If you’ve tried making cannabis edibles and didn’t have much success, you’re not alone. And it wasn’t because you took a few too many tokes beforehand. (Although for some, that may have been a factor.)
The truth is, making cannabis edibles requires some trial and error. It’s not as simple as cutting off a piece of cannabis infused cookie dough and throwing it the oven. Not yet, at least.
So if you’re ready to try again (or perhaps for the first time), we’ve got some simple tips for making cannabis edibles that could be game changers.
Tips for Making Cannabis Edibles
So as cannabis marketing experts, what could we possibly know about baking and cooking with cannabis? Well, let’s just say that we’re multi-faceted. Nobody is gonna put us in a corner.
That said, the key to creating edibles with cannabis comes down to the science of decarboxylation and infusion. Once you get a handle on that, you’ll get into your own groove.
-
Decarboxylate Your Cannabis
This is a necessary step that you cannot skip.
Newbies often think they can just toss a bunch of raw flower into their batter and call it a day. But it’ll be a bad day. Because your baked good is not going to taste good and the cannabinoids won’t be able to bind to the fats and you won’t be able to get baked yourself.
So always decarboxylate. Your best bet is to set your oven to 245°F, and cook the cannabis for 30-40 minutes – being sure to mix the buds every ten minutes.
-
Know the Right Amount of Cannabis
As we said above, there’s trial and error in the whole process here. But it’s safe to say that right out of the gate, you don’t need to toss half an ounce of cannabis into the oven to yield a cup of infused butter.
The ratio is 1:1. So if you’re making a cup of oil, then you’ll need a cup of ground cannabis. And that’s in the 7-10 gram range. Any more than that is a waste. After all, the fats in the oil can only bind with so many cannabinoids.
-
Stick With a Course Grind
Once your cannabis is decarboxylated, you’ll need to grind it.
Bypass the food processor or coffee grinder and opt for a hand grinder instead. The more powder-like your cannabis, the grassier tasting your edible will be. This is generally not desirable – unless you’re part rabbit.
Plus, it’s going to make it much harder to strain out the unwanted and bad-tasting plant materials.
-
Let Gravity to the Straining
As eager as you might be to have your finished product and get to cooking and baking, it’s important you be patient straining the decarboxylated cannabis.
Pour the infused oil over a cheesecloth and then let gravity take care of the rest. This gentle and natural approach will effectively strain out the undesirable material. If you try to press on the cloth or squeeze out the oil, it’s going to push out the unwanted materials into the oil as well.
So be patient.
-
Stir Your Batter Well
Ever sat down with some friends to partake in some pot brownies or cookies, but didn’t really feel the “magic” while the guy next to you was trippin’ balls?
If you’re not conscious about stirring the batter thoroughly, some of those cookies or brownies may get the lion’s share of the oil while others will have barely any.
So to keep the magic evenly distributed, stir well and stir often.
Get Into the Kitchen and Start Experimenting
Armed with these helpful tips for cooking cannabis edibles, you may be the one bringing the most popular dish to the next party.
At the very least, you won’t end up with foul-tasting edibles whose sole contribution is calories. So get in there and experiment!
And for more stories from the cannabis industry, keep checking back with our blog.