Cooking with Cannabis: How to Make Your Own Cannabis-Infused Oil

 According to a survey by The National Restaurant Association and the American Culinary Federation, conducted on 650 professional chefs, cannabis-infused food was the hot culinary and restaurant trend for 2019, with up to 75% of interviewed chefs having responded in favor of CBD- and cannabis-infused foods. So, potheads around the world, it's time to up your weed cooking game and bolster your edibles menu for the next time the munchies kick in. Here's a selling point - you can appease the munchies while getting high, two birds with one stoner. However, before getting too far ahead of ourselves. Let's cover some basics and make sure we all know what the necessary ingredient is, then learn how to prepare it - a bowl of nice-smelling cannabis oil for cooking.

Cooking with Cannabis. The Basics.

Regardless of whether you know your way around the kitchen or consider yourself a complete rookie when it comes to cooking, it's better to start with the basics and work your way up from there. Cannabis-infused cooking oil is a great place to start, and it's versatile, so you can use it from cooking eggs to preparing desserts.

How to make cannabis oil for cooking?

Cannabis cooking oil is a great medium and the easiest way to turn any recipe into a delicious edible. The process required for making cannabis cooking oil is fairly simple and easy to follow. But before jumping into the process, here is a little back story that will help you achieve the basic know-how. The cannabis plant consists of two main constituents-CBD and THC. The main idea is to extract as many cannabinoids and terpenes as possible from the plant and into the oil. Decarboxylation is a widely used method that helps achieve this and gain maximum benefits from the cannabis plant into the oil. Just one warning: Anticipate that there will be a strong odor of cannabis as you prepare your cannabis oil for cooking.

Cannabis cooking oil recipe

So what we'll need is:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of marijuana flower (grounded)
• 1 cup of cooking oil (coconut, olive, or canola)

Extra Tip: Choosing the base oil comes down to your palette preference. If you want a mild flavor, opt for canola or vegetable oil. If you are looking for a stronger, robust flavor, try coconut oil. If you want a more exotic flavor, try avocado or olive oil. Materials

• Grinder 
• Strainer, Cheesecloth, or Fine Muslin
• Slow cooker, Double-boiler or saucepan

Preparation Step 1 - Grind marijuana flowers. You can also grind the entire plant, but the goal is to grind the cannabis smaller than the strainer pores, so they won't end up in the oil.  Step 2 - Combine the base oil and the cannabis in the slow cooker, double boiler, or saucepan to allow decarboxylation, the before mentioned process that activates the THC without destroying the active ingredients.  As high heat can affect the oil quality, you should take extra care depending on the utensil you are using.  If you are using a saucepan - Heat oil and cannabis at low temperature for at least three hours while stirring continuously. A saucepan is most susceptible to scorching, and the chances of burning and contaminating are likely. So this method requires meticulous attention and patience.  If you are using a slow-cooker - Heat the oil and cannabis at least six hours on low, while occasionally stirring, as slow-cooker is more resistant to scorching and doesn't require constant supervision. If you are using a double boiler - Heat the oil and cannabis for six to eight hours on low while occasionally stirring. Regardless of the utensil that you are using, the temperature should not be higher than 240° F / 115° C. If you want to be extra careful in preventing burning, add a small portion of water in the concoction. Step 3 - Strain the oil - In a storage container, place the strainer or cheesecloth and pour the oil, without squeezing the cheesecloth as it can add more chlorophyll. If you want to avoid being wasteful, you can dry and use the remaining plant material in the strainer and store it separately.  Step 4 - Storing the oil - Cannabis cooking oil has a two-month shelf life, and it can be used for anything except for items that require a very high temperature to cook.  Once you prepare your cannabis oil for cooking, you can use it for any meal you want, well, almost any. Lobster is on the list.

Tips for cooking with cannabis oil

Once your cannabis cooking oil is ready to add extra zing to all of your recipes, make sure you 'test drive' it first before cooking an entire meal with it. Make sure that dosage is right so it won't overtake the flavor and ruin your meal. Need a fast way to check if your cannabis oil is doing its trick? Get a bowl of milk and infuse some of the cannabis liquid in it, then dip a tea cookie in it and see how it tastes and how it makes you feel.  As per more complicated kitchen trials with cannabis oil, remember, just like when you infused the oil, excessive heat in cooking with cannabis oil can lead to scorching. So avoid recipes that require deep frying and high heat. Nevertheless, you will still be surprised at everything you can prepare with cannabis oil. Here're a few ideas to get you goin':

• For a yummy lobster curry infused with cannabis oil instead of regular oil, you can use 2 tablespoons of cannabis-infused coconut oil.
• For a can of tuna or sardine combined with spaghetti, you can prepare with 3 tablespoons of cannabis-infused olive oil instead of regular oil. Use some extra oil to sprinkle the dish when it's served.
• Something for dessert? It's always most comfortable to go for some space cake, but now since you know how to make cannabis oil for cooking, you can certainly experiment with more extravagant meals and snacks. 

Whatever it's on the menu tonight, have fun cooking. And try not for the entire neighborhood to find out you are cooking with ganja when you prepare that cannabis oil in the first place.