CANNABIS-INFUSED COCONUT or Vegetable OIL
Cannabis-infused coconut oil is the new . It is incredibly easy to make at home and only requires a few simple ingredients. All you need is some good quality cannabis (preferably freshly ground), some unrefined coconut oil, and a little bit of time.
Coconut oil is rich in antioxidants and has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, boost immunity, and aid in weight loss. It's also totally vegan and adds a delicious nutty creamy flavor to your edibles. Way better than butter, right? And when you infuse it with weed, you get all the benefits of cannabis without having to smoke it. First things first, you'll need to decarb the weed.
WHAT IS DECARBING, AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY?
The main psychoactive ingredient in weed is THC, but in raw unheated cannabis, this compound takes the form of THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid). Decarbing, or decarboxylation, is the process of heating weed at a very low temperature for about 25 mins to convert THCA into . This starts a chemical reaction that allows the release of a carboxyl group, turning it into the psychoactive THC that we all know and love. It's an essential step in the edible-making process as your infused oil won't reach its max potency potential without it. Sure, the cooking process itself will ensure a certain level of is reached, but for the best results, we always suggest going that extra step and decarbing your buds prior to making you canna coco-oil.
The great news is that failing to decarb your weed results in THCA which is a fantastic cannabinoid with a range of health benefits without the psychoactive high.
Decarbing weed is simple: just put the buds into an oven-safe dish, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake it at your oven's lowest temperature for about 25 minutes. If you are worried that your oven may be a little hot, even at the lowest setting, then you can leave the oven door slightly cracked to keep the temp down. The perfect temp for decarbing cannabis is about 250°F (121°C) with a bake duration of 20 to 27 minutes. Now that the decarbing is finished, let's look at the best cannabis coconut oil recipes
SLOW-COOKED CANNABIS-INFUSED COCONUT OIL
While you can get away with using a quicker method, for the tastiest and most potent results this is the recipe we recommend. Yes, it does take a little time and patience, but as long as you follow the easy steps and trust the process you'll be rewarded with the best canna coco-oil possible. The slower cooking process ensures that even if your buds haven't been perfectly decarbed, the maximum amount of THC will be extracted.
If you own a slow cooker then pull out that bad boy, but this piece of equipment is anything but necessary. All you really need is a large cooking pot and a stovetop. the steps are as follows:
- Fill the slow cooker or pot with about 1.5 liters of water and bring it to a boil.
- Add your coconut oil (virgin is best, but you can use whatever you have laying about in the pantry) or avocado, vegetable, or olive oil, and bring the heat down to a low simmer. For a slow cooker, set it to the lowest setting. If you are using a stovetop then turn it all the way down so the oil and water mixture is only just bubbling.
- Once this has come up to heat, add your decarbed weed. Remember, this should not be boiling, a low simmer is all we are looking for.
- Leave the pot simmering for about an hour, and then remove it from the heat for a similar amount of time. Repeat this process at least 4 times. If you are using a slow cooker, you can just leave it on and bubble away slowly for 5 to 8 hours.
- Once you have finished the cooking process, it's time to strain the whole thing into a container. If you have some cheesecloth hanging around then use that, but a fine metal strainer will also work. Remember to give the whole thing a bit of a squeeze to extract every last drop of the infused oil.
- Place the container into the fridge or freezer and wait for the oil to separate from the water and solidify on top. This should take about 45 mins or so.
- Remove the oil, reheat it slowly, and finally pour it into a storage container. A resealable mason jar works perfectly. There you have it, slow-cooked cannabis-infused coconut, vegetable or avocado oil!
PRO TIP: This oil is great to swirl over salads with some balsamic vinegar! Or incorporate it into pasta dishes!
Ok, but how do we work out the dosage? There are a few factors to keep in mind when working out how strong your canna coco-oil will be. It's a bit of an inexact science if you don't have a readout of the THC percentages in the bud that you are using, but you can make some informed guesses. Just remember, always assume the weed is a little stronger and act accordingly. It's possible that eating more THC than you anticipated or are used to might be a little uncomfortable. It's not dangerous, but the effects last longer than when weed is smoked.
The calculations themselves are actually very simple. Let's say we have 10 grams of bud at 15% THC. This means that 15% of the total bud is pure THC. When we talk about edibles the THC content is displayed in milligrams, so first thing is to convert the 10 grams into milligrams. 1 gram is 1000 milligrams, so 10 grams is 1000 x 10 = 10,000 mg. To find out the THC content we simply multiply 10,000 mg by 0.15 (15%) = 1500mg of THC. So, if we could perfectly extract all of the THC, this is the amount we would get. Unfortunately, perfect extraction rates are impossible. When we decarb the weed we lose a little of the THC and this is also the case when we cook the canna coco-oil.
To calculate the decarb loss we multiply the perfect amount, 1500 mg, by 0.9 = 1350 mg. Then for the cooking loss, we multiply this number - 1350 mg by 0.6 = 810 mg. So, after the process of decarbing and cooking is finished, we would end up with oil containing 810 mg of THC. A normal dose of THC for edibles is anywhere between 5 to 20 mg, depending on the tolerance of the user. A happy medium would be 10 mg, so this oil will have enough THC for 81 edibles.
Ok, but what if the recipe only makes 20 edibles? Easy, just use a quarter of the infused oil and add enough non-infused oil so the recipe works. Whenever we make canna coco-oil we use about 1.2 liters. Once the cooking process is finished we end up with about 1 full liter of dosed canna coco-oil, which makes these sorts of calculations super easy in the end.
Pro Tip:
Different Strains result in different notes of flavor in the oil. Pay attention to the terpenes in the marijuana you plan on using. Terpenes are compounds that give plants their scent.
