Cannabis Cooking Oils Worth Making at Home
Cannabis Oil you can make at home
Cannabutter is great, especially if you are big on baking your cannabis edibles and you aren’t particularly concerned about what goes in them. However, not everyone can have butter; some have profound dairy allergies, others are concerned about the unhealthy fats, and still others prefer not to consume animal products. Are these people SOL when it comes to making easy edibles at home?
Absolutely not! You can infuse cannabis into all sorts of cooking oils, which you can use in various ways to cook up potent and appetizing edibles. Here are a few ideas and tricks for getting your infused oils just right.
Best Oils for Infusion
In theory, you could use infuse cannabis into any cooking oil, given the right amount of bud, oil, heat and time. However, there are some oils that absorb cannabinoids a bit better than others, and there are oils that are easier to integrate into the average American diet than others. If you don’t feel like experimenting in your home kitchen, here are four oils (besides butter) that you should consider infusing:
Avocado Oil
Avocados have some of the best fats of all foods, which means avocado oils tend to be better for your body — particularly your heart — than other oils. Avocado oil has an exceedingly high smoke point, meaning it is much safer than other oils to use in high-heat cooking like frying. Plus, avocado oil was equivalent to butter in its uptake of cannabinoids, infusing an astonishing 92 percent of cannabis compounds.
Grapeseed Oil
Though not a typical kitchen staple, grapeseed oil tends to be healthier than oils like butter and shortening because it is low in trans and saturated fats. Like avocado oil, grapeseed oil can be advantageous for cooking in high heat, but its mild flavor makes it a near-direct substitute for olive oil in in soups, sauces and dressings, too. Grapeseed oil infuses about 81 percent of cannabinoids, which means the oil takes in almost all the good stuff.
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is the go-to replacement for butter or other animal fats — and it can moisturize skin and hair, too. Results are mixed on whether coconut oil is any healthier than butter, and it is slightly less effective at absorbing cannabinoids, infusing about 82 percent. However, for those who need a vegan alternative, coconut is accessible and affordable.
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Olive oil is the original cooking oil for Western foods, and studies have found that diets using olive oil tend to help lower individuals’ cholesterol and boost health in other ways. For infusion, you should opt for extra-virgin olive oil, which tends to be a bit purer in flavor than regular olive oil. Then, you should be able to enjoy about 83 percent of cannabinoids in your oil infusions.
Tips and Tricks for Oil Infusions
Regardless of what type of fat you are using to capture those cannabinoids for culinary experimentation, you need to know how to work with weed in your kitchen. Regardless of where you procure your pot — whether you are waiting forOklahoma to pass recreational weed regulations or you are traveling to Colorado for the freshest flower in the country — you need to prepare your pot before you can infuse it. Here are a few steps for correctly getting your cannabis ready for any type of infusion:
Grind it finely. The more surface area on your cannabis that comes into contact with the oil, the more cannabinoids can soak into the oil. The best way to increase surface area is to ensure a fine grind on your bud. You might invest in a high-quality three- or four-chamber grinder, which allows for increasingly fine grindings and collects all the powder (called kief) that falls through the cracks.
Decarb weed before infusion. Raw cannabis buds won’t get you high, no matter how potent budtenders might say the strain is. This is because cannabinoids in their raw form are acidic and cannot bind to the right receptors in your body. Decarboxylation is used to change the chemical structure, and is essential before herbal infusion. Some dispensaries will decarb flower before selling it, but usually, you will need to decarb your own bud at home.
Once you have your weed ready, you can infuse it into oil in whichever method makes the most sense to you. Then, you can use your cannabis oil in every culinary adventure — as long as whoever eats your creations isn’t surprised by their high cannabinoid content.
