What comes to mind when you think about weed edibles are foods that can make you high.
Well, that’s one way to put it because edibles are foodstuffs containing cannabis.
But there’s more to cooking with cannabis because you’re preparing ordinary food, healthier or not, and infusing it with the correct amount of cannabis.
Ultimately, preparing delicious edibles can be a process, but let’s make it easy to prepare your favorite edibles with these tips:
- Decide on the Effects
What makes the subject of cannabis quite complex is that it’s more than one species. There are at least three known species, the main two having multiple strains. The effects these strains produce vary.
Then there are hybrids, a combination of different species, and these, too, have varying effects depending on the strains used for breeding.
Now, the more you learn about cannabis strains, you realize that Sativa-dominant varieties are more stimulating than their indica counterparts, which have a more mellow body high.
As you prepare your edibles, you need to keep the expected effects in mind. For instance, if you’d like a more laid-back high, Indica strains are preferable.
Heat Your Buds
In their original form, cannabis flowers have many chemical components. You’ll still benefit from the cannabinoids and terpenes, but if you want the effects of THC and CBD, you’ll need to heat your stash.
The cannabinoids THCA and CBDA require heat to transform into THC and CBD in a process called decarboxylation.
Activating your cannabis flowers to get the correct cannabinoids isn’t complicated. Here is all you need to do:
- Slightly ground your flower and spread it out evenly on a metal plate or baking sheet, ready for the oven
- Heat the oven to around 120ºC and place the plate in the oven
- Heat the ground flower food for at least half an hour while monitoring the color for a light brown
- Avoid heating the flower longer than needed as that lowers the potency
Measure Your Stash
There are two ways you can go about dosages.
You could begin from scratch by getting fresh flowers, decarboxylating them, and soaking them in your chosen carrier oil, such as olive oil, coconut oil, or butter. Soaking your cannabis flowers allows the chemical components to seep into the carrier oil.
When preparing your own infused medium, it’s up to you to measure the amount of bud to use so that you can have an approximate dose in the final product.
The alternative to making an infused medium is to buy a pre-made cannabis concentrate. You may find various infused cooking oils from a certified seller.
The most popular infused medium is cannabutter, which you can use to prepare all sorts of edibles. It’s also easy to prepare compared to, say, infused alcohol.
Here’s how to make cannabutter in a few minutes:
- Heat the same amount of butter and water together
- Throw in decarboxylated cannabis buds. Ensure it’s been grounded but not too fine
- Simmer the mixture at a low temperature of about 45ºC for a couple of hours to make your butter more potent
- Strain the butter afterward using a funnel and cheesecloth to remove particles
- Refrigerate your infused butter
- Choose a Recipe
You now have your infusion agent ready, whether that’s oil or butter. What’s left is the cooking part.
Cooking with cannabis is all about experimenting, which is why there are dozens of recipes for edibles.
That said, you don’t need to try new things when you take advantage of popular recipes for all kinds of edibles, from healthier options like chocolate chip cookies, to the not-so-healthy ones like junk food cookies.
One of the simplest edible recipes you can try is weed cake. Here’s what you need:
- 1 ½ cup of baking flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoonful salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons vanilla
- 1 cup cannabutter
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
Preparation Method
- Preheat your oven to 347°F. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cannabutter. Add water and beat the mixture until it’s fluffy
- Mix the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream in a different bowl and add to the flour mixture. Keep mixing
- Bake at 347°F for 40 minutes, then allow it to cool
Conclusion
Making weed edibles is pretty straightforward, even if you don’t have any previous experience. If you can cook, then you can whip up a