COOKING WITH CANNABIS: The Basics of Cooking Edibles

Hello everyone, I am posting this thread to answer any and all questions one may have concerning cooking edibles. This is a very open ended thread so please, if you see I have made a mistake or have provided false information, do not hesitate to correct me in the comments. GETTING STARTED: When you cook edibles, you must start by making some form of cannabutter (THC infused fats). I say "some form of cannabutter" because THC binds to lipids (fats) and there is a massive variety of different butters, oils, fats, etc that you can use. To make cannabutter, you need two ingredients: a lipid of some sort, and a quarter/half ounce of weed (preferably dank or hybrid. The lower quality the weed, the more you have to use). You start by grinding up your weed in a grinder. It is highly Unreccomended that you try to grind up the weed with your fingernails due to substantial loss of THC. you can buy a grinder online or at a headshop for about 5-15 bucks. when you grind up your weed, grind it up until it is a powder. You can do this by grinding up the buds, shaking the grinder with the weed still inside to disturb it, and regrinding. Repeat this process 3-4 times or until weed is powdered. (see SELECTING YOUR LIPID to determine the best lipid for you) and turn the burner heat to the lowest possible setting (see DECARBING YOUR WEED to learn why the lowest temp is best) and start adding in your powdered weed about a tablespoon at a time, stirring with a rubber spatula between each addition. Now that you have all of your weed introduced into your butter, stir it a little more, then set a timer for 10 minutes, then go watch TV or take a few bong rips or something until the timer goes off. When the timer goes off, stir your weed gently for about a full minute, then reset your timer for another 10 minutes and do whatever. Repeat this process for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. remember, the longer you let your weed sit in warm lipids, the more potent your edibles will be. Lets say you did this for 3 hours (reccomended minimum time)... Now, take your almost-done cannabutter off the heat and let it sit and cool for about 5 minutes. It should still be liquid, yet not extremely hot and your weed still sitting in the pan should be a dark green or brownish color. Now, take a coffee filter and a bowl (the type you eat out of, not the type you smoke out of you pot head! Get your mind out of the gutter!) And pour your cooled butter-weed mixture through the filter and into the bowl, effectively removing The plant matter. If you feel stingy, you can keep the plant matter in there, but three things will happen: a very tiny amount of THC will be added to you brownies, they will smell more like weed (bad if you're trying to hide the smell), and they will more than likely taste like shit lol. So, regardless of if you filtered out the plant matter, you should have your finished cannabutter. Most recipes call for a few tablespoons of butter or whatever, so simply substitute normal butter for cannabutter. So simple!! Remember to stir VERY WELL because if any patches of improperly stirred cannabutter are exposed to the very high heat required to cook brownies, the heat will vaporize the THC, making less potent brownies. Now cook your brownies and enjoy! DECARBING YOUR WEED this part is not necessary to read. It is simply put here for those who want to know what happens to their weed while its decarbing (being mixed into the lipid on stove heat) in said lipid, but on the molecular level. Decarbing is short for decarboxylating, which is a big scary word for turning the THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) which is naturally present on weed before it is combusted or decarbed, into THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the magically magical phsycoactive compound that makes weed so famous. THC is known as a fat-soluble compound, meaning you can mix it with lipids, but not water. (For the more visual learner) think of decarbing your weed in lipids like having two sheets of paper and glitter. The first sheet is dry, representing the weed. The glitter represents the THCA, and the second Sheet has glue on it. You pour the THC (glitter) from the weed (dry sheet of paper) onto the lipid (sheet of paper with glue on it), making your THC infused lipid. Decarbing is the process of taking the acid away from THCA, turning it into THC. THC vaporizes at around 160-170 degrees farenheight, so it is crucial that when decarbing your weed, that you don't exceed this temperature or you will waste your weed. CHOOSING YOUR OIL Ahhh, decisions decisions. When selecting your lipid (oil, fat, butter, etc.) Keep in mind that since THC binds best to lipids, you want the oil, fat, butter, whatever with the highest fat percentage. There are a handful of different types of fats that you may have heard of: saturated fats, unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, Monounsaturated fats... All irrelevant except for one: saturated fats. You want the lipid with the highest saturated fat content because scientists concur that THC binds best to saturated fats (fats that stay solid at room temperature). In my research, two oils have predominantly surfaced as the best lipids to use when making edibles: macadamia nut oil, and coconut oil. Both have a saturated fat rating of anywhere between 85 and 95 percent! If you have an alergy to one, use the other, if you have an allergy to both, it looks like your stuck with less potent brownies. Also, NEVER use olive oil when making baked goods. I looked at the nutrition label on tge back of the bottle and it has a saturated fat rating of only 10%, making it the worst possible lipid to use when making edibles. Well, I think I've covered just about everything. Now feel free to critique my work, make additions, etc etc... Just don't be too critical lol, I'm only 17 and by no means an expert at this stuff.