Slowcooker Cannabis Coconut Oil and Sunflower Lecithin Questions

[Nematode128]

My girlfriend has some dietary restrictions and can't usually eat the edibles I make with butter so we've been talking about making some coconut oil as an alternative for her. I've seen a few ration for weed to coconut oil. (1 oz to 1 cup, enough to completely cover the herb, etc) so I have a few questions.

1) What ratios have you found to work the best? Cooking time?
2) If you follow the "enough to cover the herb", how do you know how much will be enough if you're starting with coconut oil in solid form? Do you just melt however much you plan on using and just add herb until the oil cant cover anymore herb?

Final question not directly related to coconut oil but still curious about it,

3) I've been seeing a lot of people use sunflower or soy lecithin in their infusions. Have you noticed a difference in your edibles made with an infusion containing lecithin vs edibles not containing lecithin? When do you add the lecithin into your infusion? When you first start melting the oil or after you add the herb?

 

[shredder]

My girlfriend has some dietary restrictions and can't usually eat the edibles I make with butter so we've been talking about making some coconut oil as an alternative for her. I've seen a few ration for weed to coconut oil. (1 oz to 1 cup, enough to completely cover the herb, etc) so I have a few questions.

1) What ratios have you found to work the best? Cooking time?
2) If you follow the "enough to cover the herb", how do you know how much will be enough if you're starting with coconut oil in solid form? Do you just melt however much you plan on using and just add herb until the oil cant cover anymore herb?

Final question not directly related to coconut oil but still curious about it,

3) I've been seeing a lot of people use sunflower or soy lecithin in their infusions. Have you noticed a difference in your edibles made with an infusion containing lecithin vs edibles not containing lecithin? When do you add the lecithin into your infusion? When you first start melting the oil or after you add the herb?

Anytime you use herb in a medibles recipe it's a crap shoot. Concentrates are much better for dosage control.

Having said that I'd use a minimal amount of oil, since a lot of medibles are pretty weak. Then sample and adjust. Figure your dosage and go from there.

Lecithin makes the cannabis oil more available for uptake. It's more efficient, so the same amounts will seem stronger when you use lecithin. It makes larger cannabis oil molecules smaller so you absorb more than without.

 

[Nematode128]

Anytime you use herb in a medibles recipe it's a crap shoot. Concentrates are much better for dosage control.

Having said that I'd use a minimal amount of oil, since a lot of medibles are pretty weak. Then sample and adjust. Figure your dosage and go from there.

Lecithin makes the cannabis oil more available for uptake. It's more efficient, so the same amounts will seem stronger when you use lecithin. It makes larger cannabis oil molecules smaller so you absorb more than without.

Is the dosage formula basically the same as calculating butter? If so one oz of herb to one cup of coconut oil would be pretty strong unless you're saying that the recipes usually call low amounts of oil making the medibles low mg?

Thanks for the response!

 

[shredder]

Is the dosage formula basically the same as calculating butter? If so one oz of herb to one cup of coconut oil would be pretty strong unless you're saying that the recipes usually call low amounts of oil making the medibles low mg?

Thanks for the response!

Yes, use the same ratios of herb to oil/butter. And find if your recipe calls for a 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup, (of oil/butter) then figure the servings. If say you are making a recipe for 12, sample 1/12 of the infused oil. Then you can adjust your recipe to your desires. You can use weight or volume, whatever is easier for you. Make sense?

It's hard to get out all the oil from the used herb. One tip is to first squeeze out as much as you can, then pour hot water over the herb. Place it in a freezer. When it gets cold the oil/ butter will coagulate on the top. You can use a slotted spoon the get the oil, and pat dry on a paper towel.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

A French press makes an excellent oil utensil, once you’re ready to separate the oil you just press it, like coffee, and pour it out to containers, you can squeeze really hard - then do your hot-water wash in the beaker, pour off your wash, and into the dishwasher

 

[Nematode128]

What ratio of lecithin ahould I use when making oil/butter?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

A tablespoon should be enough for a cup, probably less, frankly.
I start with a teaspoon and increase as/if needed.

 

[Nematode128]

A tablespoon should be enough for a cup, probably less, frankly.
I start with a teaspoon and increase as/if needed.

Okay I saw cup if using granules or teaspoon if you're using liquid. Thanks!

 

[shredder]

A tablespoon should be enough for a cup, probably less, frankly.
I start with a teaspoon and increase as/if needed.

We mostly make cannabis caps. For them a basic recipe is 1/2tsp lecithin per 1 fluid oz of coconut oil.

A ratio is 1-3 grams of concentrate per one fluid oz of coconut oil. BTW at 3 grams it's very strong and too much for rookies. And it varies by concentrate. Obviously CBD concentrate has less euphoria.

 

[Nematode128]

We mostly make cannabis caps. For them a basic recipe is 1/2tsp lecithin per 1 fluid oz of coconut oil.

A ratio is 1-3 grams of concentrate per one fluid oz of coconut oil. BTW at 3 grams it's very strong and too much for rookies. And it varies by concentrate. Obviously CBD concentrate has less euphoria.

Do you add the Lecithin before or after you add the flower to the butter/oil? Does it matter if there's water along with the butter/oil or not really?

 

[shredder]

Do you add the Lecithin before or after you add the flower to the butter/oil? Does it matter if there's water along with the butter/oil or not really?

I add lecithin to the coconut oil and gently heat it and stir to fully melt it into the oil. Once it's clear I would add the herb.

I try to avoid water, until the infusion is complete. Oil and water don't mix and could make a real mess. When you mix the recipe ingredients then it's fine.

 

[Nematode128]

I add lecithin to the coconut oil and gently heat it and stir to fully melt it into the oil. Once it's clear I would add the herb.

I try to avoid water, until the infusion is complete. Oil and water don't mix and could make a real mess. When you mix the recipe ingredients then it's fine.

I was moreso saying water with butter since I'll put water in to simmer with the butter and then I seoewtesthe water and butter after putting it in the fridge for awhile

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Sorry - you lost me at “seoewtesthe”...

 

[Nematode128]

Sorry - you lost me at “seoewtesthe”...

Lol whoops sorry idk what happened there. What I meant to say is when I make cannabutter I usually simmer the butter with the water so thats's why I was asking it if it would make a difference if there was water in with the butter or not. Does the lecithin have to be added before the infusion or can I simmer my butter, separate it from the water and then remelt the butter and add the lecithin?

 

[shredder]

Lol whoops sorry idk what happened there. What I meant to say is when I make cannabutter I usually simmer the butter with the water so thats's why I was asking it if it would make a difference if there was water in with the butter or not. Does the lecithin have to be added before the infusion or can I simmer my butter, separate it from the water and then remelt the butter and add the lecithin?

You don't want water in your infusion. It will be less efficient if you do. I've seen it before in old recipes, but there's no good reason to add water when your infusing the oil.

Later after the infusion is done you can then add water if it's called for in the recipe.


The point of adding lecithin is to be more efficient. Water makes it less so. In fact instead of butter use ghee. It's butter with higher fat and less junk. And it works better than butter in infusions.

 

[Nematode128]

You don't want water in your infusion. It will be less efficient if you do. I've seen it before in old recipes, but there's no good reason to add water when your infusing the oil.

Later after the infusion is done you can then add water if it's called for in the recipe.


The point of adding lecithin is to be more efficient. Water makes it less so. In fact instead of butter use ghee. It's butter with higher fat and less junk. And it works better than butter in infusions.

Do you infuse ghee the same way as butter? Does it back the same as butter?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

There are lots of recipes for cannabutter, and most of them include watershed logic is that chlorophyll and other wate-soluables end up in the water, thereby keeping them out of the butter...but since they aren’t fat-soluble they wouldn’t be extracted into the butter at all, so I consider the water part an unnecessary complication.

My preferred method is to use a clean, steel and removable-glass French press. I scavenged the plunger shaft from a 1L press to get more pressure in a 750ml press. The removable beaker makes it easy to pop it back in the microwave for a reheat (I like to keep the butter 160-180F), the plunger exerts considerable pressure when straining, it’s designed for pouring, can be used for second and third soaks with virtually no in-between fiddling, and they’re a breeze to clean.

Regarding heating: people subject their bud bits to high heats for a long time, to get the goods out; the tale is that you need that heat and that duration to convert THC-a “completely”. The principle’s good, but it doesn’t quite work like that.

Most decarboxylation studies don’t show early data, but there is one I’ve seen, and it shows that the decarb is 90% complete in the first half-hour - basically by the time you get it to temperature. The rest of the time and temp only accomplishes the remaining 10%...and at around 95%, your THC starts breaking down into CBN anyway,so be nice to your herb

Yes, butter and ghee are the same for directions and process

Regarding lecithin: lecithin is an emulsifier, it makes combinations occur faster, so don’t be surprised if the lecithin begins to break down the plant matter. I like to start smart and add more if needed

 

[Nematode128]

There are lots of recipes for cannabutter, and most of them include watershed logic is that chlorophyll and other wate-soluables end up in the water, thereby keeping them out of the butter...but since they aren’t fat-soluble they wouldn’t be extracted into the butter at all, so I consider the water part an unnecessary complication.

My preferred method is to use a clean, steel and removable-glass French press. I scavenged the plunger shaft from a 1L press to get more pressure in a 750ml press. The removable beaker makes it easy to pop it back in the microwave for a reheat (I like to keep the butter 160-180F), the plunger exerts considerable pressure when straining, it’s designed for pouring, can be used for second and third soaks with virtually no in-between fiddling, and they’re a breeze to clean.

Regarding heating: people subject their bud bits to high heats for a long time, to get the goods out; the tale is that you need that heat and that duration to convert THC-a “completely”. The principle’s good, but it doesn’t quite work like that.

Most decarboxylation studies don’t show early data, but there is one I’ve seen, and it shows that the decarb is 90% complete in the first half-hour - basically by the time you get it to temperature. The rest of the time and temp only accomplishes the remaining 10%...and at around 95%, your THC starts breaking down into CBN anyway,so be nice to your herb

Yes, butter and ghee are the same as directions go

Is it better to clarify your own butter or just buy Ghee from a trader Joe's or something?

 

[ClearBlueLou]

There’s no “better” here, just do what you want.
I’ve used butter, made and used ghee, my own and store-bought.

I find that lightly salting the extraction vastly enhances the already very pleasant flavor
Unnecessary if using salted grocery butter

 

[shredder]

There’s no “better” here, just do what you want.
I’ve used butter, made and used ghee, my own and store-bought.

I find that lightly salting the extraction vastly enhances the already very pleasant flavor
Unnecessary if using salted grocery butter

I agree, and will add ghee goes further than butter.

I have a container of infused ghee in my fridge right now.

If I use it, let's say, to fry eggs, I need less than regular butter. Of course if there's ghee left in the fry pan, I sop it up with toast, for a tasty wake n bake breakfast.

You could just butter the toast with the infused ghee and skip the eggs as well.

Cooking with infused ghee, butter, or oil can make your kitchen smell like cannabis though. Something to keep in mind.

If you like butter it's a good way to go. And can be used in many ways. I know someone who uses it in coffee.

 

[Nematode128]

Yes, use the same ratios of herb to oil/butter. And find if your recipe calls for a 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup, (of oil/butter) then figure the servings. If say you are making a recipe for 12, sample 1/12 of the infused oil. Then you can adjust your recipe to your desires. You can use weight or volume, whatever is easier for you. Make sense?

It's hard to get out all the oil from the used herb. One tip is to first squeeze out as much as you can, then pour hot water over the herb. Place it in a freezer. When it gets cold the oil/ butter will coagulate on the top. You can use a slotted spoon the get the oil, and pat dry on a paper towel.

Do you just pour the hot water over the cheese cloth or do you put your herb in something before pouring the hot water over? Do you need just enough water to get it wet or do you want a decent amount of water?

 

[shredder]

Do you just pour the hot water over the cheese cloth or do you put your herb in something before pouring the hot water over? Do you need just enough water to get it wet or do you want a decent amount of water?

You want enough water so oil floats then coagulates on the top. So cover the herb (and cheese cloth) and add a little more.

 

[marktwain4591]

High...am new here and a medical patient. I recently learned that liquid sunflower lecithin renders cannabis more effective when decarbed.

I have searched 50+ sites/forums, including this one, and I cannot find the answer to my question. Please help.

Do I add the liquid lecithin with the oil (using Instant Pot cooker), or after it has decarbed (just pour it on it)? Thanks kindly.