How do you like your chocolate chip cookies? Light on the chocolate? Chewy? Crispy? Under baked? There are a ton of different adjustments you can make to a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe to get it just the way you like. Like the perfect regular cookie, cannabis edibles are subjective to taste and you need to find out what your favorite is through trial and error, but these common mistakes are important to consider when learning how you like to prepare your edibles
-Not activating your cannabis
Such a basic and important step should not be overlooked! Decarboxylation is the process by which heat makes the psychoactive properties in cannabis work. You need to heat your marijuana to about 225 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. Then those chemical compounds activate when attaching to the fat molecules. Using a slow cooker at a low temperature, you can activate your cannabis in butter, but always decarboxylating first ensures you won’t waste weed. Even if you don’t understand the science, just trust that you’ll want to pre-bake your cannabis first thing!
-Overgrinding, when straining plant matter
After activating your cannabis, then you can decide how you want to incorporate it with fat into your recipe. By finely grinding and additionally straining your cannabis, you are going to lose significant amounts of THC. The sticky crystals will end up left behind on the blades of your food processor and not in your edible. This should be less of a problem if you want to cook directly with the cannabis, but if using a (recommended) cheesecloth, leave your marijuana in chunkier pieces while being absorbed in the fat or oil.
-Not adding water to oil mixture
The opinion on if or how much water to add to your cannabis cooking oil will vary from chef to chef, but I am of the camp that a little bit of water goes a long way in reducing the potent weed flavor. The amount of water should be equal to the amount of oil used, and will boil off and should not impact the strength of your oil or butter. The more important function of adding water allows for heating your cannabis and oil at a lower temperature, perfect for super easy cannabutter.
-Overspending on cooking cannabis
This one is pretty simple! Don’t waste top shelf bud on baking, because a small amount will be highly effective. Personally, I wouldn’t want to waste my favorite smoking flower on edibles when shake or trimmings works just as well. Whereas smoking low quality weed is a noticeable difference, you won’t be able to tell if you spent hundreds of dollars or twenty bucks on a bag to make butter.
