Allow me to make a prediction: A few generations from now, when someone says the word "cannabis," the first thing that will come to mind won't be a joint or a bong — it'll be a gummy, soft drink or brownie. Eating, rather than smoking, is quickly becoming one of the more popular ways to ingest weed. Many people prefer not to smoke anything, but still want to get the benefits of cannabis, so they'll reach for food, not a blunt. If this trend holds — and nothing seems to be stopping it — then future generations may hear about cannabis and go, "Wait, you can smoke it?"
But you don't have to settle for dispensary prices if you want to enjoy cannabis-infused treats. This 4/20, Salon is giving you an in-depth guide on how to best cook with cannabis. There's literally no limit to what kind of tasty food can be infused with cannabis including soda, candy, baked goods or any food that employs an oil or butter.
First, we need to start with some basic plant chemistry. Cannabis is the plant, marijuana is any extract and THC and CBD are the drugs that people seek. THC is what gets people high, but also tackles nausea and pain while CBD is not intoxicating and is used more for stress or pain relief. But these are somewhat unstable compounds that break down easily. In the plant, THC and CBD mostly exist in their acid forms: THCA and CBDA.
Unless you decarboxylate them — that is, apply heat to remove the acid — THC will not be intoxicating. That's why you can't just eat buds expecting to get high. It would take swallowing a ton of plant material for a pathetic buzz. Heating these compounds is the only way to unlock their potential. THC and CBD are molecules that are lipophilic, which means they love fat. This is why stoners can test positive for a drug test weeks after smoking a joint. The drug binds to our fat molecules and is eked out slowly over time.
We can use this feature to our advantage by decarboxylating marijuana (don't worry, it's easier than it sounds) and getting the THC and CBD to bind to a fat molecule, such as butter or coconut oil. Then you can use this fat to turn essentially any food into a stoney treat.
Do you need a decarboxylator?
If you have a kitchen stove, you can decarboxylate your weed just fine. But if you want to make the process a little easier, use more precision or just need an excuse to purchase another kitchen appliance, there are plenty of decarboxylators on the market.
Most are blender-sized devices that will run around $150, but while I can't personally vouch for their efficacy, I did use a decarboxylator once to make weed-infused beer with the NOVA Decarboxylator from Ardent — and it worked! But if you want to keep things simple, especially for your first time, you don't need anything aside from a regular old oven.
How much weed will you need?
The amount of marijuana you need to start with depends on the serving size of the recipes you're making and how potent you want them to be. Once you learn the basics of cooking with cannabis with this article, you can find a more specific recipe to make sure your measurements are accurate. For a batch of brownies, for example, you'll probably need at least a ½-ounce to an ounce of weed (14 to 28 grams.)
Note: If you rarely use cannabis and have no tolerance, you may want to go even lower. It can be difficult to properly dose your own edibles, especially given that the THC percentages on store-bought weed can be inaccurate or inflated, but this website Scientific Edibles, offers a nifty calculator that may help. When starting a new batch, it's always best to eat a small amount first to test how potent it is.
Don't worry — it doesn't need to be super dank. In fact, it's probably better if you use mid or even low-grade cannabis in cooking because 1) it's cheaper and 2) you don't want to make things so strong that people are falling asleep. Unless you have intractable insomnia and that's what you're going for, in which case, godspeed.
Regardless, the basics of decarboxylation are: Preheat your oven to 240°F (115°C), simply spread your cannabis buds out on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Check it every 10 minutes to avoid burning. Older weed can use less time, say 20 minutes while anything pulled directly from the plant may need an hour or more.
You can tell the decarboxylation worked if the cannabis changes color from bright green to dark brown-green. Afterwards, you'll want to grind it up until it's the consistency of oregano. Now you're ready to infuse it.
Butter and oils
Cannabutter is the quintessential marijuana ingredient because it's easy and there's a long history of its use before some states legalized it. Once you have good butter, any food that has butter in its recipe can now be a cannabis edible. That includes brownies, cookies, cakes … You get the idea.
But the principles for butter also work for pretty much any oil, such as coconut or olive oil. To infuse cannabis in butter (unsalted is best for this), simply take the decarboxylated marijuana and simmer it in a small pot with butter and enough water to prevent it from burning. Allow it to simmer for about four hours on low heat, stirring every 30 minutes to prevent burning. Keep it below 180ºF (82º C).
Warning: Your kitchen will almost definitely smell pretty dope after this.
"The longer the melted butter and cannabis simmer together, the more potent your cannabutter will be," according to Bon Appétit. After four hours, strain with a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Allow the butter to solidify at room temperature. It can then be used in any recipe.
Honey
Bees love weed because the plant is so nutritious for them, but they go after the plant's pollen, not its cannabinoids. So THC-infused honey takes an extra step or two. You can buy cannabis honey at your local dispensary, which makes it easy to use cannabis on toast, in tea or anything that calls for a natural sweetener.
To make your own, it's recommended to start with high-quality honey, perhaps something local, raw or both. Take 7 grams of decarboxylated cannabis, put it in a cheesecloth (for easier removal) and put it in a crockpot with 1 cup of honey. Heat it on 200º (93º C) for about 8 hours.
Don't overdo it!
Like any psychoactive drug added to food (alcohol, caffeine, certain herbs, etc.), treat cannabis with respect. It can be easily to overload a brownie and make them too strong. It is very, very unlikely to kill you, but it can be very uncomfortable to overdose on marijuana.
As my friend William Wonderful once said, go slow and stay in control. That's a good thing to remember when eating edibles, especially a recipe you're trying for the first time. It can take an hour or more for an edible to kick in, so if you're not feeling anything from the first cookie, don't gobble down two more. That's an easy way for it all to hit you at once, making it difficult to stand or keep your eyes open.
When you eat cannabis, the THC technically metabolizes into an entirely different drug called 11-OH-THC. This is why edibles feel so different from smoking weed — it's literally a different drug. Of course, it feels somewhat similar to being stoned on THC itself, and 11-OH-THC is just as safe as other cannabinoids, but understanding these slight, technical differences are critical for enjoying the culinary side of weed.
People have been cooking with cannabis for literally centuries, no matter what the law says, because it's just such a pleasant way of enjoying the gifts this plant has to offer us. But because the effects of THC and CBD can be so profound, it takes just a little bit more insight and precaution to fully tap into this delicious, mind-altering substance.
