Cooking with Marijuana: A Comprehensive Guide

Taking the weed into the kitchen and cooking it is a different measure to make the most of your marijuana adventure. If there are ideas to try other than smoking it, then this is the fittest choice. However, this is not as easy as it appears. Cooking weed doesn’t mean sprinkling it on the dish, and then you will get a perfect dish with marijuana.   Nope, there are different things to acknowledge and avoid when cooking with marijuana. 

Cooking with marijuana means infusing basic ingredients such as oil, butter, or even flour with marijuana weeds to give them the proper hit and product to give you the best taste and consistency. Making edible infused cannabis includes trials and errors, just like growing one. The good thing is, there are cooking techniques you can follow to produce excellent quality edible cannabis.

Cooking with marijuana – Oil, Butter, and Flour 

There are different necessary ingredients you can infuse with marijuana. These are easy to do, with just several fundamental steps. One thing to remember also is the kind of strain you will use. Sativa strains will give you the energy and the strength to go out and party, while the Indica strain is best for sleeping and leisure. Knowing which one to use is essential to know what will happen once you use these marijuana-infused edibles. 

1. Oil 

The first thing to decide is the kind of oil you’d want to use. It is best to use the type which has a higher fat solution since marijuana is fat-soluble. The best oil choices will be coconut, canola, and olive oil. But it will also depend on the kind of oil needed for the dish you’d want to make. The oil will depend on usage. 

Second, crush dry marijuana. Choose marijuana flowers for easy straining. One thing to remember when crushing marijuana; avoid powdering it. A grinder or a processor might work fine, but it is recommendable to use a hand grinder for better quality. 

The hit power of the oil will depend on the measure of the mix. If you are unsure of the measure, you can start with the ratio of 2:1, two cups of oil, and one cup of crushed marijuana. Using a saucepan or even a slow cooker, pour the chosen oil in it. Put the crushed marijuana and slowly stir. Make sure marijuana blends and all coated in oil. 

To avoid burning the weed, cook on low fire. A little water can be added. The key lies in intense heat and constant stirring. Cooking the mixture on a slow cooker for a minimum of six hours. For the saucepan, a maximum of three hours will do. Once done, you can get it off the fire and start straining. 

Filtering while it’s hot is advised. A wire strain will help, but if you want to have a clearer and refined filtered oil, use a cheesecloth or coffee filter. After that, you can store it in a close and tight container. This mixture is suitable for two months. It is also commendable to refrigerate it.  

Now your marijuana-infused oil is ready to use. You can use this oil as a substitute for the regular one. However, make sure to use a small amount first to estimate and test the hit power of the oil.

2. Butter 

The next thing you can do when cooking with marijuana is cooking it with butter. 

First, melt the unsalted butter in the pan, make sure it won’t burn, so try a low heat and stir it around for better control. You can use a saucepan for this.  It depends on how much butter you would want to use; just make sure the amount of butter will complement the amount of marijuana you will put into giving you the perfect hit you want.  A slow cooker will also work well; however, it may take longer, up to eight hours. A stick of butter will correspond to an ounce of grounded marijuana, but you can add more.

Add the ounce of marijuana to the melted butter. Stir constantly and well to make sure the marijuana mixes well with butter. Stay it under the low heat. Water can also be added to maintain a suitable temperature. Cook it for a couple of hours. 

Strain it next after cooking. A wire strain will also help if you want a more transparent and more fined strained butter, but it is recommended to use cheesecloth to filter everything well. Squeeze everything well, so no butter is wasted. Make sure the container for the butter is sealed and tight. And store it inside the refrigerator. You can use this butter as a substitute for the regular one.

3. Flour 

To infuse marijuana into the flour, first, you must prepare the marijuana. Eliminate the stem and seed from the plant. Take only the bud and the flower. Make sure they are dried well, so it is easy to powder them. If it’s not dry, you might make a paste instead of a powder. 

To powdered, use a food processor or a coffee grinder.  Keep crushing in until the marijuana flower and buds get the same consistency as the flour. It may need a few minutes, so you need to be a little patient. Once done, you can sift grounded marijuana to take away the ungrounded ones.  Use a wires trainer for better results. To avoid any waste, retake ungrounded marijuana to the food processor. Grind and crush them once more until it reaches the desired texture. If it still stays the same, you can crush it using hand grinders. This way, it is better pulverized. 

When storing, you can add the marijuana flour into the regular flour. The ratio of 2:1 can be used, two cups of flour to one cup of weed. Make sure it is stored in a closed and tight container. You can also choose to keep powdered marijuana in a container and mix it later when you are baking. When baking, replace 25 percent or one-fourth of the total measure of flour with powdered marijuana. You can use this to bake cookies, cakes, and the favorite brownies. 

The Reminders – Cooking with Marijuana 

There are also important reminders and tricks to remember, especially when cooking for the first time. These reminders will help you have lesser to no mistakes made. Take note of the following:

Avoid using too much.

Make sure you know the correct ratio in cooking with marijuana. If you don’t, it might cause a lot of waste and money too. You can use every stem, buds, and flower well, so make sure to make the most out of them. 

Decarboxylate

Since you won’t smoke it, the best thing to do is decarboxylate the marijuana, so the TCHA is then changed into THC, giving you the right and powerful hit when taken. To fully activate this, you can heat the marijuana. To do this essential part correctly, set the oven at the right temperature up to one hundred twenty degrees Celsius and bake it for thirty to forty minutes. You can also mix it every ten minutes, so everything is heated well. This method works well in decarbonating marijuana.

Incorrect grinding and straining 

When crushing marijuana for the oil and butter, it is better to use the hand grinder rather than the machine. Over crushed marijuana gives a grassy taste and a green color to the oil and butter. Plus, it is harder to strain so that the pieces will go with the oil. Thus, this may cause a strange taste and will spoil the oil and butter.  This is the same with straining. Make sure you use the right tools such as wire strainer or cheesecloth for better and quality-wise results.

Test the oil, butter, and flour 

Test the mixtures after to know the hit power. This is only one way of knowing if the ratio works well with the desired hit you want. Take a small portion that you can finish, and add it to a dish. Then you can estimate the amount you will use the next time you will use it. 

Not stirring well 

Stir like your life depends on it. Stirring it well ensures that there is a balance distribution of the hit to the mixture. Stir it well when cooking it with oil and butter. Most importantly, stir and mix it well when mixing it with the flour. This is to make sure all the cookies you make will give the same amount of hit power.

Curb it down

If an accident happens and you overate these edibles, you can curb it down by eating some of these natural foods.  Pine nuts and pistachios will do the trick. If you don’t have these or you don’t like nuts, you have other options. You can get help from fruits such as lemon, orange, and grapefruits. These will help you take it down.

Conclusion 

With these edibles infused with marijuana, you can enjoy a whole new level of experience. This also works well for those who want to have a taste but don’t like smoking. These edibles work well just fine and will give you the same result as it is smoked. Plus, it can also make you feel full because it can be done in a delicious and satisfying meal or even dessert. Plus, you will get all the fun when cooking with marijuana. You can show your skills and even share more with friends. This way, you will get the most of everything. 

The key here lies in the process of cooking with marijuana. Mistakes can make it taste different. Worse, it won’t give you the hit power you expect. But since this is a trial and error job, the more you do and make one, the higher the number of you getting the perfect result. A once confusing instruction will be an easy recipe to follow for you. Making edible marijuana is meant to give a fun and satisfying result, so the enjoyment shouldn’t be taken out of the equation. Enjoy the process and savor the results.