Cannabis butter
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Template:Proofread The primary psychoactive components of cannabis are fat-soluble, meaning the molecules that produce their psychoactive effects bind onto any sort of lipid, including whole milk, butter, cream or coconut, olive, or vegetable oil. In these “phatty” forms, THC and other cannabinoids can most easily absorb into the bloodstream, thus providing you with the strongest possible psychoactive effect. A person should never, ever, simply add cannabis directly to brownie mix. Without binding the THC to a fat molecule in a compound like cannabutter, most of the effect will be lost.
This will cover two methods of preparation. Standard, and Long Simmer Preparation.
Materials
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup or one stick of butter, margarin will work.
- 1/4 ounce cannabis buds, finely ground
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Grinder
- Wooden Ladle
- Spoon
- Metal Strainer/ Cheese Cloth.
- Container with sealed lid.
- Oven thermometer (optional)
- Cake Pan
- Tin foil
Preparation
It is important to note that you should not, at any point, bring your cannabis or cannabudder to heats at or in excess of 350° degrees fahrenheit. This includes even the decarboxylation process and/or cooking your cannabutter into baked goods. Where a recipe calls for excess heat, simply lower the heat and cook your product for longer.
Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This means a chemical reaction takes place in which carboxylic acids loose a carbon atom from a carbon chain. Cannabis contains THCa which is not psychoactive, THCa and CBDa are "decarbed" when introduced to heat, and changed to THC and CBD. Smoking it will usually handle this process, but, in this case, one must to do it without destroying the active compounds or plant material.
There are debates about weather or not this process is necessary if a person is going to use the cannabudder in a baked good, as the baking process is said to decarb the THC. More research needs to be done on this question. I suggest decarbing anyway.
Decarb Process
Set your oven to a temperature of around 240° - 250° Fahrenheit. This should produce results without losing any medicinal potency. This is a good temperature for baked goods too, although it will cause the recipe to take longer. Grind up your plant material.
This process assumes Cannabis Flower is being used, as opposed to Kief / Hash or Cannabis Oil
1) Preheat your oven, Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature (as classic ovens can be unreliable), and grind up your weed while you wait.
2) Sprinkle your cannabis in a cake pan and then cover it well with silver foil by crimping the foil along the edge of the pan. This will keep any cannabinoid/terpenes vapor from escaping
3) Place in the oven for 50-60 minutes. less time for older and drier material, more for fresher material.
4) After required time, turn the oven off, and remove cannabis. Let it cool down slowly and completely before you unseal the container to allow any cannabinoid/terpenes vapor to reabsorb into the cannabis.
Infusions
Simple Cannabudder
1) Melt the butter on low heat in a saucepan.
2) Add the ground buds, and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring frequently.
3) Strain the butter into a glass dish with the strainer or cheese cloth with a tight-fitting lid.
Push the back of a spoon against the plant matter and smash it against the strainer to squeeze out every drop of butter available.
4) Discard the plant matter. Use your cannabudder immediately, or refrigerate or freeze until it is time to use. Left over plant matter can cause your budder to get moldy if stored in the fridge for too long. If the infusion recipe is scaled up, one pound of butter (4 sticks) can absorb a whole ounce of cannabis, you may want to simmer for up to 60 minutes.
Long-Simmered Cannabudder
Infusion
1) Use a large pot, fill it halfway with water. You want enough water that the marijuana will float without touching the bottom of the pot
2) Add the cannabis and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.
3) Add butter, and return pot to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for another hour.
4) Cover the pot, remove from heat and allow to cool.
To increase potency, repeat this process twice more, simmering for an hour and then cooling again.
5) After you have completed the third simmering session, prepare for straining while the mixture is still hot.
Position your metal strainer over the second stockpot, and carefully pour the water, butter and marijuana mixture through the strainer or cheese cloth. This is easiest to do in the sink. The strainer will catch all the plant matter, so use the back of a large spoon to push the marijuana against the mesh and squeeze out all the butter. Compost the plant matter, or discard it.
Chilling Process: This will separate the cannabudder from the water. Use a large glass bowl or pot that will fit in your refrigerator.
1) Pour the cannabudder-and-water mixture inside the pot and cool for 24 hours. The cannabudder will rise to the top and solidify.
2) The next day, return to separate the cannabudder. Cut a chunk out of the top layer and remove it from the cold water. Repeat until you have all the budder drying on paper towels. Scrape off budder that seems too mushy and save it for a recipe where the excess water isn't a problem, like gooey brownies.
3) Melt the chunks of cannabudder over low heat in a large saute pan. Once the budder is liquid, pour it into your storage container(s).
Notes
As a general rule, 1 pound of butter (4 sticks) can absorb 1 ounce of cannabis. For medical patients, using 2 ounces of cannabis for each pound of butter, effectively doubling the strength of the cannabutter, is recommended. The recipe shown calls for a smaller amount, but can easily be scaled up, or down.
Cannabudder can be used over freshly cooked pasta or popcorn, spread on toast or a bagel, or reserved as batches in the fridge or freezer for use in recipes such as Space Cake or Cannacookies.
References
The information contained in this article was acquired and accumulated from the sources below and should in no way indicate that the author or authors have any practice in illicit activities. Salem (talk) 13:57, 12 January 2015 (UTC)