There’s no denying it: everyone loves a treat. What makes a treat better? Cannabis. According to cannabis edible data, that trend is only continuing. If you’re one of the many people who adore cannabis edibles, you’ve probably envisioned countless THC-infused sugar plum delicacies dancing across your mind. In this post, we’re going to help you make those dreamy visions reality with a recipe that will open the door to culinary cannabis for you: cannabutter.
Why You Should Learn How to Make Cannabutter
Edibles, along with concentrates and flower, are a popular method for consuming THC. Before we get into how to make cannabutter, let’s answer a different question. Why even make cannabutter in the first place?
Simply put, cannabutter—sometimes called “cannabudder”—is the primary building block of any edible. After you infuse butter with THC (cannabis’ main psychoactive component), you can use it to create your own delicious edible treats. Butter is one of the best mediums for edible THC since it’s made mostly of lipids (fats). Because THC is a highly fat-soluble compound, butter readily absorbs it. Plus, butter is obviously delicious.
Cannabis Edibles Recipe: Cannabutter
Below, we’ll look at the ingredients and tools you’ll need to make cannabutter. Then, we’ll go over the exact process with our cannabutter recipe. But first, we need to cover one more important topic: decarboxylation.
Decarboxylation
You can’t just use fresh cannabis flower infused in butter. The cannabis must be heated properly. This happens automatically when smoking cannabis flower when you spark up a lighter. With edibles, though, there’s no flame involved.
Quick science lesson: In its natural state, cannabis flower doesn’t actually contain much THC. Instead, it contains mostly THCA, a precursor acid to THC that has no psychoactive capabilities of its own.
Once you apply heat to THCA, it converts into THC.
That’s why you need to decarboxylate your cannabis flower before you use it for edibles. While decarboxylation may sound like a scary science word, it’s actually not too difficult. Here’s how it works:
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Put the ground cannabis on a cookie sheet and bake it for 30 minutes, or until the flower turns a light brown color. Tip: Place the cannabis on parchment paper to prevent sticking.
Step 3
Remove the cannabis from the oven, let it cool, then grind it with an herb grinder. This will make THC on the flower dissolve more quickly into the butter.
That’s it! Now that you’ve decarboxylated your cannabis, you’re ready to get to work actually making cannabutter.
Cannabutter Ingredients
Fortunately, making cannabutter doesn’t require very many ingredients. You’ll only need:
- About a quarter ounce of decarboxylated cannabis (7 grams)
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 cup of water
- Cheescloth
Instructions
- Mix 1 cup of water and 1 cup of butter in a saucepan. Keep the temperature low to let the butter melt, but keep it from scorching.
- Once the water and butter turn to a combined liquid, stir in the ground up cannabis flower. Cover saucepan with a lid.
- Keep the stovetop temperature between 160 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 and 3 hours. The mixture shouldn’t ever start boiling (meaning no big bubbles, just a little stream and at most a simmer).
- Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth and into a jar to filter out any remaining plant matter. It might help to create a concave shape inside the jar with the cheesecloth, then rubberband the remaining cheesecloth around the jar to free up your hands to pour the hot liquid carefully and slowly through the cheesecloth.
- Label the jar clearly and let it cool on the countertop until it’s solid again. Then seal the jar and refrigerate.
You can keep your cannabutter refrigerated for up to a week or two to extend its shelf life. However, we recommend you get baking right away since you’ve already got the process rolling. If you’re looking for some cannabis flower to make your own edibles, check out our full selection.
