How to make Cannabis Coconut Oil

Cannabis coconut oil is a must try for anyone who likes to experiment with their cannabis. It is easy to make, healthy and can really spice up your cooking! We have put together an easy recipe to ensure you are never without.

Cannabis oil is a great base for any cannabis cooking. It can be used in a myriad of recipes to replace olive oil and in some cases butter – the perfect example being brownies. Not only this, but cannabis coconut oil extremely healthy for both the skin and consumption – it contains healthy acids, has medicinal properties, helps burn fat through increased energy expenditure, help prevent infections, reduces hunger, moisturise the skin and may potentially help prevent heart disease – populations that regularly eat coconut oil as part of their diet are some of the healthiest peoples on the planet!

Before we get into the recipe, it is worth noting that cooking with oils can be dangerous. If hot oil gets on your skin it can cause some severe burns. For this reason it is important to cover up when making cannabis coconut oil.

Another point to consider is that this is an excellent way to use trimmings, stems and leaves from a cannabis grow. It is possible to use prime, potent bud, but many see this as a waste of good smoking material. The leaves and other normal waste matter still contain some cannabinoids, and this is an excellent way to extract and harness them.

YOU WILL NEED:

A crockpot
Distilled water – 1.5 litres
Coconut oil – 200 grams
Marijuana – 50 grams
A large bowl
Latex gloves
A fine sieve
A straining device
A blender/grinder

The following recipe is based on using 200 grams of coconut oil, or approximately one “cup” measurement. This can be doubled, tripled or whatever like to suit your needs.

1. Blend or grind your cannabis as finely as you can. This will maximise its surface area, ensuring that the optimal amount of cannabinoids possible can be extracted from your marijuana. Try to get it to the consistency of ground up coffee.

2. Place 200 grams of coconut oil into your crockpot and turn it onto a low heat to melt it.

3. Once the coconut oil is melted, add your cannabis into the pot. The measurement of 50 grams is based on using a mix of plant matter. If you use pure bud or hash, you will need less. (Experiment with each batch to find the level you like).

4. Add in 1.5 litres of distilled water. The water acts to filter out some of the excess chlorophyll from the cannabis, allowing the final product to taste better. It also helps prevent the cannabinoids within the cannabis cooking away and being destroyed before they bind with the oil.

5. Place the lid on your crockpot and turn it up to a high temperature. Come back in an hour and stir the mixture to agitate the plant matter. This ensures that the entire surface area of your cannabis is utilised during the chemical bonding process taking place between the oil and cannabinoids.

6. After one hour, turn the temperature back down to low and allow the mixture to continue to cook from between 4-24 hours, stirring it again every hour. The longer you can leave it whilst continuing to stir, the greater the cannabinoid content that will successfully bond with the oil.

7. Next, turn off the crockpot and allow it to cool down to a point that it is safe to work with without burning yourself.

8. Spoon the mixture into a straining device to separate out the plant matter and pour it into your bowl - a French style coffee strainer is ideal for this. If you do not have one, use a sieve to remove the plant matter and then squeeze it by hand over the bowl – there will be a surprising amount of oil still present in the plant matter, so make sure you squeeze it well.

9. Your bowl should now contain a mixture of water and oil. Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge overnight. It will separate into two layers, with the oil on top solidifying.

10. The next day, come back to you oil and carefully remove the top oil layer that should now be solid. Try not to drop it in the water if you can help it! You can discard the water.

11. You may notice a small amount of matter on the bottom of the oil cake. To remove these, reheat it so that it melts, and then strain it through a fine sieve. You can then place it back in the fridge to re-solidify.

You now have cannabis coconut oil ready to use! You can store it in the fridge or freezer for later use in your cooking. Bear in mind that it will not last very long in a refrigerator. It is best to divide it up into single size portions, place them in zip lock bags, and freeze them. This will ensure that you do not have to worry about using it up before it goes off in the fridge, and that you do not have to defrost the entire amount each time you want to use it.