Misconception | Decarboxylation | Cannabutter | Alternatives to cannabutter
Contrary to what the general public and some new cannabis users think, raw cannabis leafs are not a key ingredient in cannabis edibles recipes. Don’t expect to chew leafs in your favourite pot brownies or weed cookies, you would be disappointed. Cannabis edibles, like many other things, require a bit more processing, so that tastes, effects and global cannabis experience are enhanced, whatever cannabis edibles or consumption habits you have.
Why can’t we put raw weed into cannabis edibles?
It’s not just a question of taste and texture. Of course, it is more enjoyable to feel the benefits of cannabis than to chew leafs, but one of the biggest reasons why you will never find raw weed into cannabis edibles is elsewhere. The human digestive system is not able to process marijuana leafs in a way that delivers the CBD or THC to your bloodstream. It will just taste bad and you won’t experience any benefits. That is why you need to decarb your weed.
Decarboxylation
Now that it’s clear that you shouldn’t eat or cook with raw cannabis, let’s find out how to make edibles, starting with the decarboxylation. The term sounds more complicated than the actual process. It is just a fancy way to say that cannabis is heated so that the cannabinoid is activated.
To complete the decarboxylation, break the leaf and put in a preheated oven at 240°F for 30 to 40 minutes until it turns golden brown. After that, grind the leaf until you get the consistency of table salt. Be careful not to grind the weed too fine, because this will make your butter or oil turn green and taste too much like grass.
Make your cannabutter
Cannabutter, weed butter… Lots of cannabis edibles recipes involve cannabis-infused butter as one of their basic ingredients (because everything taste a bit better with butter, no?). Luckily, it’s super easy to make. All your need is cannabis, unsalted butter, a bit of water and a crockpot. We encourage you to check our full recipe here.
Quality, taste and potency of your cannabutter will really depend on the weed strain you are using. Simply put, the stronger the strain is, the more potent the cannabutter. White Widow, Bubba Kush and Trainwreck are recommended as the best cannabis strains for making cannabutter. You can also use weed shake.
If butter doesn’t fit into your diet, check out our Top 4 Vegan Edibles to Try.
Alternatives to Cannabutter
Baking cannabutter is easy, but it requires a few steps and time that you might want to skip, especially if you are in a rush to try your own homemade cannabis edibles. Luckily, cannabis edibles can be made without any cannabutter. How? By shopping cannabis concentrates such as CBD oil, tincture or isolate for example, or buy doing your own.
Cannabis Oil
Cannabis coconut oil is a great substitute to cannabutter because of its high amounts of saturated fat which is known to absorb more cannabinoids than butter. However, you don’t have to use coconut oil, any other herbal oil, olive oil for example, would be perfect to make cannabis edibles.
To make your own cannabis oil, you need one cup of oil and one cup of decarboxylated marijuana. That’s it. To infuse your oil, you should:
- Heat it and gradually add cannabis stirring occasionally.
- Let the mixture simmer for 45 minutes (or 8 to 12 hours in a crockpot) and then strain it with cheesecloth to extract the oil.
- Put in the fridge and let it cool.
Wax, Shatter and Resin
Wax, Shatter and live resin might also be a good alternative to cannabutter. Shatter does cost more than the flower, but if you are using it for cannabis edibles, you’ll need much less. Plus the smell is not as bad as with cannabutter. Shatter is particularly appreciated by those who don’t like the taste or smell of cannabis and want discreet cannabis edibles.
Once you have your cannabutter (or its alternative) ready, you can pretty much adapt any recipe into a cannabis edible recipe. Pot brownies, weed cookies, crackers… Anything is possible. The only thing to know is that the higher the baking temperatures will be, the higher chances your cannabutter potency might be affected. Indeed, at high temperatures, THC tends to evaporate.
If you want to buy weed online for your next homemade cannabis edibles, check the curated product selection of Puffland: from weed strains and shakes, to cannabis tinctures and oils, you have everything you need to make delicious edibles. Looking for inspiration on which cannabis edibles to bake? Why don’t you look and shop among our edibles selection? We carry the best brands available in Canada: Mota Edibles, Twisted Extracts, Herbivores Edibles, Marys Edibles and much more!
If you liked this article, you can also find out how to make cannabis tea and weed cookies.