Cut The Confusion on Cannabis Infusion:
Infusing oil/butter with cannabis isn’t a hard process!
In this post we’re going to break down that entire debacle step-by-step so it’s easy to digest and follow. We’re going to list the basic materials needed, talk a little more about decarbing cannabis, and the necessary ratios of oil to flower! At the conclusion of this we’re going to talk about how to properly store your canna-oil/butter, so it’s gunna be fun!
First things first though, let’s get at that materials list!
Materials/Ingredients!
- ¼ – ⅕ cup cannabis flower
- 1 cup coconut oil/or butter
- 1 ridged baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
- Cheesecloth
- 1 glass jar
- 1 lid to fit glass jar (amber or dark in color)
- Saucepan, crockpot, double-boiler
We Debunked the Decarb:
Debarbing your cannabis is fundamental in achieving those psychoactive effects that it’s known for! Heat is utilized to alter the chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, increasing its potency. THCA is converted to THC during this process. While setting your cannabis up to decarb, you’re going to begin by breaking apart your cannabis flower as evenly as you can, then setting it onto a foil-lined baking sheet and baking it for roughly 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven! The ideal temperature is between 240-248 degrees fahrenheit. Every 10-15 minutes you’re going to want to stir your flower, ensuring it doesn’t burn!
After your cannabis has been properly decarbed, you’re going to want to choose a base to infuse it into! Coconut oil or butter are two really great, viable options for bases. Coconut oil is preferred over most other oils because of its high content of saturated fats; cannabis LOVES saturated fats, ya’ll. THC likes to grab onto those fatty molecules during the whole infusion process!
For this example, we’re going to start with 1 cup of our base of choice per ¼ – ⅕ cup of decarbed cannabis; this is going to be a good starting point until you feel more comfortable increasing those ratios.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Break That Flower Up!
The general rule of thumb when infusing oil/butter is to start with ¼ ounce to a ½ ounce per 1 cup of your base of choice.
- Preheat your oven to 240-248 degrees fahrenheit.
- Break cannabis buds into smaller, more evenly sized pieces!
- Time to Layer and Bake:
- Line your baking sheet with aluminum foil and evenly layer the bud across it.
- Since your oven was preheating between 240-248, now is the time to place the baking pan in (if it’s up to temp!) and bake between 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15.
- Allow to Cool:
- Allow the decarbed bud to cool to room temperature!
- Flower should be darker in color; won’t appear as fresh-looking as before.
- Allow the decarbed bud to cool to room temperature!
- Grind, Grind, Grind.
- Now that our bud is cooled to an appropriate handling temperature, it’s time to grind it up into even smaller pieces in preparation to infuse into our oil/butter!
- Put Tha Lime in da Coconut: (cannabis in oil/butter)
- Now it’s time to infuse the decarbed flower into our base! There’s a few ways we can do this:
- Stovetop: You’ll want to take cold, or room-temperature water and bring it up to boil. Place your decarbed cannabis into the jar with your base and allow it to boil for 2 hours!
- Now it’s time to infuse the decarbed flower into our base! There’s a few ways we can do this:
Keep an eye on it, however; you don’t want this to burn.
- Double-boiler: Similar concept to stovetop!
You’ll want to let water come to a boil in your first pot, place the jar with the decarbed cannabis and oil on top of that (hence, lè double boil) then allow it to boil for 2-6 hours!
- To Strain Through Cheese… Cloth:
- Strain infused oil/butter through a cheesecloth to remove any plant impurities!
- Store:
- We recommend using an airtight jar/container that’s been properly cleaned and dried! An amber/dark colored lid will help with light filtration ensuring your product isn’t compromised by it!
- Keep room-temp for 2-3 months in a cool, dark place.
- Keep refrigerated for 1-3 years.
- We recommend using an airtight jar/container that’s been properly cleaned and dried! An amber/dark colored lid will help with light filtration ensuring your product isn’t compromised by it!
Store That Pour: Ideal Conditions for Keeping your Cannabutter
Canna-infused coconut oil has an impressively long shelf life! So long as you’re using an airtight and clean container, and the appropriate environment; it can last you anywhere from 2 months – 3 years. If you’re going to keep your infused oil at room temperature, it’s best to do so in a cool, dark place. The maximum amount of time you’ll want to allow it to sit outside of refrigeration is 2-3 months. If you happen to store it in the fridge, it can last anywhere from 1-3 years! Light pollution can degrade your concoction over time, so using a dark or amber colored lid will help filter out any light!
Eat Your High P2: Let’s Infuse Some Foods!
Now that we’ve got a good baseline on how to infuse cannabis into oil/butter, we can finally start baking!
In P2 of this Eat Your High series, we’re going to make our first batch of infused-edibles and learn more about the appropriate microdosing techniques and how to maximize the longevity of your goodies!
