Beyond Buds
Page 18
Soaking leaf or bud in water removes dirt or other environmental elements from the plant surfaces. Check the material for mold and mildew. Without the heat of cooking or combustion to inactivate them, these unwanted materials flow with the juice.
You can preserve the juice by freezing it. Fill ice cube trays with your fresh juice, freeze it, then use as desired.
USING TINCTURES IN FOOD
Tinctures are ready to consume so they can be dropped (added to food using a dropper) on baked goods, salad dressings, beverages, or other foods shortly before serving. Make sure to measure dosage because it’s easy to overdo the drops and they are more potent than cannabinated alcohol, butter, milk, or oil.
MAKING BASIC INGREDIENTS
Potency: Plant Material Ratios
When using a cannabinated ingredient its potency and the strength that you want the food to have determine appropriate serving size.
The potency of the plant material used usually varies between batches. If you can have it tested for potency at one of the cannabis labs you can standardize dosage. For instance if the material has 5% THC and a previous batch had 4%, divide 4 by 5 to determine 0.8, a fifth less. If analysis isn’t available, try testing it subjectively by smoking a tiny bit of the material. Comparing it with material from the previous batch gives you a good subjective comparison.
Regardless of the testing method used, consider the serving size before starting a recipe: Do you want to get high off of a teaspoon of butter spread on toast? Do you want to be able to eat a WHOLE cookie without going overboard? Adjust your recipes accordingly.
Label Your Ingredients
Anytime you make a cannabis cooking ingredient, label it prominently with something that distinguishes it from nonmedicated oils.
Steep Hill Halent Lab protects public health by providing infrastructure and analytical services.
CANNA OIL PREPARATION AND RECIPES
•1 oz dry leaf, ½ oz trim, or ¼–⅛ oz bud
•1 pint (16 oz) oil
Yields 8 Servings
Cannabis-infused cooking oil is versatile and easily stored. Keep it in the refrigerator to prevent deterioration. Unlike butters and milk, canna oil can be used in vegan recipes. Canola, coconut, olive, and flaxseed oils are excellent choices for cannabis cooking oil. They all dissolve cannabinoids and aid its transfer through the digestive system to the bloodstream.
Once an oil has been infused with cannabinoids, it can be substituted for nonmedicated oils in most recipes. Don’t fry with it or use it for high-temperature sautés because the cannabinoids start evaporating during high-heat cooking. They’ll be gone before the food hits the plate. Cannabinoids will not boil off, because the water temperature only reaches 212°F (100°C).
Photo: Joe Burull
Make herbal butters, oils, tinctures, and more with the MagicalButter extractor. Just add the ingredients and the machine extracts. It decarboxylates the THCA to THC, potentiating it.
Photo: MagicalButter
The easiest way to make cannabinated oil is to add marijuana to the oil and let it sit a few weeks. Strain (or not) before using.
Apply a low heat to the oil and cannabis mixture using a low burner, double boiler, or Crockpot to help the THC dissolve faster. Don’t heat the oil and cannabis directly in a pan on the stove top because the cannabinoids are easily degraded.
To make infused oil, use a ratio of two cups of vegetable oil to one ounce of leaf/trim. Make it stronger or weaker by reducing or increasing the amount of oil or increasing/decreasing the amount of plant material. Substituting ground bud, kief, or hash for trim results in a stronger oil.
1.Measure the cooking oil and add it to the slow cooker. Set the cooker on low.
2.Once the oil has warmed, add the marijuana.
3.Heat the mixture to 125°F–150°F (52°C–66°C) for 6 hours, stirring hourly.
4.Let cool. This takes a while.
5.Pour into a bottle, filtering the oil with a funnel lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter.
6.Label the oil.
7.Refrigerate to protect the cannabinoids from degrading.
To reclaim every last bit of oil return the oily plant material to the slow cooker, cover with water, stir, and cook on low for an additional hour or two. Strain into a separate, open-top container, then place in the freezer. Once the water freezes, pour off the remaining oil.
Use cannabinated cooking oil in recipes that list oil as an ingredient. Sauces and salad dressings are ideal because the temperature never rises above water’s boiling point, far below THC’s boiling point.
Make your favorite tomato soup or gazpacho, then drizzle a little cannabinated olive oil on top before serving. Brush some on toasted baguette slices, rub with raw garlic, then add some diced tomatoes and basil to make a killer bruschetta. Or just put some cannabinated olive oil in a shallow bowl, add a smidge of balsamic vinegar and salt, and dip your favorite bread.
One of the best canna olive oil entrée options is fresh pesto pasta. It only takes ten minutes to make if you have a food processor, and the garlic content and nuttiness complement cannabis flavors nicely.
Pesto
Ingredients
•½ cup cannabinated olive oil
•2 cups fresh basil leaves
•⅓ cup pine nuts (cashews can be substituted)
•2–3 garlic cloves
•Salt and black pepper
•⅓ cup walnuts or parmesan cheese (optional)
1.Place basil, garlic, and pine nuts or cashews in the food processor and give it a few pulses to mix.
2.Add ⅓ cup walnuts or parmesan cheese.*
3.With the food processor on a low setting to reduce splatter, slowly add the canna olive oil.
4.The pesto will coat the sides, so stop every once in a while and use a rubber spatula to scrape it back down so it mixes evenly.
5.Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
* Walnuts taste similar to the cheese but keep the recipe vegan.
Serve with pasta or as pizza sauce, with polenta, or spread it on toasted baguette slices.
Simple Salad Dressing
Ingredients
•⅓ cup cannabinated olive oil
•3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
•2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
•½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
•Pinch of black pepper
•Pinch of vegetable lecithin granules (optional)
Photo: Joe Burull
Directions
Combine ingredients in a shallow bowl and whisk together, or simply add to a bottle and shake. Add to salad. If refrigerating any excess canna dressing, label appropriately.
Lecithin slows the oil/vinegar separation.
Yields 4 Servings
CANNA BUTTER THREE WAYS
There are many techniques for making canna butter. Three basic methods are described here. Workable cooking times vary but shouldn’t exceed the longest times suggested.
Slow Cooker Method
The slow cooker method is the easiest, so that’s the one we’ll start with. Slow cookers and Crockpots are inexpensive new and are readily available used. They are perfect for making cannabis-enriched foods because they are specifically designed to simmer foods at low temperatures for long periods of time. Anything made in a slow cooker is a good candidate for cannabinating. It is also the lowest-hassle tool for making canna butter.
Stove-top herbal extractors turn flowers into cannabis butter in less than 10 minutes. The MOTA POT is an affordable, easy-to-use appliance that controls the dose to produce the perfect amount of infused butter.
Photo: Extracting Innovations
Equipment and Ingredients
•Slow cooker (Crockpot)
•1 oz dry leaf, ½ oz trim, or ¼–⅛ oz bud (Smaller amount: ⅛ oz leaf in 2 oz butter)
•1 lb butter
•1 quart water
•Stirring utensil
•Metal strainer or mesh sieve and cheesec
loth (or new pair of nylon panty hose)
Note that this recipe is for one pound of butter, but you can as easily make less or much more. Adapt the ratio of one ounce of weed to one pound of butter depending on the quality of the marijuana being used and the desired potency of the canna butter.
Measure the butter, water, and plant material, and place in the slow cooker.
Set the temperature on low, which should be no more than 200°F (93°C). You can check it with a meat or candy thermometer.
Cover and let simmer 1–4 hours, stirring hourly.
When done, freeze. The butter will rise to the top and is easily peeled from the water/grass mixture which contains no THC and can be tossed. It contains much of the chlorophyll and other plant flavors from the butter.
Warm the butter so it flows freely. Strain into a clean bowl using a mesh sieve, cheesecloth, or a pair of panty hose. If plant particles get through the sieve, refilter through fine cheesecloth. Squeeze as much melted butter out of the plant material as possible by pressing on the filter with a spoon or squeezing out the cheesecloth or panty hose. Pour into a container for storage.
LONG-TERM STORAGE
Canna butter can be safely frozen indefinitely and will store in the refrigerator as long as regular butter. To make easily apportioned canna butter cubes pour the strained, melted butter into ice cube trays and place in the freezer.
The Stove-Top Water Method (Yields 8 Servings)
One tablespoon of butter is to be the serving size. Making it that potent requires more plant material than butter. The solution is to add two cups of water for each cup of butter. Boil the mixture for an hour. The water absorbs the green pigments and flavors, while the fatty part of the butter absorbs the cannabinoids. Strain out the plant material, then cool the mixture in the freezer. When the butter solidifies remove it from the top of the pot.
This method works well for making high-potency butter. The recipe below uses the standard one ounce to one pound ratio, but this method lets you use more weed or less butter, making a more potent concoction.
Equipment and Ingredients
•A large pot
•1 oz dry leaf, ½ oz trim, or ¼–⅛ oz bud
•¼ lb butter
•4 cups water
•Metal strainer or mesh sieve and/or cheesecloth (or new pair of nylon panty hose)
•Stirring utensil
Bring the water to a boil. Add the butter and plant material. Lower the heat to maintain a low boil. Cook for an hour. Stir regularly. Add more water as the level drops.
Freeze the mixture and peel the butter off the top. Toss the water/leaf mixture, which contains no THC. Heat the butter until it flows freely. Strain the mixture into a bowl using a mesh sieve, cheesecloth, or a pair of panty hose. Store in a refrigerator or freezer.
The Skillet Method
The skillet method is a quick and easy alternative to make small batches of canna butter.
Equipment and Ingredients
•A skillet, sauté, or frying pan
•Dry plant material
•Butter
•Metal strainer, mesh sieve, and/or cheesecloth
•Stirring utensil
Place the desired amount of butter and plant material in a skillet, sauté, or frying pan. To extract as much THC as possible without losing it to evaporation, keep the heat very low—just high enough to melt it. If the butter starts to bubble, it is too hot. Simmer the marijuana in the melted butter for 30 minutes. Strain and use.
PANTY HOSE STRAINING
Some chefs swear by panty hose for straining out plant material from oils or butters. Panty hose are less likely than pastry cloth or cheesecloth to rip when squeezed hard, and they don’t absorb any oil or butter.
Pour the butter/plant mixture, warm enough to flow freely, into a leg of clean, unused panty hose held over a clean container. Having another person hold the panty hose or pour is helpful. If you are working solo, just stretch the panty hose over the bowl so one leg is inside. Pour the mix into the panty hose–lined bowl. Then carefully lift the panty hose out of the bowl and let the contents filter into the bowl. Wring out any remaining liquid.
Changing the Ingredients
Using Hash or Kief Instead of Marijuana
It is really easy to make canna butter using hash and kief. Just blend the desired amount with melted butter. Cooking time is minimal, since the cannabinoids have already been separated from the plant material. No water or straining is necessary since there isn’t much extraneous plant material. A slow cooker or double boiler ensures that you don’t overheat it, but a pan on a stove top works as long as the heat is kept low. Once the kief or hash dissolves into the melted butter, it is ready to use.
REFILTER FOR FLAVOR
If a butter recipe has been prepared using a nonwater method and is found to be particularly harsh tasting, it is not too late to get the advantages of water. Heat the butter and add twice as much water as there is butter. Bring the water to a low boil and cook for 15–30 minutes. Some of the harsh flavors and color will migrate from the butter to the water. Once it cools, the hardened butter will float on top of the water.
Using Margarine or Coconut Oil
Butter is the choice of most bakers because of its flavor and ease of use, but vegan chefs use margarine or unrefined coconut oil. Margarine, like butter, is a combination of fatty oils and water. Both butter and margarine contain lecithin, which helps oils mix with water in suspensions. Most brands of margarine contain more water than butter does. The water boils off during cooking, leaving less final product. Figure that for every pound (2 cups) of margarine you start with, the end result will be about ¾ lb (1½ cups). Coconut oil works well as a butter substitute because it is a solid at temperatures below 76°F (24°C) and it has a high saturated fat content. That fat content makes it ideal for binding with cannabinoids.
RICE CRISPY TREATS
Rice crispy treats are a perennial party hit with their combination of sweetness and crunchy stickiness. A little canna butter makes them extra festive, and since making them only requires low heat, all of the good stuff comes through.
•¼ cup of canna butter
•4 cups mini marshmallows or a 10 oz package of regular marshmallows
•6 cups of crisp rice cereal
•13" × 9" pan
DIRECTIONS
Melt the canna butter in a large pan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until they melt. Keep stirring for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Add crispy rice cereal. Stir until completely coated.
Butter a 13” × 9” inch pan to avoid sticking. Use a buttered spatula or waxed paper to evenly press the rice crispy mix into the pan. Once cooled, cut into small squares and serve.
Clarified Butter and Ghee
Clarifying the butter removes the milk solids and water from the butterfat, leaving purer oil. When butter is placed under medium heat it melts and then begins to foam. Under low heat the butter continues cooking. First the foam disappears. Then the butter begins to crackle as the water boils off. The milk solids fall out of the oil, sinking to the bottom of the pan. The clarified butter turns a deep clear yellow, as only the lactose-free oil is left.
The process is essentially the same for ghee. The difference is that, with ghee, the milk fat is allowed to brown slightly, giving the final product a flavor that is alternately described as “caramel,” “butterscotch,” or “nutty.” A pound of butter yields about ¾ of a pound of ghee. Ghee can be cooked at a higher temperature than butter without burning.
You don’t have to make ghee in order to use it. Ghee is available at Indian markets and some other grocery stores. Clarified butter and ghee make excellent cannabinated oils.
GOT CANNA MILK?
Cow’s milk is a complex fluid of oils, proteins, sugars, hormones, and enzymes. Whole milk contains about 3.5% butterfat, reduced fat milk contains 2% butterfat, and low-fat milk contains 1% butterfat. Since cannabinoids dissolve in oils and
fats, it is best to use regular milk to make cannabinated milk recipes.
Vegans or the lactose intolerant can substitute soy, almond, or coconut milk. Almond milk—at 6g of fat per cup, compared to the 9g of fat in whole milk—will not bind quite as readily with cannabinoids, but it is still higher in fat than 2% dairy milk. Coconut milk, at 3.6 g of fat, falls between 1% and 2% dairy milk. If a non-fat milk or low-fat milk substitute such as rice or soy milk is used some fat should be added to create a more soluble medium. Two teaspoons of oil increases the fat content by 1%. Adding enough oil to increase the fat content to 3%–4% enhances the liquid’s extraction properties.
All types of cow’s milk and many milk alternatives, such as almond milk, contain the very powerful emulsifier lecithin. The combination of oils that dissolve the cannabinoids and an emulsifier that holds the cannabinoid-rich oil in suspension makes milk an excellent food for ingesting cannabis.
Canna milk can be consumed fresh by itself, used in recipes, or mixed in other beverages, such as tea or coffee. The caffeine in black teas and coffee may hasten the onset of the cannabinoid effects or enhance them. Caffeine increases marijuana’s stimulating properties and counterbalances sedating effects.
Indian chai is a great tea for combining with canna milk because it is traditionally made with equal parts of water and milk, and the spices impart a strong but enjoyable flavor that masks the cannabis. Spices include clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, as well as vanilla bean, black pepper, or anise, and other Indian spices not commonly used in the United States. The exotic spices gently transport you from your everyday world to a soothing tranquility where soon the first waves of highness float into your mind: exquisite.