Edible cannabis or cannabis-infused foods are products that contain cannabinoids, an active chemical compound found in marijuana/weed. For most people who consume marijuana, and even those who lived in an area where marijuana is highly or slightly prohibited, cooking and eating edible cannabis is weird. But it doesn’t have to sound like that, for here are the things we should know to be a better canna-chef. To know more about how you can achieve better edible cannabis that will satisfy your taste.
Know Cannabinoid Concentrations
Calculating and measuring how much the cannabinoid (THC or CBD) are there in weeds will make a difference and give an extra-ordinary good cannabis experience. It allows consumers to gain detailed knowledge and correctly measure and divide their proper dosage. Knowing the amount of cannabinoid concentration in edible cannabis is considered to be the first step to prepare and cook cannabis in the right way, possibly. If worried about the potency not reaching enough level of being ‘high,’ a little trick of incorporating a little to enough lecithin will suffice to help edible cannabis crack and have an extra kick.
Although this is considered to be the first step, unfortunately, not every consumer of edible cannabis has the ability and right knowledge to know the cannabinoid concentration present in their weed. People who lived in the area where cannabis is legal to consume should take advantage of gaining the right information related to the potency and concentration of cannabis.
Some of the reasons and causes of a negative and bad experience in consuming edible cannabis are taking a healthy dose of THC (which causes adverse and uncomfortable side effects), and exceptionally take a long time to take effect. People tend to think that edibles haven’t kicked its force yet, but on the later part will have its strong kick of mind-boggling effect afterward. These things can be avoided with testing a small amount/portion into yourself, observing and assessing how your body reacts, and the effects after taking the rest of the dose. With this practice, consumers lower the possibility of overdosing with edible cannabis.
Maintain the Cleanliness of your Weed
Most raw and fresh harvest weeds are composed of insecticide, fungicide, some natural chlorophyll, and even actual impurities from natural and artificial chemicals sprayed into it. These things will cause your edible cannabis to taste awful and horrible.
To prevent and avoid the undesirable taste, soak the weed into distilled water for about 3days. Within the three days of soaking, change the water every 12 hours. Distilled water should be used in cleaning as it doesn’t contain any elements and minerals due to the process of distillation. The primary method of distillation relies on the process of evaporation to purify the water. Hard water or contaminated water undergoes a heating method; this process is called steam. Contaminants and other inorganic compounds present in the water will be removed through evaporation. The evaporated water will then be condensed and become distilled water. After 3-days of soaking, blanch your cleansed weed by putting it into boiling water with a boiling point of 100°c for about 5 minutes, and followed by plunging into iced water or placed into running water for 1 minute to halt the cooking process.
Grind Your Weed Right
The right way to grind your weed is not to finely-thin pulverized it, but instead, make sure to break it evenly into pieces that can be caught and be separated into a strainer or cheesecloth. There is a big chance of changes in flavor, color, and texture when using an excellent thin weed into your CannaButter or CannaOil. To properly process your weed and achieve the best consistency of it, make sure to use just your hand in simply tearing the weed after it was cleaned and bleached.
Decarboxylation of Weed
The heating process used to activate cannabis is called decarboxylation or decarbonization. Decarbing is essential because raw cannabis does not provide much if there is one of a high unless it is heated enough. Natural cannabis mainly consists of THCA and CBDA instead of THC and CBD. The ‘A’ stands for acid, in which a carboxylic acid is attached to the compound THC and CBD. Although this carboxylic compound is beneficial, this must be removed as it doesn’t contain any psychoactive effects that could provide the feeling of ‘high.’ The most straightforward and most convenient method to decarb cannabis is to grind or cut the cannabis into small and even pieces spread out over a baking sheet and put it in a preheated oven at 220-250 ° F for about 20-30 minutes.
Be Conscious On Adding Weed Into Food
The idea of edible cannabis doesn’t necessarily mean incorporating and mixing the dried bud into the food directly. Dumping the dried weed straight into the food will lead to spoiling your favorite dish. First of all, raw and fresh cannabis is considered a non-edible plant that a human body cannot digest and will make a person throw up. Also, the direct mixing of weed into the food will cause a filthy foul taste. Aside from these reasons for why dried weed should not be mixed into the food, consumers will not get the ‘high’ effect, which is the main objective of using the weed.
A trick to eating food infused with cannabinoids is to make an infused butter or oil. Infuse butter, called CannaButter (Cannabis Butter), is considered the top-most icon in the culinary industry. Make a CannaButter; first, prepare, grind, or cast 7 grams of dried cannabis into a fine powder and then add a handful of powdered cannabis into a ½ cup of melted butter under a low heat temperature. Continuously stir, simmer it for 45 minutes, then strain and squeeze it tightly and adequately to separate the large pieces of weed and extract any potent left behind. For low carb or keto-diet consumers, coconut oil could have opted for an excellent substitute to butter since butter is a well known great source of fat. This extraction of CannaButter can then be used in preparing and cooking food with edible cannabis.
Use Your Weed Wisely
Adding or using an extra amount of weed into your CannaButter or CannaOil extraction doesn’t make a difference. Enough or too much weed will make the same potent in edible cannabis. Mixing and adding more weed will be a waste, for the fat content and molecules in butter can only bind into a specific quantity of cannabinoids.
Follow the Right Temperature
The main goal of the process is to dry out the weed, not to burn it. At roughly 188°C, the weed will start to burn and will lose a massive amount of potency. This will fall useless once used in decarbing or cooking. One particular tip to avoid this mess is to use a tool that will help you control the temperature. A thermometer is one of the handiest and helpful tools when dealing with these things. It allows you to measure the temperature and low chance of overly-cooking or under-cooking your dishes. When using a thermometer to gauge the temperature, keep it steady at 170°C. At this temperature, THC will be activated without compromising the quality and potent of your weed.
Avoid Over-squeezing
Squeeze your weed just right without exerting too much pressure. Over-squeeze weed will lead to extra chlorophyll compounds from the plant. If chlorophyll is extracted and added to the butter or oil, it will make drastic adverse changes when it comes to the flavor and color of your infused butter and oil. When chlorophyll is incorporated into the butter and oil, the finished CannaButter/CannaOil will have a very overpowering bitter taste. This will turn down your edible cannabis experience. Make sure to always squeeze your weed smoothly for a better result.
Test the Taste
When cooking, the essential tip and practice are to perform the taste and test procedure. A professional chef or cook or even a regular cook will always advise to test the taste of your food; thus, you will be able to check its flavor, consistency, and taste. This is the stage in which you will add specific flavor or incorporate something to achieve the best result, whether you cook pasta, Home dish, desserts, or even food with edible cannabis.
Label And Store Your Edibles Correctly
Store and label your edible cannabis properly, away from the sun and keep them away from the reach of children, pets, or even households who shouldn’t misidentify or misuse the edible cannabis. This tip is an essential factor to consider when working, especially in the kitchen, storing and labeling correctly your products is the basic rule in every workplace. Always put your edible cannabis in a place where children can’t reach. This will lower the chances of accidents and even death. Like the other food, edible cannabis should be stored in a sealed tight container and kept refrigerated to retain its consistency and potency.