The most common homemade infusions are cannabutter and cannaoil because they are easy, affordable, and require minimum equipment. Some people like to use a french press, but in my opinion, this method works better because you have more control of how filtered your infusion is. If you like making coffee in your press, you might have to invest some time in cleaning it adequately before using it for coffee. It is effortless to incorporate these infusions in almost any recipe, sweet or savory, that calls for butter or oils for cooking or even raw as for vinaigrettes. Other than fat infusions, you can make alcohol tincture (like Green or Golden Dragon), FECO, or use RSO for another kind of infusion and recipes that don’t use much fat or none (like cannasugar, flour, etc.); using these extractions is an effective way to infuse them.
Cannaoil:
You can use any oil to make cannaoil, even a blend of two or more oils. It is common to employ the oils you usually cook with, but some recipes call for canna-olive oil, canna-vegetable oil, and some canna-coconut oil. For flavor reasons, sometimes you need that flavor profile in your recipe, and sometimes you only need the infusion and no added flavor. A finished infused oil will have a green or brownish color hue due to the cannabis infusion. I will share an effective method I have used for years that is pretty straightforward and effective. Store in a sanitized and completely dry mason jar in a cool and dry place, and it will keep for about six months in mint condition.
Equipment:
Large saucepan or pot
Large heatproof bowl
Strainer or sieve that fits in the glass bowl
A lidded glass jar that seals tightly to store your final product. (Ball brand mason jars are always my choice, other lids don’t seal as well, which is vital for preservation.)
Cheesecloth/nut milk strainer
Spatula
Ingredients:
6 cups of cooking oil of your choice
1 oz of decarbed ground cannabis buds, or if you grow and don’t like wasting, you could use 2 oz of decarbed, dried, and trimmed cannabis leaf, which works too.
Method:
In a large saucepan, slowly heat the oil over low heat.
Stir in the cannabis
Cook for 3 hrs in LOW heat, stirring occasionally. *Do NOT let it boil; you don’t want to fry your cannabis.
While the oil cooks, line the strainer or sieve with the cheesecloth or nut milk filter and place it over the large bowl.
After 3 hrs, pour the oil through the cheesecloth into the bowl pressing down the cannabis with the spatula to extract all the oil. Discard the cheesecloth.
Transfer the oil to the glass jar and make sure the lid is sealed. Store in a cool and dark place for up to 6 months.
Foodies 420
Cannabutter:
When making cannabutter, the key is “low and slow.” Infusing butter over low heat for several hours, never letting it boil, allows for full activation of THC without scorching the herb. You can use any unsalted butter you prefer, but consider that good quality butter provides a better taste and has less water, giving you a higher yield. Remember that THC is liposoluble. The finished butter will have a green tinge because of the cannabis infusion. Cannabutter will keep in the fridge for several weeks and in the freezer for six months. This method that I will share has worked for me; however, I have done it without the added water too, and it works too; you will get the effect in your edibles, but with the added water works better. Cannabis cooks use water when heating marijuana for an hour or longer. Cooking with water has three benefits: separating trim and oil, reducing flavor, and clarifying waste materials, resulting in a better quality product. Water keeps the temperature down and helps prevent the butter from burning. Burnt cannabis butter tastes terrible and has no potency since THC starts to degrade at around 250 degrees Fahrenheit (121 degrees Celsius). The water acts as a separator during the cooling stage too. Water is added in the method I share below.
Equipment:
Large saucepan/ pot
Large heatproof bowl
Strainer or sieve that fits in the large glass bowl
Cheesecloth/nut milk strainer
Spatula
Plastic wrap
Butter knife
In a sanitized and dry, lidded glass jar to store your final product.
Ingredients:
1 pound of unsalted butter
2 cups of water
1 oz of decarbed ground cannabis buds, or if you grow and don’t like wasting, you could use 2 oz of decarbed, dried, and trimmed cannabis leaf, which works too.
Method:
In the saucepan/pot, bring the butter and water to a rapid simmer (just below a boil, the liquid will be active, with tiny bubbles consistently rising to the surface) over medium heat until the butter melts, and put the cannabis in.
Reduce heat to low and bring the mixture to a slow simmer (there will be little movement in the liquid, tiny bubbles occasionally rise to the surface), do NOT let the mixture boil.
Cook for 5 hours, stirring every 2 hrs or so. If needed, add additional warm water; you don’t want all the water to boil off.
At this point, you can keep going or reduce the temperature and wait until all the water is evaporated so you can filter and pour directly into the jar and store it.
Line the strainer with the cheesecloth and place it over the large bowl where you will pour the cannabutter.
After 5 hours, pour the butter slowly through the cheesecloth into the bowl. Press down the cannabis with the spatula to push any remaining cannabutter into the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hrs; overnight is even better but unnecessary. The mixture will separate into solid cannabutter and water.
Remove the cannabutter from the fridge, discard the water, and slide a knife around the edges to remove it from the bowl and let it dry completely; you don’t want any water residue to spoil your butter.
Transfer the cannabutter to a glass jar with a lid and store it in the fridge or freezer.
For tincture & FECO preparation using the QWET method for “Golden Dragon,” visit: https://foodies420.com/2022/03/30/rso-feco/
The author shall not be liable for any damage or injury alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided here. Neither is responsible for any allergic reaction or adverse reaction to any ingredient (including cannabis). No legal or medical advice is intended with this information, and under no circumstances should any cannabis product be given to children without professional medical guidance.