Gel capsules

[RustyOldNail]

For Sure, but making good gummies is a LOT harder than filling capsules.

Also the water in gummies makes them way more likely to need mold inhibitors. With Capsules it’s essentially a non-issue, coconut oil itself is antibacterial.

I used to make some pretty serious gummies but it’s a lot more work than capsules. They’re best for micro doses, anything stronger than that and they get strong flavors, I prefer to hide the flavor in a capsule.

I’ve never made them, but I doubt they will go bad before I run out of small batches kept in frig till needed. If you have any gummy making tips, that would be great. Thanks.

 

[shredder]

I’ve never made them, but I doubt they will go bad before I run out of small batches kept in frig till needed. If you have any gummy making tips, that would be great. Thanks.

I made one batch of infused gummies and before they were half gone and in about 10 days they molded in the fridge.

Now I use the silicone molds I used for gummies to make infused chocolates.

I'm not a gummy person and like chocolate better anyway. The chocolate doesn't need refrigeration and lasts longer.

 

[Unibonger]

I get bulk CBD shake from a grower with full chemical breakdown. Last 1/2 pound was 240 mg CBD/gram. I extract using grain alcohol and run that trough a desktop electric still. I recover approx 2/3 of the alcohol for use later. I then add my extract to coconut oil.
For gummies: 1 large box Jello, 2/3 cup water, 4 tablespoons gellatin powder, meds.
Boil water, add Jello, add meds, stir
Slowly add gellitin mixing as you go. If it clumps slow down and mix.
I add mixture to 2ml silicone molds, refrigerate.
When solid, pop out your gummies.
I now spead my gummies on a cookie sheet and put them under a ceiling fan. The fan lowers the moisture and I get more of a hard candy. MOLD FREE.

 

[RustyOldNail]

I made one batch of infused gummies and before they were half gone and in about 10 days they molded in the fridge.

Now I use the silicone molds I used for gummies to make infused chocolates.

I'm not a gummy person and like chocolate better anyway. The chocolate doesn't need refrigeration and lasts longer.

Interesting, I’m going to look into the “mold” issue, from what I’ve read the market brand gummies use preservatives, to avoid mold, but I’d like to avoid that.

 

[invertedisdead]

I’ve never made them, but I doubt they will go bad before I run out of small batches kept in frig till needed. If you have any gummy making tips, that would be great. Thanks.

If you want to go “all the way” I’d suggest a candy thermometer and sourcing some food service grade ingredients.

Premium gelatin often blooms cleaner (Less bubbles) and with a more neutral flavor.

Flavoring quality is extremely important if you want them to taste professional grade. Also much of the flavor pop more so comes from the acids, citric acid doesn’t taste like tartaric acid which doesn’t taste like malic acid. Choosing the right acid with your flavoring is key for relatable flavoring.

Real Haribo gummies use a cornstarch mold which wicks moisture differently than silicone molds. Silicone molded gummies generally need post-processing to “cure out.” You can air dry, but a dehydrator is faster, this helps achieve the commercial quality texture/chew. Even corn starch molded gummies like Haribo’s still go through a drying stage.

Mold issues with homemade gummies is very common, commercial gummies like Haribo are coated in carnauba wax, which provides a moisture barrier (like waxing your car) there’s various options like potassium sorbate is common.

99% of internet recipes are doctored up Jello boxes, this gives a working end product, but personally it never had the flavor and texture of a commercial product (Albanese are some of my favorites)
I’m one of those guys that takes everything too far, so if you’re not a “gummy connoisseur” it might not even matter. Most of my friends are quite preferential to their favorite gummy candies, so it’s a fun way to “compete” against the dispensary products. That said, some of the dispensary gummies here are awesome, as in, a professional food scientist definitely formulated some of them. The hardest ones to make at home are probably the clean label varietals, the Keto Vegan style gummies are going to be the most complicated as some of the ingredients are even more specialized and the would for sure take experimenting to dial in.

I’ll have to dig through my notes and see if I still have my recipe saved, it was based on lots of experiments and research into professional candymaking.

If you’ve never made candy before it’s definitely a fresh experience - I once over cooked my sugar syrup while trying to make Sour Patch Kids type candy (technically not a gummy, which is interesting - it’s actually just a sour Swedish Fish which is more-so based on like Turkish Delights). Anyways there’s nothing like a big failed experiment of inedible, unchewable candy!
Luckily traditional gummy bear styles can be re-melted down multiple times, so it’s not as much of an issue with something like that.

Oh yeah, and a really lazy way that still has pretty decent results is to just use a dropper to apply drops of tincture on to commercial gummies.

Potency wise I’d probably keep them to 25mg and under if possible because at higher doses the taste falls off fast, but some people like that or don’t mind; the world is your oyster with home cooking! It’s more fun to eat a couple lower potency gummies than one that tastes harsh.

 

[RustyOldNail]

If you want to go “all the way” I’d suggest a candy thermometer and sourcing some food service grade ingredients.

Premium gelatin often blooms cleaner (Less bubbles) and with a more neutral flavor.

Flavoring quality is extremely important if you want them to taste professional grade. Also much of the flavor pop more so comes from the acids, citric acid doesn’t taste like tartaric acid which doesn’t taste like malic acid. Choosing the right acid with your flavoring is key for relatable flavoring.

Real Haribo gummies use a cornstarch mold which wicks moisture differently than silicone molds. Silicone molded gummies generally need post-processing to “cure out.” You can air dry, but a dehydrator is faster, this helps achieve the commercial quality texture/chew. Even corn starch molded gummies like Haribo’s still go through a drying stage.

Mold issues with homemade gummies is very common, commercial gummies like Haribo are coated in carnauba wax, which provides a moisture barrier (like waxing your car) there’s various options like potassium sorbate is common.

99% of internet recipes are doctored up Jello boxes, this gives a working end product, but personally it never had the flavor and texture of a commercial product (Albanese are some of my favorites)
I’m one of those guys that takes everything too far, so if you’re not a “gummy connoisseur” it might not even matter. Most of my friends are quite preferential to their favorite gummy candies, so it’s a fun way to “compete” against the dispensary products. That said, some of the dispensary gummies here are awesome, as in, a professional food scientist definitely formulated some of them. The hardest ones to make at home are probably the clean label varietals, the Keto Vegan style gummies are going to be the most complicated as some of the ingredients are even more specialized and the would for sure take experimenting to dial in.

I’ll have to dig through my notes and see if I still have my recipe saved, it was based on lots of experiments and research into professional candymaking.

If you’ve never made candy before it’s definitely a fresh experience - I once over cooked my sugar syrup while trying to make Sour Patch Kids type candy (technically not a gummy, which is interesting - it’s actually just a sour Swedish Fish which is more-so based on like Turkish Delights). Anyways there’s nothing like a big failed experiment of inedible, unchewable candy!
Luckily traditional gummy bear styles can be re-melted down multiple times, so it’s not as much of an issue with something like that.

Oh yeah, and a really lazy way that still has pretty decent results is to just use a dropper to apply drops of tincture on to commercial gummies.

Potency wise I’d probably keep them to 25mg and under if possible because at higher doses the taste falls off fast, but some people like that or don’t mind; the world is your oyster with home cooking! It’s more fun to eat a couple lower potency gummies than one that tastes harsh.

Wow... I guess like most things, when you delve deep into what appears to be simple, it’s NOT. I’m saving your message in my notes. Lots to DIGEST!

 

[Cheebsy]

making good gummies is a LOT harder than filling capsules.

I made one batch of infused gummies and before they were half gone and in about 10 days they molded in the fridge.

^^^^ this!!

Making gummies is really hard to do and get right! I've given up on the idea after a few failed attempts, and my missus used to be a precessional chef. We used all the professional ingredients as we had them to hand but it's still a dark art! Just bake biscuits, or use a dropper on store bought gummies for the easy solution

 

[macbill]

I add an anti-mold agent to make gummies or any product shelf stable. 1/4 teaspoon per batch.

 

[invertedisdead]

Used to make these big 200mg gummies in an ice cube tray mold; they were totally awesome for frying your egg out by the pool.

Seen people fall asleep mid meal at the dinner table from those ones

 

[strech]

I finally got around to getting some caps. Have only filled them with shrooms. Need to set some time to make some with flower.

I went down the gummy rabbit hole and found it much easier and satisfying to just use chocolate or just drop a high dose of oil on a spoon with some peanut butter.

 

[Nina]

just use chocolate

I gotta say that does sound like the most immediate option to me, but the info on the thread about gummies is world class doncha think

 

[JBone65]

Very interesting thread. Recently became interested in edibles for a variety of reasons.

Read a few interesting comments about homemade flower gel caps. These are especially interesting to me due to their simplicity, economy, potential health benefits (no sugar) and stealthiness.

I've been decarb'ing (ground) weed on the grill in a mason jar then mixing with room temperature olive oil directly in 000 gel caps. Only takes a few minutes per pill (after getting setup), and it's usually accomplished with no mess.

000 caps aren't small, I might be using.25-.3 g. Am I using too much, inefficiently? Does grinding to flour help in this case? Wondering if anyone has a similar simple proven procedure that doesn't require a kitchen.

Thanks.

Edit: I'm guessing these cost around $0.80 apiece only because I'm in Oklahoma.

 

[shredder]

Very interesting thread. Recently became interested in edibles for a variety of reasons.

Read a few interesting comments about homemade flower gel caps. These are especially interesting to me due to their simplicity, economy, potential health benefits (no sugar) and stealthiness.

I've been decarb'ing (ground) weed on the grill in a mason jar then mixing with room temperature olive oil directly in 000 gel caps. Only takes a few minutes per pill (after getting setup), and it's usually accomplished with no mess.

000 caps aren't small, I might be using.25-.3 g. Am I using too much, inefficiently? Does grinding to flour help in this case? Wondering if anyone has a similar simple proven procedure that doesn't require a kitchen.

Thanks.

Edit: I'm guessing these cost around $0.80 apiece only because I'm in Oklahoma.

Not sure about your decarbing method. Seems iffy to me, but decarbing can be accomplished in many ways.

Ive never tried or needed size 000 capsules. I can fit close to 50mg of dried ground buds (with oil and lecithin) in a size 00 gel cap. If i want more i use concentrates and a size 0 cap.

I've never used any oil except coconut oil and I always include lecithin. I recommend using both in caps. You can buy unscented coconut oil if the smell bothers you.

Grinding dry decarbed buds into flour is important. Grinding like you would for vaping makes filling caps damn near impossible. Finely ground dry buds mix well with the (warmed up) oil and are easier to take up in a pipette for filling caps. Warming coconut oil makes it thinner and it mixes better when warm, but it doesnt need to be real hot.

Btw i use a coffee grinder to make bud powder.

For ground buds i cut back the tip of a pipette to make the hole bigger. This makes it easier to use with the thick slurry.
I dont cut the tip of a pipette if im using concentrates, because its not needed. The slurry is thinner than using herb.

All of this is covered in this thread, its long, but i feel its worth reading.

 

[JBone65]

Not sure about your decarbing method. Seems iffy to me, but decarbing can be accomplished in many ways.

Ive never tried or needed size 000 capsules. I can fit close to 50mg of dried ground buds (with oil and lecithin) in a size 00 gel cap. If i want more i use concentrates and a size 0 cap.

I've never used any oil except coconut oil and I always include lecithin. I recommend using both in caps. You can buy unscented coconut oil if the smell bothers you.

Grinding dry decarbed buds into flour is important. Grinding like you would for vaping makes filling caps damn near impossible. Finely ground dry buds mix well with the (warmed up) oil and are easier to take up in a pipette for filling caps. Warming coconut oil makes it thinner and it mixes better when warm, but it doesnt need to be real hot.

Btw i use a coffee grinder to make bud powder.

For ground buds i cut back the tip of a pipette to make the hole bigger. This makes it easier to use with the thick slurry.
I dont cut the tip of a pipette if im using concentrates, because its not needed. The slurry is thinner than using herb.

All of this is covered in this thread, its long, but i feel its worth reading.

Thanks. I read all of it.

Didn't see any mention of healthy olive oil. It's easy to drip-in a specific amount with a cooking syringe. Room temperature, very easy, less than one minute per pill overall. The weed soaks it up easily, even with a medium fine vape grind, directly in the gel cap. Still, I will try a finer grind to see if the buzz is better.

Read a High Times article that recommended 45 minutes at 220F for decarbing. That seems to work. The problem is that I don't have anything to compare it to or any means to determine how well it's working (i.e. how much I'm wasting, how much better the buzz should be, etc.). High times recommended cooking with butter or something.

I guess I was looking for information, tips or pointers to improve effectiveness without drastically increasing complexity or requiring a kitchen. I need to be able to make a few on short notice whenever the mood strikes. I live with some folks who do not share my enthusiasm.

000 capsules probably hold 0.3 or 0.35 g. I compact it in there with a small dowel. Maybe I just need "horse pills". The dispensary edibles never worked on me.... Took one at 5:15 this morning with coffee. Still buzzing, but it's a clean buzz. I remember making brownies with dirt weed that would make your eyes dark red and give you double vision. Not seeing anything like that.

I'm considering grinding the next batch finer, then possibly mixing with just enough olive oil to make a paste (in the jar), then cooking with oil instead of dry. Might need something like a pipette for that.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I don't recommend washing down large gel caps full of nasty weed with hot coffee, for obvious reasons.

 

[sickmanfraud]

I've been using coconut oil and lecithin in my canna capsules. Coconut oil can become liquid at around 76°F. I store them in a freezer, but to travel we need a cooler, or a better method.

I've been thinking about making capsules that can take more heat.

One thought is to add some bees wax to the coconut oil. That should up the melting point.

Another is to add a little powder, like corn starch, then drip a strong infused oil mix onto it.

One more is to use a strong tincture or infusion and soak it into something pill like that I could carry in a pill bottle.

Any thoughts?

I just started reading this thread but I do have what I consider a better method, especially for travel.

I make a superconcentrated bio-available MCT oil that I put into capsules as I need them. The advantage of the system I use is that I can travel with empty capsules and my MCT Oil. I make it to a concentration of 1 gram per ml. I can then make the current capsule to suit my current needs.

To start the process I decarb my cannabis either 240F for 40 minutes or use the Nova.

I currently prefer to grind the decarbed buds before I put them into a jar into a jar into the freezer.

Also in the freezer is 96% ethanol.

I mix the freezing ethanol and cannabis in a jar and shake for 5 minutes. Put the jar with the cannabis and ethanol into the freezer for an hour.

Then shake again for 5 minutes.
Filter the ethanol out.
Then take the cannabis out of the filter return to the jar and add fresh freezing ethanol.

Shake for 5 more minutes then filter and when the cannabis in the filter has drained rinse the cannabis with a little more freezing ethanol to wash out the cannabinoids,

Squeeze out all the ethanol from the cannabis (I use a potato ricer).

then I use an alcohol recovery still to recover some of the ethanol and I do the final reduction to almost RSO and then I add the MCT oil and lecithin to bring the final product to a strength of 1 gram of cannabis to one ml of MCT oil.

 

[JBone65]

Laid off awhile but I'm back at it. I've always favored sativa strains, early this morning I decarboxylated 1/4 oz of strong indica called Skywalker. I bought it because it's strong, it was on sale at ~$50/oz (Ok. ) and it has a wild terpene smell. The quarter ounce was $12.5 and it's looking like it will make around 25 "000" flower-stuffed gel cap "tranquilizers". It's probably not the best way to look at it, but these day-long horse tranquilizers only cost $0.5 apiece.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm putting olive oil into the gel cap ahead of and on top of the weed just because it's easy and it might impact absorption during a fast. Will try it without olive oil to see if I can tell a difference.

I've never seen any commercial edibles that I consider a good value. I can vaguely remember positive edible experiences involving brownies cooked with a significant amount of dirt weed.

I swallowed one s couple of hours ago. This is great so far. I have no desire to hit the vape whatsoever. Happily where I belong "one toke over the line". It's still early, time will tell if I still like them after a week or two.

 

[JBone65]

Laid off awhile but I'm back at it. I've always favored sativa strains, early this morning I decarboxylated 1/4 oz of strong indica called Skywalker. I bought it because it's strong, it was on sale at ~$50/oz (Ok. ) and it has a wild terpene smell. The quarter ounce was $12.5 and it's looking like it will make around 25 "000" flower-stuffed gel cap "tranquilizers". It's probably not the best way to look at it, but these day-long horse tranquilizers only cost $0.5 apiece.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm putting olive oil into the gel cap ahead of and on top of the weed just because it's easy and it might impact absorption during a fast. Will try it without olive oil to see if I can tell a difference.

I've never seen any commercial edibles that I consider a good value. I can vaguely remember positive edible experiences involving brownies cooked with a significant amount of dirt weed.

I swallowed one s couple of hours ago. This is great so far. I have no desire to hit the vape whatsoever. Happily where I belong "one toke over the line". It's still early, time will tell if I still like them after a week or two.

Update: I took one flower-stuffed 000 gel cap four mornings in a row, none today. Kinda feel like I need to sober up.

The indica horse tranquilizers were stronger than the previous blended batch I made. Didn't expect that but I'm happy to have a cost effective way to enjoy indica which isn't quite satisfying in the vape.

I planned to hit less vapor with such a strong edible buzz, but I'm not 100% sure what happened. Turns out a vape hit is ""more impactful" when you have 1/3 g of decarb'ed weed down your gullet.

Overall I really enjoyed being extra stoned, but four intoxicated days in a row was too much.

I probably need to make the next smaller size 00, and save the jumbo gel caps for special occasions or when alone (). I used to be a lot heavier, but I'm skinny now and I took them on an empty stomach.

Finally, these should be useful if/when traveling.

 

[aaront]

I've been using the capsules and I think this will be my go to method.

I'll state how I do it. I decarboxylate 7 gm in a Nova and grind it up. I have MCT oil mixed with Lecithin in a seperate container and I fill a syringe with it. I then put the ground cannabis into capsules and squirt a little of the oil in with it. There is a little bit of spillage in the whole process but it's a big deal at all.

Anyway my lungs feel so much better. I'm not vaping now.

I never get as stoned vaporizing as I do using edibles. I suppose I use edibles less and I have even lowered my dose to get me less stoned but I can up the dose as well.

It's working great. Thanks for all the good info on here.

 

[JBone65]

Made 10 of the 00 DIY flower gel caps over the last couple of weeks.

Still using the 1/4 oz of Skywalker indica I decarb'ed a month or two ago. That's 7x000 pills and 10x00 pills, with enough weed leftover for 5-8 more.

Bought some small plastic pipettes. Couldn't make an oily slurry that would work. Gave up and went back to hand loading the caps with olive oil and finely ground flower, compressed with a small dowel, then topped of with more oil before closing.

It's an enjoyable way to use relaxing indica IMO. I have a lot of goofy ideas.....but this is my idea of a pleasant not-too-harmful mood altering tranquilizer that sort of undermines reality just a tad. Seems to provide a "gentle lift" all day. Admittedly, I continue vaping sativa flower at my usual pace, so it's just extra high for me. For that reason I'm waiting for a reason to take another one. Any reason!

 

[shredder]

Bought some small plastic pipettes. Couldn't make an oily slurry that would work. Gave up and went back to hand loading the caps with olive oil and finely ground flower, compressed with a small dowel, then topped of with more oil before closing

It can be tough to get the slurry into capsules if it gets too thick. If you didn't already try warming it up. Coconut oil gets thinner as it heats. I warm mine up on a coffee warmer, but with a big batch I sometimes heat the mix quickly in a microwave when im half way done with a batch.

It's a big help if your decarbed herb is bone dry and ground into dust. Dry dust mixes with the oil better than small damp pieces.

Another thing is to stir the mix every cap or two, if it settles the second half of your mix gets really hard to suck into the pipette because its too thick. I use the pipette to stir and agitate as I suck the mix up with it. I take the mix up from the bottom of the container to fill the pipette.

Cutting back the pipette tip makes it easier to work with when your mix is thick.

Depending on the variety I can usually get 40-45 mg per cap. After that I use concentrates, but I love weed our caps.

 

[JBone65]

It can be tough to get the slurry into capsules if it gets too thick. If you didn't already try warming it up. Coconut oil gets thinner as it heats. I warm mine up on a coffee warmer, but with a big batch I sometimes heat the mix quickly in a microwave when im half way done with a batch.

It's a big help if your decarbed herb is bone dry and ground into dust. Dry dust mixes with the oil better than small damp pieces.

Another thing is to stir the mix every cap or two, if it settles the second half of your mix gets really hard to suck into the pipette because its too thick. I use the pipette to stir and agitate as I suck the mix up with it. I take the mix up from the bottom of the container to fill the pipette.

Cutting back the pipette tip makes it easier to work with when your mix is thick.

Depending on the variety I can usually get 40-45 mg per cap. After that I use concentrates, but I love weed our caps.

40-45 mg doesn't sound like enough. That would be 22 capsules per decarb'ed gram unless I miscalculated.

Admittedly I haven't weighed my decarb'ed weed to see exactly how much I'm putting into each capsule. I think I can get at least 25 overstuffed 00 gel caps from 1/4 oz (weight was roughly 7 g before decarb'ing). That would be .280 g of original flower per cap (280 mg). Will try to weigh before and after decarb'ing next time.

I can make one in 1-2 minutes, even in short notice. It's easy and not very messy. I put in drops of olive oil before and after, and the weed absorbs it immediately, seems to displace only air not weed. Can only close them about halfway, the weed is packed solid in both halves.

I do prefer to grind it pretty well, even though it isn't necessary to make the pill. Maybe that helps optimize absorption for a better n peak high.

I'm enjoying edibles for the first time, and doing it using my own unappreciated indica. I think I'm making the indica pills enjoyable (to some degree) simply by overstuffing them.

I can't wait until "recreational" passes here in Oklahoma in 3 months. I let my license expire in July, the inventory is dwindling. I we ill try some strong sativa pills if I ever get back in a dispensary.

 

[aaront]

That would be .280 g of original flower per cap (280 mg)

I'm a weirdo who likes to track everything. I've calculated each cap I use is .185 gm in a 00 cap. I had 4 yesterday around lunch time and I'm not high but geez I have a pot hangover. I typically dose at about 3 per session.

 

[sickmanfraud]

40-45 mg doesn't sound like enough. That would be 22 capsules per decarb'ed gram unless I miscalculated.

Admittedly I haven't weighed my decarb'ed weed to see exactly how much I'm putting into each capsule. I think I can get at least 25 overstuffed 00 gel caps from 1/4 oz (weight was roughly 7 g before decarb'ing). That would be .280 g of original flower per cap (280 mg). Will try to weigh before and after decarb'ing next time.

7 grams would only give you 280 mg of THC if the cannabis was 40% THC

 

[JBone65]

7 grams would only give you 280 mg of THC if the cannabis was 40% THC

I get it. If my 280 mg of raw flower is 23% THC by weight then the pill might could contain up to 64 mg of THC. This assumes the lab test is accurate and the decarb'ing process was 100% efficient.

i could see taking two to get a stronger buzz, since I used to take the larger 000 gel caps.

Not sure what an equivalent amount of gummies would cost at an Oklahoma dispensary, but these cost around $0.50 each based on an average price of $52/oz.

I'm mostly into vaping but this "delivery technique" come could in handy.

 

[sickmanfraud]

Not sure what an equivalent amount of gummies would cost at an Oklahoma dispensary, but these cost around $0.50 each based on an average price of $52/oz.

I pay more than that, sometimes almost twice as much money, for 10 GRAMS!