Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by Jason Nguyen
Since many years ago, cannabis edibles have become so popular in Canada. Now, many Canadians are even making their own edibles at home and many places also serve their own edibles to their customers. And when it comes to edibles, there is something that everyone should know, especially for those who are planning to make edibles or cook with cannabis. I am talking about cannabutter.
Cannabutter or cannabis-infused butter is one of the best, simplest, and common ways to make edibles. However, making the butter itself could be tricky even after a few tries. You need to micromanage multiple things like the psychoactive potential, temperatures, and more. But what actually is cannabutter, and how do you make it?
What is cannabutter?
As the name implies, cannabutter is a mix of cannabis and butter and common in Canadian online dispensaries. It’s a common ingredient for cannabis edibles, particularly baked goods like brownies and cookies. Canadians can easily buy cannabutter on the market, but some people prefer to make it themselves. And much like shopping for cannabis products, you need to consider what kinds of effects you’re expecting to experience beforehand.
Cannabutter may contain both THC and CBD, or only CBD. So make sure you’re aware of the content of the butter you purchase. It is also a great alternative for people who are looking for a smoke-free option. In summary, cannabutter is a versatile, smoke-free cannabis product that people can use as an ingredient for their edibles. It also offers health benefits that cannabis may provide, such as easing the symptoms of certain ailments, improving sleep quality, and helping the user relax.
How do you make cannabutter?
Now I bet you’re interested to make your very own cannabutter and can’t wait to taste the end product. To properly make cannabutter, there are some steps that you must follow.
Decarboxylation
Step one is decarboxylation, don’t focus too much on the seemingly complex term, since the actual process is simpler than it looks. Keep in mind that it’s important to bake cannabis before making cannabutter. In its raw form, cannabis contains THCA and CBDA, which are the inactive versions of THC and CBD respectively. By heating these compounds, they will undergo what we call decarboxylation or decarbing for short and will become the active compounds THC and CBD that we know and love.
To decarb your cannabis, preheat your oven to 240 °F (115 °C) and place 1/2-ounce (14 grams) of cannabis onto a baking sheet. Cook your cannabis for 30 to 40 minutes. If your cannabis is fresh, however, you may need to cook it for longer – up to one hour. But if your cannabis is older and driver, you may cook it for only about 20 minutes.
To prevent burning, make sure you rotate and stir the cannabis every 10 minutes. You will that the decarbing process is working when you see its color changes from a bright green to a dark brown-green. The temperature is also very important, don’t let your oven exceed 240 °F (115 °C) as it would be too hot and destroy the terpenes of your cannabis.
Stovetop infusion
Now that the decarbing process is done, you’re ready to move on to the next step, which is readying the butter on the stovetop and starting the infusing process. First, melt one cup of butter and one cup of water. The water will heat the butter evenly, and the left-over water can be discarded at the end. For a half batch, you can use ½ cup of water, ½ cup of butter, and 1/8 ounce of cannabis. The second step is setting your burner to low heat, preferably the lowest heat. The butter should cook at 150 °F (65 °C), grab a thermometer to get an accurate reading.
In the third step, it’s time to add your decarbed cannabis and mix everything properly. Cover the pot to distribute the heat evenly. This step is very important for a low, slow extraction. In the last step, let the mixture simmer 150 °F (65 °C) for at least three hours, or four hours if you want your butter to be more potent. Just make sure the temperature is correct and add more water, since less water exposes the butter to overheating.
Strain the butter
This is the last step before you can enjoy your butter. After three or four hours have passed, it’s to strain the mixture. Place multiple layers of cheesecloth over a jar and use a rubber band to secure them in place. Pour the butter slowly over the cheesecloth and give it time to drain. Once it’s fully strained, discard the compost.
Let the butter cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, then transfer it to the fridge. Once it’s solidified, you can see that the top side is where the butter at while a layer of water can be seen on the bottom side. You must remove this excess water from the jar. Hold the butter with a clean finger as you’re pouring the water out of the jar. And that’s it, now your cannabutter is ready.
Conclusion
As you can see, making your own cannabutter is fairly simple. But, you may need to do the steps above a few times before you can finally get the hang of it. Make sure to always use high-quality cannabis that you can get in Canada to get the best result.