The Kitchen - Recipes
While reading through The Kitchen posts here at Medical Edibles, you’ve probably collected several tempting culinary options, from basic brownies to gourmet recipes. You may also be looking for ways to improve other recipes, or simply curious about experimenting in general, with your own edible cooking and baking. If you’re ready to dive in and want to make your own edibles, there are several key secrets to getting delicious (and powerful) results every time. By heeding these important warnings, you’ll guarantee that the first time gets you results you can feel, instead of duds.
Don’t Use Too Much Flower
When you make your own cannabutter, you might have heard from friends that the more flower you use, the better. That is not true at all. You don’t want to go out and drop a bunch of money on flower, only to stuff it into a small cup of oil. Remember to use only one cup of flower per cup of oil. The oil can only absorb so many cannabinoids, so you’ll genuinely be wasting flower if you overdo it.
Don’t Turn Your Flower into Powder
When you grind up your flower to start the processes, some people think that the finer it’s ground, the better. It may seem counterintuitive, but keep it coarse. Just using a regular grinder – like you use when you’re smoking flower – will actually get you a perfect breakup for it. No need to get too fancy.
Don’t forget to De-Carb
When you make your butter, heat will release the THC. Flower right off the stem contains THCA, which, when heated, will release the THC we’re looking for. When making butter or cooking in general, this release will occur as well, but you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you activate it beforehand, in a process known as decarboxylating.
Decarboxylating is simpler than it sounds. Put your weed on a tray, put it in the oven on a low setting (somewhere between 150-240°F), and wait until the weed is perfectly crumbly. This will means it’s activated. You can also use a food dehydrator if you would like, or you can use flower straight from your vaporizer. Cannabis that has already been vaped is still activated and can be used for making butter right out of the vape, which is perfect.
Remember that THC has a Boiling Point
When cooking THC, you need to remember that it actually boils at around 314°F, so you don’t want to go too far above this temperature. Many online recipes will call for you to cook your creations at about 350°F, but don’t do it. You shouldn’t have to go over 340°F. If you cook your THC at too high a temperature, it will start to break down, leading to less potent edibles. So, be smart and cook it “slow-and-low”, so you’re not regretting it later.
Think Savory
If you don’t want to make your own edibles out of fear that they will taste too much like the actual plant, then try to mask that taste with flavors that pair with or cover it. Savory flavors will always work best, as opposed to sweet, but a combination of sweet and salty works also, if you’re making cookies or brownies. If you do opt for something sweet, both caramel and chocolate can pair well with cannabis, as far as taste goes, so long as you favor the salty ingredients more than the sweet. It’s very hard to make it so that you don’t taste any cannabis in your edibles whatsoever, but staying away from fruity or ultra-sweet flavors is an important first step when you want to know how to make marijuana edibles taste great.
Consider Potency
You’re going to want to try your butter or oils before you do any cooking. Do the math, to figure out how much oil you think will end up in one serving, and give it a whirl, before you start cooking. You may find out that you need to use more or less than your initial guess because there are so many factors in the infusing process that could throw off your calculations.
If you do want to make your creations more potent, consider using sunflower lecithin. This substance makes fats bond together better, and it is thought to make our bodies break down more of the fatty substance that is THC, yielding stronger effects. On the flip side, If you want to make sure that these aren’t too extreme, consider throwing in a little CBD oil. CBD oil boils at a much higher point than THC, so using it instead can help keep friends from getting too out of their mind or too anxious.
While cooking and baking both require a bit of precision, to get the science of solid results down, being aware of these simpler tips will help you save time and money. At the same time, you’ll be able to craft some truly satisfying dishes, with an added bonus of some sweet relaxation after.
