Cooking with cannabis dates back further than most might think, with records from 800 BC of “Bhang,” a milk based cannabis tea concocted in present-day India. Stems, seeds and buds were ground up, many times mixed along with almonds, rose petals and other spices, adding cream and mulching it into a soupy mixture to drink.
Even back then people had some science behind cooking with cannabis, even if they may have not realized the impact of their findings. The tactic to extract cannabis with milk versus water is a prime example of the knowledge these people began to cultivate; THC binds to fat cells!
Through history cannabis has been refrenced as an edible, used especially for relaxation: many times for women with cramps or recommended to young brides on their wedding day. Because Orthodox Islam law forbids the consumption of alcohol, cannabis was one of the only societal intoxicants permitted for entertainment and liberation. Consumption of cannabis has been a large part of culture and history in India, going back to the Vedic age, from 1500-500 BC, when the oldest scriptures of Hinduism were created. “Bhang” drinks were used in spiritual and holy ceremonies as well as for celebration and to help people unwind. Recorded in the scriptures, cannabis was refereed to as a “source of happiness” and labeled as one of the five most sacred plants on the Earth, linking that angels resided in the leaves of the plant.
The ingestion of cannabis leaves, buds or drinks and edibles made with hashish is recorded for many warriors like the Sikh, who would eat and drink cannabis on the battle field to help numb pain and give them the perseverance to fight longer.
From my personal experiences of cooking with cannabis, I keep it very “old school” by making a butter first, using 7 grams of ground up bud for one stick of butter, or closer to 10-15 grams of stems, ground up (I like using a coffee grinder that I primarily use for cannabis cooking).
I melt the stick of butter on a low temp and add the ground up cannabis, slowly, making sure its well mixed before adding more. Stir this so the butter evenly coats all the buds and set the heat just enough to make the butter bubble, only slightly. I continue to mix this with a spoon while it slowly bubbles for about 45 minutes.
Your house will smell incredibly strong of pot, for a long time after. So if this is not something you are interested in I suggest you try a new method learned from our newest guest on WeedSnob TV, Chef Ricky.
Chef Ricky has perfected the recipe of using kief when making a canna butter. To decarboxylate cannabis you must to heat the herb for the THCA to break down into THC, when making butter my traditional way, this is the 45 minute process of stirring and slow bubbles.
If you are curious about decarboxylation in detail, here is a great article.
With Chef Ricky, we were not only able to cut that decarb process to 7 minutes, but his home did not have any potent aroma of cannabis. It was fun and very easy to make.
One of my favorite aspects of cannabis cooking with Chef Ricky is his desire to stray away from the traditional cookies, brownies and cakes, for something with less sugar and more nutritious fillings. Tired of only finding edibles and recipes for sugary treats, Chef Ricky started creating his own recipes, through trial and error, of rich and healthy snacks and meals, with as high or low of a dose as he desired.
He once prepared a Danksgiving (Thanksgiving meal that is made with cannabis infused food) of 9 courses that had a final dose of about 10 mg of THC per attendant. That is the best part about creating your own edibles at home, you can make them as strong or light as you prefer.
Using the kief butter we made, we created a THC pie crust, that we turned into party sized Duxelle’s- a traditional French tart made with mushrooms and shallots.
The souffle we created was quick, light and so delicious, I was craving it for days after. Although it may sounds complicated, it was simple to make and almost too beautiful to eat.
evergreen-cheese-souffle
You can also watch our episodes of WeedSnob TV, where special guest Chef Ricky shows us how to create the kief butter at home, making pie crusts with it and baking it into a cheese souffle and party appetizers.
If you want to see more of Chef Ricky, check out his cooking with cannabis show “Baked.”
Written By: Masha Brown, Social Media Specialist
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