Common Mistakes of Cooking with Cannabis
Making marijuana edibles is a fun, and relatively simple process. However, despite its simplicity there is plenty of room for small and even big mistakes, especially when those making the edibles are new to the edible or marijuana scene. Luckily, most of these mistakes are very easy to avoid if you know what to look out for, or are easy to fix or correct next time if they’re mistakes you’ve already made.
With that in mind, below is a list of common mistakes people make when cooking with cannabis and making marijuana edibles of any kind.
Forgetting to Decarb Your Cannabis
Decarboxylating marijuana is an important step in the edible making process that many people forget.
Decarbing your marijuana significantly increases its potency, and thus the potency of your edible.
This is a mistake that’s very easy to fix if you have it on your mind, as decarbing cannabis is a simple process. You simply need to preheat your oven to 225 degrees (F), line a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet with a thin layer of cannabis, and then heat for half an hour. And there you go, decarbed cannabis ready to be placed in your edibles!
Decarbing Cannabis for Too Long or Too High a Temperature
Given that THC will burn away at certain temperatures, a common mistake those new to edibles make is trying to decarb their cannabis at too high of a temperature.
If placing the marijuana in the oven at temperatures of 320 or higher, it can burn away all of the THC and thus greatly reduce (if not eliminate entirely) the potency of the edibles you make with it.
The same is true if you use the right temperature (between 220 – 250 degrees F), but cook the cannabis for too long (over 45 minutes).
Over-Dosing
It can be easy to put in more marijuana than may be necessary, and thus create a product that is far stronger than you anticipated. This is why it’s important to start with small amounts (around 1 gram per cup of butter or oil) and increase as you see fit.
Under-Dosing
Another mistake is the opposite of the one above – under dosing.
Some people think that adding a quarter or half a gram of cannabis to a cup of butter is enough to create a potent product – it’s not. If you’re new to marijuana you may still feel it a bit, but it will certainly be far too weak for the average cannabis consumer.
Using Leaves and Stems
Using leaves and stems may result in an edible that gets you a little high, but the final product won’t be near the quality or potency of you using actual marijuana bud.
The cannabis doesn’t have to be incredibly high quality: Anything with 14% THC or more will result in a solid and potent product.