Cannabis-infused coconut oil is a great non-dairy and vegan substitute for the customary edible baker favourite, cannabutter. Cannabis-infused coconut oil also works like a charm as a carrier oil for one of the author’s suggested compounds. Edibles function as an excellent form of medication for a variety of reasons. Simply put, in contrast to smoking or vaping, the effects of edibles last for relatively long durations of time, for hours. Another plus is that your plant will live longer because lesser dosages are typically more efficient. Moreover, if you prefer to spend time in the kitchen, customising your edibles according to your preferences becomes much more interesting.

This question might arise in your head: What makes coconut oil a go-to ingredient for edible home manufacturers worldwide? Coconut oil, prevalent in saturated fats, contains lots of fatty acids, which provide for those tasty little THC and CBD molecules to cling to throughout the infusion process. The reason cannabutter or cannaoil brownies are so popular is the love of THC for fat. THA enjoys fat to the extent that when consumed in a fatty meal or cuisine, edible cannabis has the best impact. To get the best health rewards from your homemade medicine, keeping the above-mentioned statements in mind while selecting recipes is crucial.

What are the uses of Cannabis-Infused Coconut Oil?

Each edible maker’s cupboard should have cannabis-infused coconut oil because it is multifunctional and exceptionally shelf stable. In almost every recipe, you can swap it for butter or other vegetable oils. You can also brew a teaspoon of cannabis coconut oil with your daily dose of coffee or tea. However, it is strongly suggested by the author to omit caffeine for those susceptible to anxiety. You can simply sauté some protein-rich food or veggies in it or spread a bit over your bread for breakfast. There is no need for it to be cooked or combined with any other food item, nor do you need to look up recipes; you can consume coconut oil with a spoonful.

Moreover, you can use cannabis coconut oil as an ointment, lubricant, or massage oil. The fact that coconut oil, if stored correctly, has an exceptionally long shelf life is yet another perk.

How to know how much dose is appropriate

If you are someone who has never prepared edibles before, you might be wondering how to determine the right dosage. Unfortunately, if you try without a testing tool or a lab, you’ll get a dosage that is more of an approximation than a precise one. Hence, to avoid overestimating your dose, ensure that you should begin slowly and gradually with your first few taste tests.

The first step would be to determine the flower’s estimated THC content to calculate the precise dosage of your edibles or infusions. Although most of the time, you can get such information at any dispensary, they shall help you determine an estimated proportion of the strain on the web if the blossom was from a homegrown plant, or you could use an average of 15%.

Let’s suppose the flower we’re utilising has 15% THC. You must know that one gram weighs 1000 milligrams for the further equation.

Each gram of cannabis flower holding 15% THC has a maximum THC content of about 150 mg. It is known that you probably won’t be able to extract every milligram. You can anticipate extracting 100 milligrams of THC at max. If you wish to create stronger edibles, you should work with the assumption that your absorption will be just 30% (or, in this instance, 50 mg per gram of flour). Therefore you should be certain to use the appropriate dosage. Later, to thin out your infusion, you always have the option to add more coconut oil. Although you should always consider that reducing the dose is much simpler than increasing it, work accordingly.

The next crucial point you’ll need to understand is the total dose per edible. Is it 10 mg or 50? If you’re a beginner, It is recommended to experiment at a basic ten and then enhance your way up to a 50. Moreover, you must determine the number of edibles you will be producing. Twelve cookies, presumably, or a batch of brownies from a square pan cut into nine equal pieces?

At the next step, you would have to determine how much THC is needed overall for your recipe; you shall do this by multiplying the dosage by the quantity of final medicated items. We already know that the flower we are considering contains 15% THC, the average amount. For this recipe, even a gram of cannabis flower would be plenty, and if in case we underestimate the rate of absorption, perhaps two shall be used. Using kif doctor’s edible dosage calculator, you can easily determine the potency of your infused coconut oil.

Is it Necessary to Use Lecithin?

Lecithin is a great supplement for infusions because it can enhance the body’s ability to absorb THC and other cannabinoids. But when the question arises, is it required? Then the answer shall be a big no. Although it certainly is beneficial to incorporate the oil or fats into water-based threats when preparing a specific variety of edibles, such as gummies or other recipes that can be moisture loaded. However, Lecithin is already included in any recipe with eggs, so you’re set in that scenario.

Lecithin can also prevent your cookies and cakes from becoming too dry, another advantage of adding it to baked goods. Your finished product could turn out a little dry if you use infused butter and cannabis. However, you can also overcome this by creating an infused cannaoil that is twice as potent and further reducing the amounts in the final recipe by an equivalent quantity of plain butter or coconut oil.

How to select the right oil

This is a question of general wondering: can you possibly prepare canna oil with the help of vegetable oil? The answer is yes, but in technicality, it requires a caveat. There is a rationale behind the fact that most experienced home edible makers and bakers suggest coconut oil and butter. The theory behind this is greatly related to the saturated fat content.

It has already been mentioned above that both THC and CBD love fat. This is because they are compounds belonging to the lipophile class and hence can dissolve in fat. Therefore if you wish to get the most absorption and impact from your edibles, you should choose the fattiest fats and oils. To help you understand this better, let us compare olive oil, which contains approximately 20% saturated fat, while on the other hand coconut oil has roughly 60%. Therefore, the ability of olive oil to absorb THC is around 60% less efficient.

What is the deep-rooted importance of Decarboxylation?

Decarboxylation, often referred to as decarbing, holds one of the most significant stands in the production of cannabis. The THC or CBD in the flower is required to be activated through a process called Decarboxylation, and it is a crucial step that must be performed before the flower can be infused into coconut oil. The cannabinoids present in flower cannot be digested by the human body in the same manner or have the same impact when consumed in unprocessed form.

The cannabinoids in marijuana also need to be triggered by a flame in smoking. Instead of smoking, you’ll have to use your oven and a baking sheet to decarb flowers to extract the edibles. By not performing this extremely simple process, you might miss out on reaching the full potential of your cannabis infusions.

What shall be the Cannabis Infusion Ratio?

It can sometimes be difficult for a novice edible producer to determine how much cannabis shall be used for a cup of oil. Although, it is suggested to add between a quarter and a half ounce of plant matter for every cup of oil. It is also an option for you to utilize more and less at any time, according to your preference. However, it is secure to apply this ratio. You don’t need to use too much flower so that you can’t optimize the extraction, nor too little so that you have to consume a full pie to achieve the proper dosage.

What is the best possible Straining Method?

You should use a mesh strainer and cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter along with a mesh strainer to strain your cannabis coconut oil in the crock pot. Although in an ideal scenario, you should use a cheesecloth that is extremely finely and tightly woven but also not so tight that the oil becomes trapped in the filter.

List of Materials required for preparation of Cannabis Coconut Oil

The following equipment and materials are needed to prepare cannabis coconut oil:

• 1 cup of coconut oil
• Mesh strainer
• A mason jar
• Scale
• A cheesecloth
• Between 7 to 14 grams of cannabis flower
• A baking sheet
• Tinfoil or Aluminum foil
• Medium-sized saucepan or crock pot/slow cooker

Steps to prepare Cannabis-Infused Coconut Oil

Step 1: Decarboxylate your cannabis

For this process, you need to lay the cannabis flower on a baking sheet evenly distributed after they have been coarsely broken up and weighed. For the flower to decarb equally, it must be cut into pieces of an even size. To cut the flower into smaller pieces, you can use a grinder. For around 45 minutes, you shall let the flowers bake in an oven that should be preheated to 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure not to forget to cover the baking pan with aluminium foil to protect the terpenes, and let the flower warm up even while being covered.

Step 2: Add coconut flower to the flower

For this step, in a mason jar, blend your flower with the appropriate quantity of coconut oil. It is recommended to select a jar of a size that will fit in your crock pot with its lid on. In the next step, all you need to do is gently stir the blend. The mason jar must have a lid atop it. Ensure to screw it on firmly enough to keep off outside water but loosely enough so it won’t completely shut during the infusion process.

Step 3: Place the jar in hot water

In this step, place the Mason jar in a cooker or a crock pot with lukewarm water. To completely cover it, ensure there is enough water in the jar/jars if in case you’re preparing many batches at once or dividing a single batch between many smaller jars. Lastly, it is suggested for you line the crockpot with a cloth to prevent the jars from colliding with one another.

Step 4: Let it boil.

Set the crock pot to low and let it simmer for a minimum duration of about 2 hours and a maximum of 6 hours. Shaking or stirring the jars every now and then is recommended to check up on the progress.

Step 5: Remove the flower by straining it.

In this step, you would have to strain the plant matter out of the cannabis; this shall be done when you are assured that the coconut oil has been infused properly and the jar(s) have cooled sufficiently for them to be handled. Further, pour the mixture through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a fresh, clean glass jar or any container of your choice. Let the oil drain completely, and once it has drained properly, you can gently compress the cheesecloth or press the raffinate down to extract more oil, however, keep in mind that doing so could increase the amount of chlorophyll in your cannabis coconut oil. Lastly, please store in a fresh jar with its lid on to extend the shelf life.

Other approaches

Stovetop and Mason Jar:

You can achieve the same results without a crockpot by using a saucepan filled with water. Begin with cold or room temperature water and let it boil for two hours. But ensure to keep an eye on the pot now and then. If you feel that the mason jar is too big to be covered by the pot lid, you’ll have to refill with extra hot water consistently after it boils off.

Saucepan Only Method:

In this process, as a substitute for using a water bath, you only need to transfer the coconut oil and decarboxylated plant material into a saucepan and stew them together over low heat for up to two hours. Although there is a slight chance that the oil might become too hot and eventually damage the finished product if you employ this approach, you’ll need to keep a keen watch over the mixture. You do not want to fry your flowers, so keep a watch and maintain the heat accordingly. Infusing is a process that needs to be carried out slowly and subtly on a particularly low flame.

Double Boiler Method:

There is essentially not quite a difference between employing a double boiler and using a saucepan and a mason jar or a crockpot. Pour the water into the bottom, add the flour and oil to the top, and let them simmer for about two to six hours.

Author’s tip: The longer your cannaoil and plant material are simmered together, the more the probability of the finished infusion tasting much alike the plant. The whole process is subject to your preferences, if you do not like the taste of the end product, adjust the durations accordingly.

How to Store Your Cannabis Coconut Oil

It shall be noted for a fact that cannabis-infused coconut oil is extremely shelf stable and has an extraordinarily long shelf life. When preserved in the prescribed manner, cannabis-infused coconut oil can last up to two to three months, provided that it is kept at room temperature and can even last for up to a period of three years if stored properly in the refrigerator.

The materials required to store the cannabis coconut oil include a sterile, fresh, airtight container or jar. Moreover, it is recommended for you to keep it in your refrigerator or another cool, dark location, such as a pantry or any kitchen cabinet. Your infusion can be protected from the deterioration caused by light by simply storing it in an amber or dark-coloured container.

It might appear a little challenging at first to learn how to make your own coconut cannaoil, but if you give yourself a little time to be persistent with the process, you can easily discover the appropriate dosage, procedure, and recipes of your choice. You are very much welcome to use the information in this article to experiment and discover why cannabis-infused coconut oil is a common component in the kitchens of a plethora of home cooks. Please share your experience and journey along the process of creating your very own batch of cannabis coconut oil, comment down below and inspire others to join the path.