Infusing decarboxylated weed in food is one way to use weed in making edibles. Infusing ingredients make it easier for our digestive system to consume weed and enjoy its effects. Most of the time, we use fats to infuse weed as it is soluble in fat.
Infusing Oil With Weed
First, you would need to choose your oil base. There are a lot of oils to choose from. But consider which kind of food you’d cook with your oil base. For example, coconut oil is best for baking. Meanwhile, Canola oil is more for general use. Either way, any oil would work.
After grinding the weed, it is time to mix ground parts with oil. Using a double boiler, saucepan, or slow cooker, heat the oil base with weed until it gets incorporated. Remember not to rush the process by turning the heat up for faster results. Extreme heat can lessen the potency of cannabis then it might become less effective. A good ratio of oil to ground cannabis would be 2:1.
The duration needed for infusing cannabis into oil depends on which cookware you’re using. For a saucepan, it should take 3 hours on low heat. Continuously stir the mixture to avoid burning the oil and weed. On a double boiler, the cooking time can last for 6-8 hours. Make sure that the water does not dry up during the process. Meanwhile, a slow cooker will finish infusion in 6 hours. But it could extend up to 3 days.
Strain the oil to separate the solid pieces. Utilize a mesh strainer to take out the larger chunks. You can use a coffee filter after the mesh strainer. It would filter out the smaller pieces still left in the oil. You can also use cheesecloth for filtering aside from coffee filters.
The cannabis-infused oil is now ready to use! Storing it in airtight containers would prolong its shelf life for two months. Refrigerating it after it cools down would extend its shelf life even more.
Infusing Butter With Weed
Cannabis-infused butter, often called CannaButter, is another way to infuse cannabis into food. It’s as easy as infusing oils. After grinding the decarboxylated weed, melt the butter in a saucepan. You can also use slow cookers in this process. Slow cookers allow the infusion to last a bit longer as it’s not as hot as saucepans.
After the butter melts, mix the ground weed. Then wait for a few hours for it to infuse with the butter. For slow cookers, the process could last for 24 hours. Continue to simmer the butter and weed mixture at a low temperature. Remember that patience is a virtue. Keep on stirring the mixture until it finishes cooking.
Afterward, strain the CannaButter mixture with a wire mesh strainer. If you want a cleaner mixture compound, use coffee filters or cheesecloth. Store it in an airtight container and refrigerate to solidify. CannaButter is now ready to use.