4. It is important to clean your weed before making it into an edible so there will be no harsh flavor that will be added into your treat. It is advisable to soak the buds in water for at least 3 days to remove the strong flavor that may affect the taste of your edible.
Benefits of Eating Cannabis Edibles
1. Cannabis leaves are high in vitamins, fiber, and minerals.
Cannabis is excellent on biochemical composition such as Vitamin K which is essential for blood clotting, Vitamin C which is essential for immune systems, Iron essential for bones and Folate essential for DNA repair. Cannabis is also high in fiber good for our digestive system.
2. Cannabis is high in antioxidants.
Antioxidants are very important to our bodies because it serves as a shield from stress and other damage that causes diseases and cancer. Cannabis is full of antioxidants that our bodies need whether the weed is raw or cooked.
3. Eating cannabis is an alternative to smoking.
A lot of cannabis users love to smoke weed but smoking weed doesn’t dogood in our respiratory system because studies show that smoking weed causes inflammation of the respiratory system. Smoking cannabis also creates a tar of about 4 times as much as cigarettes do. Using cannabis for cooking doesn’t give you drawbacks that smoking gives and cooking cannabis provides a completely psychoactive reaction in your body.
4. Eating cannabis is good for pain relief.
As mentioned earlier, cannabis users who consume cannabis experience a more intense and longer lasting high that is why if you are using cannabis for medicinal purposes then it won’t just help you locate the pain but it will provide more relief for a longer duration of time.
5. Cannabis consumption reduces nausea.
Medicinal cannabis clinically has proven that the use of cannabis reduces nausea and it helps induce appetite. The reason behind this is that the endocannabinoid system is manipulated to produce natural stimuli and toxins that regulates nausea and vomiting.
However, since the effects of cannabis can take effect a little bit longer it is not useful for unpredictable cases. The use of cannabis intake is much more helpful to predictable cases such as anticipating nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy and some digestive and respiratory disorders.
6. Cannabis is an agent to help fight cancer.
Cannabis is an agent to help fight cancer. Cannabis intake not only helps eliminate the symptoms of cancer such as loss of appetite, severe pain and nausea but it has proven clinically that it can actually fight cancer. The cannabinoids in THC is the component that has the ability to eliminate cancer cells.
Conclusion
Cannabis can grow almost anywhere offering a cheap and renewable source of food. Cannabis is considered as one of the most nutrient dense food because it is green leafy vegetable loaded with fiber, protein, antioxidants, and with a variety of vitamins and minerals. It is important to know how to prepare the cannabis edible properly so that your hard earned cannabis plant won’t put to waste.
