If you want to make the most potent and satisfying marijuana edibles, then you’ll want to try marijuana cooking with concentrates. While most people make cannabis-infused ingredients by infusing butter or oil with weed, using concentrates such as Kief and Hash can produce even better results.
Kief and Hash are two types of cannabis concentrates known for being easy to make, easy to use, and providing more flavor. Using them in your marijuana cooking can enhance both the taste and the effects. What’s more, they also make it easier to determine and control the dosage of your marijuana edibles. Here’s a guide on cooking with concentrates and why you should try it.
Why Should You Try Cooking With Concentrates?
Marijuana edibles provide one of the most powerful psychoactive experiences possible. While smoking or vaping weed generally gets you high for around 2-3 hours, consuming marijuana edibles can give you effects for anywhere from 4-12 hours. Not only that, but the effects are much stronger than smoking.
While you can simply buy edibles, many users enjoy cooking with cannabis. After all, it’s straightforward enough for anyone to carry out at home and you can get truly creative with your cannabis edibles. But while many people cook marijuana edibles using weed, cooking with concentrates is arguably even better.
One of the benefits of cooking with concentrates is that they contain extra high levels of THC and other cannabinoids. You generally only need to use a small amount to end up with potent marijuana edibles. Plus, they’re packed with terpenes and often add unique flavors to your edible creations.
Using concentrates can also make it easier to determine the dosage of your edibles. Let’s say you use a block of Hash with THC levels of 60%. You now know that 1 gram will contain around 600mg of THC, so using a quarter to make cannabis butter will give you a THC-infused condiment with 150mg of THC. This knowledge makes it much easier to divide edibles such as brownies and cookies into 10mg servings.
Where To Get Kief
One of the best types of cannabis concentrates to use for marijuana edibles is kief. Kief is made when the trichomes from marijuana become dry and fall off, resulting in what looks like a green powder. Since trichomes are where the cannabinoids and terpenes of cannabis are produced, kief contains potent THC levels.
Many users will find kief if they simply look inside their grinder. The more marijuana you grind, the more kief you’ll end up with. While you may have emptied the kief from your grinder over time, using a 4-piece grinder is a fantastic way to collect kief in a separate chamber. If you use it enough, you’ll end up with a nice stash.
Alternatively, you can also manually grind kief from your marijuana buds. It’s best to do this with a Pollen Box or silkscreen, although sifting your weed to collect a stash of kief can take a fair bit of effort. Another approach is to combine kief and dry ice in a mesh bag- the trichomes will break off and fall through the mesh. In some places, you can also buy kief.
Where To Get Hash
Hash is like an enhanced form of kief that’s also fantastic for marijuana cooking. Hash is a solid, brick-like kind of cannabis extract that’s generally made by compressing large stashes of kief. There are various methods of converting kief into Hash, some of which you can carry out right at home if you have enough kief.
One of the best ways to make Hash involves using nothing but kief, some parchment paper, and a glass jar. Wrap a stash of kief in a piece of parchment paper and fold it into a parcel. Next, fill the glass jar with hot water, seal it, and roll it firmly over the parchment paper multiple times. The kief will harden and turn into a block of Hash. You may need to put the paper in the fridge for around 30 minutes to loosen it up and unwrap it.
You can also make Hash using a tool called a Pollen Press. You simply fill the Pollen Press with kief, screw the top on tightly, and leave it to compress the Hash for around 8 hours. It’s best to retighten the top every hour or so. You can also lightly heat it with a butane torch to make the Hash darker and more pliable. Once the time is up, open up the Pollen Press and push the Hash out.
Although you can make Hash at home by using kief, many users might not have enough kief or might not want to go through the effort. The best way to get high-quality Hash is to simply buy Hash online.
Marijuana Cooking With Kief and Hash
The best way to cook with kief or Hash is to infuse them into butter or oil. This is a fairly simple process, but you’ll need to decarboxylate your concentrates first to activate the THC. You can do this by putting them in an oven-safe glass container covered with foil. Put the container in an oven at 245ºF for 30-40 minutes and take it out to cool.
Once your kief or Hash has been decarboxylated, place a saucepan on medium heat and heat some water. Lower the heat and place a glass cooking bowl inside. Combine a gram of kief or Hash with 2 ounces of butter or coconut oil and allow the ingredients to melt and combine. Leave them to simmer without boiling for an hour.
During this process, the THC in your concentrates will bind to the fat in butter or oil to create a cannabis-infused condiment. You can then strain your butter/oil into a container and use it on foods, in drinks or in recipes for edibles such as cookies and brownies.
Conclusion
Marijuana cooking with concentrates is a great way to make powerful cannabis edibles. It can also make it easier to determine the levels of THC in your edibles, although you may still have to use some trial and error. While anyone can try marijuana cooking at home, if you want to save yourself the time and effort, you can also simply buy edibles online.