DIY Edibles: Main Tips For Besginers

Marijuana is becoming increasingly popular and accepted in society, with many people seeing it as a viable business opportunity or medical treatment. In 2022, we are even seeing historic pardons for marijuana-related offenses in the United States. Weed culture is flourishing and extending its reach to mainstream society, beyond hip-hop, stoners, festival-goers, and other subcultures.

You can purchase weed from an Apple Store-esque boutique without the fear of legal repercussions. Additionally, cannabis is becoming a popular kitchen ingredient – it can elevate some truly remarkable dishes. While making edibles isn’t novel, as access to haut quality weed becomes less illicit and anxiety-inducing, we’ve found that now is the ideal time to learn how to make them.

Though current weed edibles encompass a wide variety of foods, from Thanksgiving dishes to cupcakes, the fact remains that cookies or brownies continue to be an all-time favorite. However, successfully making edibles depends on having some skill in both cooking and marijuana knowledge.

People want something that not only tastes good, but is also potent. You won’t find this combination by simply taking a pre-bought mix and placing it on a cookie sheet with crumbled weed, then bake it. However, don’t worry– we have you covered when it comes to how to make weed edibles and the perfect edibles recipe.

The actual items you need to make weed edibles

You’ve got some weed and want to make edibles. That’s a good start. In fact, many people might feel more comfortable managing the marijuana side of this ordeal than they would the cooking itself. But instead of fixating on making your weed edibles potent, try using quality chocolate like Guittard or Scharffen Berger instead.

You’ll need six large eggs, two sticks of unsalted butter, vanilla extract, sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder and kosher salt. You will also need a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for easy cleanup later on. Furthermore you’ll need some other miscellaneous items such as: a weed grinder (or any other type of grinder), food processor (a blender can suffice too if needed), wooden spoon , cheesecloth and two pots – one pot should be larger than the other.

Still following along? Perfect. In that case, let’s discover how to make edibles so that these weed cookies can eventually be turned into weed cake.

Pick your strain

The process of choosing a souche for edibles is not much different than picking out junk food. You need to consider if you want a daytime or nighttime cookie, and pick the strain based off that. However, it’s important to note that everyone reacts to weed differently. As general rule of thumb, sativas tend to give users energy while indicas are better for relaxation purposes and sleep aids.

If you’re looking for a cookies that will inspire you, we recommend Sour Diesel, White Widow, Casey Jones, Golden Goat or Lemon Skunk. Or if TV and sleep are more your speed , choose strains like Bubba Kush, Granddaddy Purple or White Fire Alien OG instead.

Decarboxylation

The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is only produced when the plant is heated up. Therefore, raw weed leaves are not psychoactive and full of THCA. Some people even consider it a “superfood” due to its 400 different chemical compounds, including vitamins and essential oils.

The process of making weed edibles requires the chef to prepare the weed so that it contains the elements that will make a person feel high. As High Times noted, “If you want to get high from eating these pastries, you’ll need to cook the weed correctly.”

If you heat your cannabis at a boiling temperature of 314ºF for an extended period, the THC will become less potent. However, the process is easy to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 240ºF. If you have an oven thermometer to gauge the oven’s true temperature, even better.
2. Cut the leaf down into more manageable pieces and place them on a cookie sheet, as if you’re toasting spices. You don’t want to overload the marijuana by having too many pieces on top of each other.
3. Put the sheet in the oven and monitor for 30-40 minutes (depending on oven strength and the strain of weed). You’re looking for a golden brown color as opposed to the more vibrant green of an untoasted leaf.
4. Remove the marijuana from the oven and let it cool. Then add it to a food processor and pulse for one second so that it becomes coarsely ground.

Infusion

Congrats on taking the big step to try active marijuana! Now, it’s time to make “cannabutter” – which is simply butter that has been infused with weed. Cannabutter is perfect for baking and there are many methods to make it; some of which can take up 8 hours. However, we’re going show you a wafer-simmered version that is both simple and heralded by The Cannabist as the best cannabutter in the US.

Place a medium-sized pot of water on the stove to boil. Add the sticks of butter, allowing them to melt completely before adding your marijuana. Keep heat at simmer – it’s necessary that the weed should always be floating about 1.5 to 2 inches from bottom of pan so the butter can cook slowly and thoroughly over low heat for three hours until thickening towards upper layer.

Line a bowl with cheesecloth, then pour the mixture into it. After squeezing out the remaining liquid butter, allow it to cool for an hour. Then put it in the fridge until it takes on the consistency of a spread.

We’re getting closer to the part where you can actually eat your weed edible, we swear.

How much weed do you need for edibles?

The THC levels in marijuana strains can differ greatly, but on average, most strains contain about 10 percent THC.

If you have 7 grams of marijuana, that is equivalent to a quarter-ounce. According to The Cannabist, “Every 1 gram of cannabis bud has 1000mg of dry weight. If a strain typically contains about 10 percent THC, then 10 percent of 1000mg would be 100mg.” So when cooking or baking at home with marijuana, it is safe to assume that eachgram has100mg THC content at minimum.

In Colorado, the legal serving size for weed edibles is 10mg of THC. In the scenario detailed above, a chef has 700mg. A classic cookie recipe yields 60 cookies. Thus, each cookie would have just over 11 grams. First-time users learning how to make weed edibles should cut theirs into quarters and allow an hour between each dose.

If you miscalculate and eat too much of your weed edible, don’t panic. It happens to the best of us. However, there are a few things you can have on hand to make yourself feel better.

The British Journal of Pharmacology has reported that people can try to reduce their high by consuming pistachios or pine nuts, which have pinene. Pinene is a chemical renowned for aiding mental clarity. Additionally, eating citrus acid found in lemons, oranges and grapefruits can help because of the terpenes contained inside these fruits.

And that’s all we have for tips on making edibles! Just one more before you go…

Is It Better To Buy or Make Edibles?

You might think that making cannabis edibles is a fun and easy weekend project, but there are several pros and cons you should take into account before starting:

Pro: Great for Dietary Restrictions

If you’re worried about following your dietary restrictions, such as gluten-free or low-carb diets, you can always create your own edibles at home instead of purchasing THC products from a dispensary.

Con: Time Commitment

The entire process of making cannabutter or cannabis-infused oil will take a minimum of 3 to 4 hours. After you include grinding up the flower, decarbing it in the oven, and then simmering the water out until only THC-infused oil or butter is left. Then you need to use your new butter to bake edibles, which could be another hour before you can finally eat something.

Pro: Customizability

Floridians have ready access to delicious, healthy ingredients that are perfect for creating unique homemade dishes. If you’re working on eating better, you can ditch the processed junk food in favor of making your own healthier snacks and meals with fruits, vegetables, and other wholesome ingredients.

Con: Risks

There are some excellent cannabutter recipes available if you want an easy-to-follow option. However, as with any cooking project, keep in mind that mistakes can’t be easily undone – especially if they cause your ingredients to burn. If you happen to ruin a batch of cannabutter, not only will you have wasted butter (which isn’t cheap), but also the cannabis that was used in the process. Therefore, it’s crucial to do your research beforehand on things like dosing and measurements so you don’t run into any unpleasant surprises later on.

Pro: Economical

For those who know what they’re doing, it is always cheaper to do-it-yourself than to buy pre-packaged goods from a store. If you’re an experienced edible user with high tolerance, you can also make stronger edibles rather than purchasing multiple packages of low-dose edibles from a dispensary.

Con: Smell

If you live in an apartment, it might not be the best time to experiment with cannabis cooking. The process of decarbing flower and cooking down cannabutter will leave your place smelling like cannabis. Even if you buy your oil pre-made, just cooking a high-potency batch of edibles can give off a pungent odor.

Pro: Great for Home Growers

If you live in a state where home cannabis growth is allowed, there are many ways to use parts of the plant that would otherwise go to waste. For example, trim and leaves can be used to make edibles with little effort.

Potential Con: Skills Required

You don’t need to be a professional chef to make your own edibles, but the more comfortable you are in the kitchen, the better. The project will involve using a double boiler and straining through cheesecloth. If that doesn’t discourage you, then please check out our cannabutter guide or some of our favorite cannabis-infused recipes!

Are Fresh Edibles More Potent?

A key advantage not yet mentioned is the potential to create edibles more potent than those sold at dispensaries. For example, in Florida, MMTCs can only provide 10mg THC per edible. However, for those with a higher tolerance, this quantity of THC is probably insufficient to produce the desired effects. Therefore, being able to customize your own potency levels is crucial in order achieve the results you want.

Remember that all psychoactive chemicals will gradually lose potency over time–this includes THC and other cannabinoids. If you store cannabis flower at room temperature, it will lose around 3 to 5% of its THC potency each month. Most of this is due to degradation caused by oxygen and light exposure. To prevent this, use an airtight container that doesn’t allow any sunlight in before or after you make your DIY edible.

Furthermore, remember that edibles are food items and, like any other food type, they can go bad if not stored properly. Store your edibles in the freezer or fridge to keep them both potent and fresh-tasting for longer periods of time.