Searching for tips on cooking with CBD flower? You’ve reached the right spot. Cannabidiol or CBD is proving effective in many wellness circumstances per extensive clinical studies and countless anecdotal reports. A vast majority of the population either has the compound as part of their daily regimen or is at least familiar with the products.
A broad range of forms for the substance gets manufactured with new options available regularly. Convenience and ease of use are the primary considerations when producing products like those you see with Cheefbotanicals. Manufacturers want consumers to have discretion for privacy and portability, so dosage is possible in any situation at any time.
More people are turning to the whole bud instead of using oils and other variations of the compound. With CBD flowers, there are several ways to use it with no one else knowing, including using it in entrées when cooking.
Cooking With CBD Flower Means Unique Aroma and Flavor
Manufacturers develop innovative new products for consumers in the CBD market each day. Among the popular items is the whole bud, which people use in various ways.
Most effective and efficient are smoking and vape. But many individuals enjoy the plethora of recipes available online, not only for baked goods using the compound but also for use in cooking. For guidance on cooking with CBD flower check out this article on Medium.
If you decide to use cannabidiol as a primary ingredient in a recipe, it’s essential to remember each strain offers a unique aroma and flavor. You’ll need to consider that flavor and how it might affect the taste of your dish.
It might require an adjustment in order for the substance to be a compliment instead of a distraction. Here are some more specific tips to help you with the cooking process when using CBD hemp flowers.
Cooking Tips:
- Grind: Cooking with a high CBD hemp flower will require straining the bud and grinding it down until it’s fine using a processor or coffee grinder that’s specifically for that purpose. Otherwise, you’ll have residue remaining and a distinct flavor in a place you might not prefer.
You want to avoid grinding too much because you won’t be able to strain properly otherwise.
- Mix The Strain With Oil In A Cooker: Many busy people today tend to use slow cookers or crock pots for preparation, but a regular cooking pot is as effective.
The flower needs to mix in the pot with an oil like coconut, canola, or even olive oil until entirely blended. Base the ratio of each on your recipe. If you’re making it up as you go along, a rule of thumb is generally 3 of oil mixed in with one of bud, but if you want the highest, you can go to 16 oz oil: 1 oz CBD.
A broad ratio will need dividing among several recipes. Using it all in a single entrée could result in everyone falling asleep. Remember to be selective about whom you serve, especially if children will be joining you or pets happen to be running around with the chance of getting into leftovers.
- Heating The Mixture To Dissolve The Compound: Use low heat to dissolve the cannabidiol in the oil. You want to avoid hot heat, which could burn the flower. You can help to prevent this by adding water occasionally until the substance dissolves.
A slow cooker set on low will take up to eight hours. For those who want a potent, well-infused substance, it should simmer for as long as three days.
The cooking pot on the stove will merely go for approximately three hours but will require constant stirring and continued watching, so it doesn’t boil. The idea is to cook it as long as possible for the best infusion and strength. With a slow cooker, there’s less need to watch it or blend.
- Straining: While the mixture is hot, it needs straining with a wire strainer to get the largest pieces. The process can take significant time. Use a cheesecloth to ensure you remove all the bud and place the strained liquid into a sealed glass jar that you run under hot water to heat it. That prevents it from breaking due to the hot substance flowing into the glass.
- Use The Substance Immediately Or Store Properly: The compound should go in a cool, dark place or go into a recipe right away. Sunlight and oxygen will decrease the strength and cause a loss of freshness.
If taken care of, you can hold onto the oil for as long as 90 days. Some indicate you can freeze to make it last longer, but there are debates on that.
The best way to use CBD oil that you make fresh for cooking or baking is to incorporate it into a recipe freshly from the slow cooker. It’s wise to merely make what your recipe calls for so that there’s no need to store.
In any standard recipe, the CBD oil will replace a part of the recipe’s oil. You won’t have a full understanding of the potency level. That means you want to stay with a low amount and consume slowly in the beginning, perhaps an ounce.
I hope you’ve learned a bit from our tips for cooking with CBD flower. However, you might decide edibles are not the way to go but instead choose to smoke or vape your flower. But if you do want to experiment, some of the trusted websites that offer products might provide some recipes for you to try. CBD buds might make the ideal ingredient.
Want to read more tips? Check out our post about the common mistakes you should avoid when cooking with Hemp or CBD oil.
Fallon Chan is a food and lifestyle photographer and blogger.
