Canna oil/butter Temperature?

All the recipes say to simmer on low, but who the hell knows what temp there Low is to my low, so this is for anybody who has more edibles making experience then i do.. At what temp do u simmer your oil/butter, 95% of the recipes say to just simmer, i found a few that say simmer at 200F, another that says dont simmer over 250F and another says not to go over 280F.. Anybody have the best temp to simmer the ground up buds at in the oil/butter..

For the cannabutter
From the recipes I have read, most of them used 100C (212F)
a) Heated butter with water.
b) Sealed butter in glass jar and heated it in boiling water.
c) Used double boiler method to heat butter.

d) Heating (simmering) butter in saucepan.

As for canna-oil
I can only state the obvious
Below minimum vaporizing temperature of cannabinoids.
Below the smoking point of the specific oil being used.


"Best" meaning the optimal/safest temperature that will let all the active ingredients (cannabinoids) dissolve into the fat. Correct?

That is a good question.
I think we will need science to find its true value.

I would also like to know
What is the saturation point of THC in oil/butter/alcohol?
What is the best heating duration for dissolving all cannabinoids? (longer the better?)

choding said:

"Best" meaning the optimal/safest temperature that will let all the active ingredients (cannabinoids) dissolve into the fat. Correct?

That is a good question.
I think we will need science to find its true value.

I would also like to know
What is the saturation point of THC in oil/butter/alcohol?
What is the best heating duration for dissolving all cannabinoids? (longer the better?)

Click to expand...

yes i want to know what the optimum temperature is to simmer the weed in oil/butter, most dont really explain the exact temperatures they used, so it can be different for different people, but with a exact temperature range and the use of a cooking thermometer you can dial the temp in and have the best extraction possible of the thc and other cannabinoids.

Yeah I've never went to an actuall temp. I just always go with a reaaaaaal low simmer. Like just tiny bubbles every couple seconds stirring ocasionally and cooking for an hour. Has worked wondrfully for me multiple times with after vape.

^^^ +1

Very tiny bubbles and a very light steam when infusing straight vegetable oil. Just start off as low as your stove can go, wait 10 minutes and see where it's at. If needed, turn it up half a notch at a time, waiting 5-10 minutes after each increase.

Stick a candy thermometer in the oil when it's at that point and you'll have a ballpark.

When boiling butter in water the temperature is going to stay at 100C since water boils at 100.

I've been wondering about this too.

I know the cannabinoids as well as terpines that we're after are only fat soluble which is why you need a fat (oil or butter) to dissolve them in.

What I would like to know is in the case of infusing oil with cannabis, since THC boils at 314.6F, cannabidol at 320-356F and cannabinol at 365, how would these compounds be released if the oil does not reach those temperatures?

My experience when vaporizing is that indeed, the cannabis needs to be heated to a very precise temperature to (at least) release THC. Ever tried hitting a vaporizer before the weed and heating element have heated? All you get is some aroma and no high.

Just the same with vapped weed: if I don't get the temperature up to 365 (near combustion) I certainly don't get any effect from the CBD and CBNs.

Can someone shed some light on the chemistry of this?

Thanks.

Very good questions superconducter. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Maybe there's no need for a chemical explanation. Enough heat turns THC into vapor which travels away from the source quite easily through air. Is it possible the release of that THC is a different process? For example, do the cells in a canabis bud explode when water is turned into ice once frozen? If so, would that not be a more suitable way to release the THC? I'm curious too!

Hummm...

But i may be dead wrong here. I vaguely recall reading about "trichromes" which i gathered were some kind of droplets filled with THC, like human sweat is filled with salts so to speak... Perhaps i'm not making any sense at all, i wonder...

Hello. I am new to this site but joined due to the common problems we face. I have been cooking weed butter for about 3 years now but still can't find a recipe that is repeatable with similar outcomes.

My main problem is the loss of butter during the boiling process.

The ingredients:

1 ounce of trim
1/2 pound of butter
2-3 quarts of water

The process:

Combine butter, water, and trim to large soup pot on stove. Keep on low heat/ near boiling for 2 hours stirring almost constantly. Then take the mixture and strain it into a large bowl with a metal mesh strainer. Cover and place the bowl in the fridge for 8 hours. The butter will have formed a hard layer on top which can be removed easily. Discard the gross water and wahlaa you have butter.

There are two questions no one has been able to answer so wish me luck.

First: When the mixture is on the stove what exact temperature must the water be for the THC to be extracted and absorbed into the butter?

I have recently bought a crock pot which has three settings. High, Low, and Warm. I have tried both the high and low settings and both boil the water vigorously. With a candy thermometer I have been watching the temp of each setting. The warm setting keeps water well below boiling at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit(obviously). Will this be hot enough?

Second: If the mixture is on the stove what is the boiling temperature of butter? Why do I keep losing so much butter?!!!

I feel if I lower the temp the THC extraction/absorption process will be effected. But if I don't I end up with way less butter!!

Please help. I am making another batch tomorrow with some scientific measuring devices and will post the results.

Oh and one more question:

There must be a saturation point for THC in Butter. Does anybody know what it is? Chemists?

slow cooker is the way to go, the low temperature is 87C and the high temperature is 95C so you can't burn the butter.

Thats what I bought, one dedicated to cannabutter.


and by the way butter is 8-12% water so what you are seeing is the water that is gone, not the butter.

I think if you are using water in with your oil or butter, you temps will not get above boiling until all the water boils off which is 100C/212F.

slow cooker use water between the element and the bowl so it's the same thing.

you put water in the metal bowl (which have the element), you put your ceramic bowl on top and thats it


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/CrockPot.JPG

I simmer my oil on the low setting on my stove, periodically I turn it up to med. low for a minute until bubbles start forming. then I turn it back down to low. once the bubbles slow to almost a stop, i turn it back up. A rising and falling temp cycle takes about 10 minutes so I do this about 5 or 6 times during my required hour simmer.

the first few times I cooked I made ABV cannaoil brownies. however, on the last batch, I used somewhat less (20g) abv than I normally use (24-26g) but put it in my electric coffee grinder before simmering and rather than take about 20-30 minutes for the dark brown goodness to start leaching out of the abv, it was almost instant dissolving. The sawdust consistency of the superfine grinded abv turned it into abv powered drink mix! One thing I did notice with the sawdust grind was there was barely anything left to strain after simmering. I got a small amount of abv mud but a majority of it just dissoved in the oil.

Every other time I strained it, I would have damn near the same amount of used, soaked abv as I started with. I assumed this batch would taste more "ABV-like" but I was wrong. They are just as potent, if not more potent, will less abv.

Hi everyone I have been lurking here for several months. I bought some vapes based on the great info here: Glass VG, SSV (control shaft broke immediately alas, still trying to figure out what to do about it), cherry PD, walnut Woodeez, MFLB. I've been accumulating abv for a few months so I thought I'd relate my experience with it. I am in an apartment setting where excess odor could be a problem, and though I am legal in CA, discretion is the better part of valor so decided against simmering oil for three hours. The first time I tried just mixing up the abv remains of what had been about 3/4 ounce of herb with Wesson corn oil. I put the abv in a glass jar and poured the oil on it till the oil level was about double that of the abv before I put the oil in. I stirred and covered it tightly and let it sit for a couple weeks, opening and stirring now and then. Maybe 20 minutes after a stir the solids sank to a layer in the bottom of the jar, above which was a dark layer of oil. In a spoon this was a rich, transparent green. Floating on top of the oil was a thin layer of tiny, ground up and vaped stem bits, which taste somewhat like popcorn. I skimmed those with a spoon and left them mostly spread on the side of the jar. I then used the oil in two ways. Sometimes I would just dip a spoon in and take a teaspoon or two directly in my mouth, swirl around on tongue for a while and wash down with tea. If you have an empty stomach this can bring on a near instantaneous high. Otherwise I used two or three tablespoons in the making of fried rice. Also quite good and comes on fairly fast, within an hour.

I accumulated more abv, the remains of around 1.5 or 2 ounces. This time I ground them to a fine flour in a rotary coffee grinder. Remembering a Chinese cooking technique involving pouring heated oil onto a bowl of spices and flavor ingredients, I put the finely ground abv into a glass jar (from Adams peanut butter) and heated more Wesson corn oil in a saucepan to very hot but not smoking. I then carefully decanted this hot oil into the glass jar containing the abv. I wondered if I was going to shatter the glass but no problem. Be cautious about the glass if you try this - do it in the sink and have glasses on just in case. I did not measure real carefully but I was aiming to have the oil level be about 1.5 to 2 times the height of the abv alone. I was trying for a bit less oil and rather more abv in hope of a more potent elixir. The hot oil seethed and bubbled for a little while in the jar. I let it cool, covered tightly and left it overnight. This morning I tried about half a tablespoon straight up and chased with tea. Nice high, stronger than before! I think the taste is better with the hot oil treatment. The taste is surprisingly good.

Edit, several hours later: Gee that was trippy! Re-reading this I see I might not have chosen the best thread but in my mind at the time was the idea that abv has already been cooked at 385F or so; the only cooking with oil would presumably be to dissolve as much of the remaining essences as poss... So the temp or length of heating isn't really that critical for abv, I suspect.

in my experience making cannabutter, I like to keep my simmer temp around 220 Fahrenheit. However, as far as i know, temps as high as 250 should be ok. The method of adding everything to a pot of boiling water and then separating it later, is simply a fool proof way to regulate the temp at 212, as liquid water can not reach any higher temp. Anyone that has tried that method can attest to its effectiveness. I however, just like to use a small, 1/2 qt pot, an ounce of ABV, 1/2 lb of butter, and a candy thermometer.

Someone mentioned losing some butter during the process and that is to be expected. Whole butter is only about 80% fat, while the rest of it is comprised of milk solids and water. During the long slow cooking process, the water evaporates and the milk solids break down leaving you with pure ABV infused butter fat.

I however, just like to use a small, 1/2 qt pot, an ounce of ABV, 1/2 lb of butter, and a candy thermometer.

Click to expand...

how long do you let it simmer when you use the thermometer?

I usually vape my weed up to 400 degrees F (205 C) - so should I have to cook at a temperature above that? As in, boiling water on stove top with butter and ABV?

I've made butter with bud a number of times and always used a crockpot on high overnight (with plenty of water!!). This is my first attempt with ABV weed. I have 35 grams so I'm thinking of making two batches: one with stove for 30-40 mins and one with crockpot 8+ hrs.

Looking forward to learning more and sharing. Hope I get some decent strength butter!

So glad I found this thread. I've been wanting to try cooking with cannabis for a while, but haven't really found any instructions specific enough to do so. Thanks guys for all the helpful tips and hints. I'll let you know the results.

Came across this threat and needed to sigh up so I can respond. I can tell the above posters are definitely not chemists or engineers...

First of all, how much to use. Pretty much however much you want. The saturation solubility of most cannabinoids in oils are 300mg/g at a minimum. This is regardless of the type of oil that you use. This would mean that you would have to use approx 2000g of flower to saturate 1/3 cup of olive oil (assuming 15% THC).

Second, what type of oil. Many people think coconut is the best. Why? No clue. It's pretty well known that long chain unsaturated fatty acid lipids tend to show much higher bioavailabilty in lipophilic drugs because they are converted to cylomicrons upon absorption into intestinal enterocytes which are subsequently transported to the lymphatic system rather than the portal vein (in summary, it skips the liver which metabolizes most of the cannabinoids). So olive oil being the most concentrated in long chain unsaturated monoglycerides is the best https://www.eventscribe.com/2019/Ph...PosterID=234837&rnd=0.3449101&mode=posterinfo

Third, you DO NOT want to vaporize the THC when extracting into oil or during decarboxylation. Vaporizing means your turning it into a gas. Gasses then go into the air. Not the oil. You want to heat up the oil so that the cannabinoids dissociate from the flower and solubilize into the oil. The temperature increases the entropy and drives the process. As long as you're under the vaporization point you're good, but even if you're close to vaporization but not there, there can still be some that evaporates. I'd say 250F max is good.

I know this thread is old AF but hope this helps someone.

tjbullet said:

Hello. I am new to this site but joined due to the common problems we face. I have been cooking weed butter for about 3 years now but still can't find a recipe that is repeatable with similar outcomes.

My main problem is the loss of butter during the boiling process.

The ingredients:

1 ounce of trim
1/2 pound of butter
2-3 quarts of water

The process:

Combine butter, water, and trim to large soup pot on stove. Keep on low heat/ near boiling for 2 hours stirring almost constantly. Then take the mixture and strain it into a large bowl with a metal mesh strainer. Cover and place the bowl in the fridge for 8 hours. The butter will have formed a hard layer on top which can be removed easily. Discard the gross water and wahlaa you have butter.

There are two questions no one has been able to answer so wish me luck.

First: When the mixture is on the stove what exact temperature must the water be for the THC to be extracted and absorbed into the butter?

I have recently bought a crock pot which has three settings. High, Low, and Warm. I have tried both the high and low settings and both boil the water vigorously. With a candy thermometer I have been watching the temp of each setting. The warm setting keeps water well below boiling at about 160 degrees Fahrenheit(obviously). Will this be hot enough?

Second: If the mixture is on the stove what is the boiling temperature of butter? Why do I keep losing so much butter?!!!

I feel if I lower the temp the THC extraction/absorption process will be effected. But if I don't I end up with way less butter!!

Please help. I am making another batch tomorrow with some scientific measuring devices and will post the results.

Oh and one more question:

There must be a saturation point for THC in Butter. Does anybody know what it is? Chemists?

Click to expand...

To answer your questions:

question 1: When you use the water method with the butter, the max the water can get is 212F, boiling point. The fat can't get any higher, (maybe just a tad I guess, since steam is like 240F or something) since the water will be the mass majority. As long as you have enough water (which you should when using a crock pot and going by the minimum liquid lines) then you don't have to worry about getting the butter too hot, as the water is preventing it.

question 2: Seems like you aren't straining it enough? For most people at home, you will never get 100% of the butter/oil out of your weed when straining.

Now here is my go to method for making cannabutter:

Buy and use a digital thermometer, which can greatly improve your cannabutter.

First I would decarb your weed. I preheat the oven to 250F and put the pan (I'll be using this to decarb weed in and cook butter in) in and put some aluminum foil on the top as a lid (or use a lid if you got one that is oven safe). I then stick the thermometer through the foil and into the pan so that way I'm taking the temp of the inside of the pan where my weed will be.

Also watch your temp, as electric ovens are harder to maintain a steady temp. So i'll turn down the oven as needed if the temp starts to get over like 265F or so. But once the inside of the pan comes up to temp, I'll then add in my broken down weed, about the size of a dime or tad bit smaller. I'll decarb it for about 30 mins. You may need to give it a good stir about half way through. Depending on how much weed you use and other variables, you may need to decarb for even longer (5-20 mins?) until your weed is dry and not moist when you crush it between your fingers. It should be brown in color.

Once it is decarbed, I'll throw in the proper amount of butter/coconut oil/ghee/fat and put it back in the oven , still around 255F-265F and cook for 3 more hours. I like a more potent cannabutter so I'll use the least amount of butter I can, just enough to cover the weed. I'll let the pan cool down and then put it in the freezer over night. I'll take it out the next day and let it defrost and then put it back in the oven at 255F for another 1hr and then I'll strain it. I've repeated this method several times now with very good results each time. Several times thinking I might have taken too much. I don't use shake but usually make edibles when I get some pretty bad 'dank' that isn't vaping that well (non legal area). If you give it a try let me know how it goes.

I found this great cannabutter article that might help you.

And I have found this test of four diff methods to be very illuminating

https://hightimes.com/edibles/ultimate-cannabutter-experiment-results/