CannaButter

[Vitolo]

I have been making CannaButter in this exact way for 50+ years.
I do not believe that there is a shortcut, and I do not mix any additive to "boost" THC content.. I personally have tried a few dozen butters made by others in various ways, and did not find the potency to be present. I DO NOT use Soy Lecithin.
I also do not decarboxylate the weed.
It is about to spend 12 hours "decarbing" in hot butter.
Tested against butter made by pros, that decarb 1st... they all have admitted
that my butter is as strong, or stronger.
The only time I decarboxylate is when I am going to use green MJ directly in a recipe...
and then I do it stovetop in a dry frying pan.





I use one pound of UNSALTED Butter.
I use a 3 quart crock Pot



on the low setting, I pour a quart of water into crock pot and allow it to heat
Once hot, I place the pound of Butter into the crock pot.
When the butter is melted, I add one ounce of completely dried and ground flowers.

Stir and make sure to clean the sides of crock pot with the spoon every hour.
This is done for 8 to 12 hours.
12 hours allows clarification of the butter into what chefs call "Ghee"
Pour through a screen strainer, and leave for 8 hours.



You will begin to see the Cannabutter separating

Cannabutter is rising to the top, and excess solid matter begins to form below the butter
and part of it starts heading to the vessel's bottom





There will be some plant matter adhering to the plug's bottom.
This is scraped off easily with a knife.


After 8 hours of refrigeration the butter looks like a plug of melted green crayon.
Take a knife and go around the vessel's edge where cannabutter sits, and lift
out the plug.


Summary:
Butter:
unsalted butter.. 4 bars (1 pound... 454 grams)
cook on low in crock pot with a quart of water, and one full ounce of well ground bud.
cook 12 hours stirring once an hour (and scraping sides of crock pot downwards.)
filter through regular kitchen strainer. pour into graduated measuring cup, and refrigerate overnight.
remove plug in morning and scrape away any residual weed at plug bottom.
Weigh the plug.. it will be as low as 227 grams (1 cup) even though you started with 2 cups...
this is because you clarified the waters and milk solids out of it by cooking so long at low heat.
You will base recipe on 1 cup... meaning you will use 227 grams of the butter (your butter may actually weigh up to 375 grams.. the more reduced the stronger.)
1/2 cup recipe is 113 grams of butter

 

[FlyingLow]

Thank you for posting Vitolo!
I do things slightly differently than you, and I had a question.

Why do you go through to ghee? Do you do this for potency? Do you like the consistency of the spread better?

I have not been able to notice any noticeable increase of potency cooking past 3 hours. After 3 hours (different proportions but same technique), filter through cloth and pour into molds. After filtering, I don't see the same separation you do with different layers, I just get solid potent colorful butter. Is that because I am not cooking for the extended period you are?

 

[Stu]

I am about to make a pound of butter with my Magical Butter Machine. @Vitolo why do you choose not to use lecithin? I was planning on adding it to my batch and would like to hear your thoughts before I make it. I've only heard good things about adding it, but I'm not really educated enough on the subject to know.

 

[Megaton]

And to follow on from @Stu 's query, do you have any thoughts on sunflower lecithin instead, if the soy is the issue?

 

[Tuck]

Thank you for posting Vitolo!
I do things slightly differently than you, and I had a question.

Why do you go through to ghee? Do you do this for potency? Do you like the consistency of the spread better?

I have not been able to notice any noticeable increase of potency cooking past 3 hours. After 3 hours (different proportions but same technique), filter through cloth and pour into molds. After filtering, I don't see the same separation you do with different layers, I just get solid potent colorful butter. Is that because I am not cooking for the extended period you are?

He uses butter. But during the process of making CannaButter, it is turned into Ghee.

If you didn't add Cannabis, and you melted butter and let it resolidify in the fridge, you'll see that there's a separation of butter and liquid. This is known as clarified butter or ghee. The major difference between clarified butter and ghee is clarified butter you remove it from the heat as soon as the milk fats turn clear. When you let it stay on the burner a while, it becomes Ghee. So since Vito is letting his butter hangout for 12 hours, its pretty much at the ghee stage.

He also has the separation he has, because he adds water to the mix. Vitolo would not be able to strain and pour into molds. He needs to re-solidify in the fridge to get rid of the water.

 

[FlyingLow]

awesome explanation! Thank you!

Is one a more powerful delivery vehicle than the other? butter vs ghee.
My butter usually knocks people out, but I am always looking to kick it up a step.

 

[Dayseed]

@FlyingLow

Hight Times made a pretty good comparison a while back: Which Fat Absorbs THC Best? • High Times

Olive oil came out best, but you’ll see that it depends on cooking time and other variable. I personally prefer coconut oil because it isn’t as sensitive to variations in timing and technique and produces pretty consistent results.

 

[FlyingLow]

I tend to prefer butter over others for it is my taste preference. Olive and coconut oils do not really appeal to me as I don't often cook with either.

 

[Vitolo]

Why do you go through to ghee? Do you do this for potency? Do you like the consistency of the spread better?
I have not been able to notice any noticeable increase of potency cooking past 3 hours. After 3 hours (different proportions but same technique), filter through cloth and pour into molds. After filtering, I don't see the same separation you do with different layers, I just get solid potent colorful butter. Is that because I am not cooking for the extended period you are?

I turn the butter to ghee because it is the choice for baking by French Chefs... it gives a richer flavor to caramels.. and to all pastries. I have a magic butter machine, but the flavors seem richer to me doing it the old way.
Yes I notice a stronger buzz using the ghee. If you want to go to a page that shows a bunch of candy and pastry made with canna butter I will give a link here... This was all accomplished at home, and went to the same patients that I have gotten free vaporizers for (ok... I ate some...hehe , ok I ate a huge amount!!).
The link to photos of pastries made by me.. the pictures are a compilation of 90 days of pastries... (there is one shot of ABV there, but it has nothing to do with canna butter:
Edibles made with Cannabutter by Vito Oh yeah in the first picture The cake is butter... but in front of it are ABV Firecrackers!

I am about to make a pound of butter with my Magical Butter Machine. @Vitolo why do you choose not to use lecithin? I was planning on adding it to my batch and would like to hear your thoughts before I make it. I've only heard good things about adding it, but I'm not really educated enough on the subject to know.

Lecithin give the butter a slightly different aroma and essence. When I taste a small bit of my butter, it melts to nothing immediately on the tongue. It tastes wonderful.
When I tried lecithin a few times when I tasted a bit of the butter I felt a slower melt, and a very minute feeling when rubbing my tongue against the bak of my upper teeth, there was a waxy feel...that sometimes felt chalky. I felt very little rich flavor and odor. The pastries got me medicated, but I found that the butter without the lecithin felt the same or better.
If there was a waxy feel to the lecithin butter, it could degrade a tiny bit of the rich flavor, and I want the pastries to be the purest and most natural feeling upon the tongue.. the way the cakes melts in your mouth etc. That's why French Pastry Chef's use the ghee!

And to follow on from @Stu 's query, do you have any thoughts on sunflower lecithin instead, if the soy is the issue?

Soy is not the issue.. it is adding extra ingredients I do not like. I get plenty medicated with the butter that I do make!

He uses butter. But during the process of making CannaButter, it is turned into Ghee.
He also has the separation he has, because he adds water to the mix. Vitolo would not be able to strain and pour into molds. He needs to re-solidify in the fridge to get rid of the water.

Correct. The fridge separates the sediment.. all the herbal residues and the water. I use the water method, because it allows room for the butter to work to absorb the THC as you mix... and gives very easy handling. The butter comes out of the vessel in a solid plug. I scrape the bottom, so there is no sediment. There is a good picture of this at the link I left for @FlyingLow .

Is one a more powerful delivery vehicle than the other? butter vs ghee.
My butter usually knocks people out, but I am always looking to kick it up a step.

I feel the ghee has a very readily easy melting point.
I have used all kinds of butters I am not one to pass up a good recipe.
To be most honest.. I do feel a faster "come-on" of the meds with the ghee.
I also feel I get a stronger ass- kicking!
It could be psychological... but whatever works!
Thanks for providing you thoughts... and for reading my post... but thanks especially for intelligent well phrased questions.
All of you can post different recipes here.. the thread is here for all to use.. even post images of your process!

 

[Dayseed]

I very much appreciate your detailed response @Vitolo. You always provide a lot of useful insights.

I've always been so focused on convenience and efficiency that I hadn’t stopped to think about the end application. Whilst coconut cannabutter Is very easy to make, it doesn’t lend itself to much more than hot chocolate or rudimentary baking.

Now you’ve got me thinking about how I’d like to cook with the end product, it changes everything. Given how much I love Italian food, I really need to look at an olive oil infusion for my next batch. That shift in thinking moves everything away from a pragmatic infusion approach and more towards culinary considerations

Very inspirational .

 

[Tuck]

If you plan to work with Olive Oil, you don't want to do a big 12 hour infusion on heat. I can't remember why exactly but I think it has to do with the low smoke point of olive oil?

But you can infuse olive oil. Here's the trick:

Equal parts olive oil and herbs... ie if you use 1 cup of olive Oil, use 1 cup of Herb.

In small saucepan over medium heat bring olive oil to just a simmer with a few bubbles coming up. Add in herbs and steep for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover saucepan with lid and allow the oil to infuse for two hours undisturbed. Strain oil and herbs through a fine mesh strainer. I like to use a Potato Ricer to help squeeze it out and I use coffee filters in my strainer.

A tip on coffee filters - Pour a little regular oil in first to get them wet before straining.

With these types of oils - don't use water. While they will separate in the fridge, this type of oil won't solidify like coconut oil and butter. If you have one of those fat separators for making turkey gravy, maybe you can use that? But I don't have experience.

Edit- On the old forum, I remember someone doing a no-heat oil infusion. That might work. You'd just let your herb steep in the oil for X hours (maybe even a couple days?) then strain. I've never tried this but I believe they were successful.

 

[Chandler]

Reading these posts is bringing back the urge to bake! Been a while

 

[Dayseed]

Thanks for the tips @Tuck.

You are right, you should be able to infuse olive oil without heat, but if it's anything like infusing oil with garlic or garden herbs then you'll get better results if things are left to infuse for a couple of weeks.

 

[Vitolo]

Others say:
Use 1:1 ratio- herbal matter (fully ground) to oil.
then...

• Crock pot method: Heat oil and cannabis in a slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Double-boiler method: Heat oil and cannabis in a double-boiler on low for at least 6 hours (8 is better), stirring occasionally.
• Saucepan method: Heat oil and cannabis in a simple saucepan on low for at least 3 hours, stirring frequently (a saucepan is most susceptible to scorching).

I use a totally different approach, but again flavor is a consideration (a reason for using bud whose essence is one you crave..blue dream for pastries/Sour Diesel for savory)
I use a glass vessel with a lid:

• Grind your herb well.
• Place it in a dish like above. Level the herb out in dish.
• Place dish, covered with lid (foil if you do not have a lid. A lid is best), in oven at 215° F, for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the dish and let it cool, WITH the lid still on. Letting it cool down slowly, allows any vapors to settle back into the material.
• Then, pour the oil over your herb (double the existing level of herb ... 1:1. Mix it up, Cover with lid, and place back in the oven for 45 minutes at 215° F.
• After 45 minutes, remove from the oven (leave it on) and allow the dish to cool for 10 – 15 minutes. Once the temp has dropped and you can comfortably touch the dish, you’ll carefully open it, then press and mash the herb with the back of a spoon. This helps break down the trichomes into the oil, so it can soak up more medicine. .
• Replace the lid, and put back in the oven for another 45 minutes. Then shut off oven and let cool.
• Strain the herb out of the oil: Strain the herb out of the oil by running it thru a mesh screen type strainer, coffee filter or cheese cloth. Use a spoon to press on the herb to help press the oil out of it.

This method adds a deep roasted flavor (where the herb was concerned) and a nice consistency.

 

[Vitolo]

I have been making CannaButter in this exact way for 40+ years.

Another pound of sweet creamery unsalted butter.
28 grams of 26% THC indica (Lava Dawg) and 7 grams of Kief (from Cheisel)

Ahh... we're melting nicely

The aroma in the house is a potent and good one.

I have started late, and so I'll be up past midnight getting this clarified, and ready.
Tomorrow I will be making another Kilo of Caramels!
Edit Note:
I have used this crock pot and it's Corningware insert uniquely for butter since the 70s. I dropped the lid
once (on stove in first image), but replaced it fast!

 

[vaporoufixtras]

I'm sure you guys know, but NEVER use light/no fat butter. It's the damn fat that the THC sticks to.
One time we arranged to make cannabutter with a friend and he bought light butter because it was 50c cheaper. 10g of ABV down the drain...

 

[Jindra]

I used to do it the same way, only I added salt. At that point in my life, I had more free time for the whole process. Now, unfortunately, I don't have that much free time, so I make butter in a cannabutter maker and personally I`m completely satisfied with this method - both in terms of taste and convenience. I add this oil to frying and baking and don`t feel any particular bitterness. I don't know if it's a credit to the maker or if I'm just used to the taste, but my family and I definitely love it! Somebody else adds it to drinks but for me it's a little too much=)

 

[Jindra]

hmm

 

[Ramahs]

I'm trying this method tonight. I started way too late, so I'm gonna be up all night. lol

An oz that I brought with me from Texas when I moved 3000 miles across the country a couple months ago. Might as well use it.

And into the slow-cooker it goes!

I wonder if there is any difference if you stir it more often?

I have a digital thermometer. Water temp is currently 158F. It went in the slow cooker a little over an hour ago.



**Edit 1**
It's been about three hours since this started. I've been stirring about every half hour.
I just checked, and the temp is up to 195F. I hope it's not going to get much higher. It's on low for fuck's sake

**Edit 2**
3.5 hours - the temp was nearing 197F.
I'd been keeping a lid on it this whole time. I've now removed the lid to help control the temp.

**Edit 3**
4.5 hours - The temp is 199.8F, and the lid has been off for the last hour. I hope it doesn't get much hotter. If it does get a bit over 200F, then maybe I should start turning it off for a few minutes at a time to better regulate the temp. It's a "Crock Pot" brand slow cooker, so I would hope it's functioning correctly.

**Edit 4**
5.5 hours. Damn. Still uncovered, but temp has hit 211F. I just turned the pot off and will turn it on again when it gets back closer to 190F.

 

[Ramahs]

**7.5 hours**
I'd turned the pot back on low after about half an hour. The temp had dropped to 186F.
Just now the temp was back up to 206F, so I turned the pot off again. Will turn it back on again in about 15 - 20 min before it drops below 190F.

**Edit 1**
8 hours - Shit. I forgot and l let the temp get down to 176F.
Oh well, I just turned it back on, and it will be back to temp soon.

Well, it's 3:30am. It's been 8 hours, and almost none of the plant matter is floating on the surface any more. But, ya know, in for a penny...in for a pound. I guess I'll stay up with it for a few more hours. Want to do this right, as I have limited experience making edibles so far in life. Though, I plan to change that.

 

[Ramahs]

Well, I took it off the heat and strained it through a screen colander (with 4 layers of cheesecloth lining it) into a larger glass bowl.

I squeezed every bit of oil oit of that, till the ball of plant matter wrapped in cheesecloth was no bigger than a ping pong ball.
Now it's in the fridge, beginning to separate and cool (been in there for a couple of hours now).

The color is slowly lightening to a nice deep lime-green as the butter slowly solidifies.

 

[Ramahs]

Well, it's done. Now I can sleep!

 

[Ramahs]

I used some of that cannabutter to make a couple pans of brownies. Here is one pan...It's Dark Chocolate brownies, with nutella spread on top for frosting, and then sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts:

 

[Ramahs]

Ha ha. App on my phone randomly made a silly video

 

[daveshel]

I squeezed every bit of oil oit of that, till the ball of plant matter wrapped in cheesecloth was no bigger than a ping pong ball.

My understanding is that squeezing is not a good idea because you will squeeze out some of chlorophyll you were trying to leave behind. You ended up with a lot of green coloration, and likely a grassy taste as well.