February 8, 2021
How to Make Butter From Cannabis: Cannabutter Recipe
Table of Contents
There are many ways to consume cannabis: oil tinctures, disposable vapes, capsules, topical creams, gummies... the list goes on!
However, if you like to dabble in the culinary arts, why not use your preferred strain of hemp flower to make cannabutter? Not only is it surprisingly easy to do, but our cannabis-infused butter is tasty and a great way to make use of your hemp flower.
Why Make Cannabutter?
Cannabutter's benefits are two-fold. Firstly- it's delicious, creamy, and versatile. If you're craving something simple, you can spread cannabutter on a slice of toast or sautee your vegetables in it (we suggest broccoli).
Feeling extravagant? Bake with it! It’s as simple as taking your favorite cookie or cake recipe and swapping ordinary butter for cannabis butter instead. Whamo! You got yourself some tasty THC chocolate chip cookies or a decadent THC cake. Any recipe that calls for butter- whether savory or sweet- can make use of cannabis butter. No conversion chart or math necessary!
Secondly, cannabis and butter are a match made in heaven, and not just because they can both make you happy. Scientifically speaking, cannabinoids like THC and CBD are fat-soluble molecules, meaning that they readily bind onto lipids to be more easily absorbed into the bloodstream.
This is why we use butter in our edibles, like our THC + CBD Cereal Bites, and organic MCT oil from coconuts in our tinctures and softgels. Fats help increase your bioavailability for cannabinoids, meaning you absorb them more easily and experience the effects of them more. If anyone needed an excuse to eat more butter, there you have it.
Important Note: Decarboxylation
Before you begin your quest to create cannabutter, you should know about a little something known as decarboxylation. Also known as decarbing, decarboxylation is the process of "activating" the cannabinoids in cannabis buds.
Decarbing cannabis is important because when you take flower, most of what you get is tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC-A) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), which are the precursors to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), respectively. As precursors, they don't really have any active effects (but scientific studies suggest they may have some other interesting properties).
By heating flower, THC-A and CBDA undergo decarboxylation, and slowly convert to THC and CBD.
Decarbing Flower: Fresh vs. Dried Buds
So, if you want to experience the "active effects" of THC and CBD, we suggest first loosely tearing up your flower buds. Then, heat your fresh cannabis buds for roughly an hour at 240 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven. If using dried cannabis buds, you only need to bake them for around 20 minutes at the same temperature.
Make sure to turn them often and let them cool before grinding them up. But be careful, any temperature higher than this will burn up the aromatic terpenes in cannabis, which have a lot to do with the effects and scents of different strains.
Learn More >>> What are Terpenes? Understanding the Essence of Cannabis
Cannabutter Recipe
Required Ingredients
- 1 lb of butter
- 1 oz of THCA flower or equivalent decarbed flower
- 1 cup of water
- 1x 16 oz mason jar
- Medium pot
- Cheesecloth
- Twine
Additional items that will make the process easier:
Once you have your items collected, you can move on to the step-by-step process.
How To Make Cannabutter
- Step 1: Take your THCA flower or other cannabis flower and grind it into small pieces. You can also break the flower up by hand with similar results.
- Step 2: Add the butter and water into your medium-sized saucepot and bring to a light simmer. The water will prevent the butter from burning. Make sure to keep the temperature low enough not to boil though. Even though the water will make burning the butter more difficult, it can still happen. Keeping the temperature low will prevent any unwanted browning of the butter.
- Step 3: Once your butter/water mixture is simmering, add your ground-up THCA Flower. Let the entire mixture simmer for 3 hours stirring every 15-30 minutes.
- Step 4: After your mixture has simmered for 3 hours, take off the heat and strain the mixture using the cheesecloth to filter out any unwanted plant matter. Name-brand mason jars won’t crack when hot liquid is poured directly into them. They also have nifty tops with holes in them so you can secure your cheesecloth using just the lids.
- Step 5: Put your cannabutter into the refrigerator and let it harden.
How to Use Cannabutter
So what do you do now that you have a freshly made block of cannabutter? Whatever you want!
And in case you don't feel like baking or making cannabis butter but still want to experience the euphoric, synergistic effects of lipids with cannabinoids, we have a collection of artisan-crafted, THC-infused baked goods that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth without the dishes.
Until next time, happy exploring, and mind your mind!
FDA Disclaimer: The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your healthcare professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires this notice.
