The Basics of Making Canna Oil from Scratch

If you're a MÜV patient, you know that our top-notch dispensaries provide a seemingly endless variety of medicinal cannabis products. You are all but guaranteed to find everything you need, from topicals to pre-rolls, flower, concentrates, tinctures, and more. If you’ve been a patient for years, you will have noticed the constant expansion of brands in the state, and the selection of products available for purchase, too – perhaps no category has as much room for creative expansion as edibles.

For many patients, edibles are some of the most familiar cannabis products, whether they come in the form of soft chews, mints, chocolates, or hard candies. So familiar, in fact, that some cannabis users are venturing into the realm of creating edibles of their own and finding new recipes that they enjoy, at a higher dose than what can be found in dispensary edibles.

Still, while making your own edibles can be a fun learning process, finding ways to get your favorite cannabis strain into a tasty treat is one of the most significant hurdles you’ll face along the way. Fortunately, we have the solution: cannabis-infused oil and cannabis-infused butter are versatile, can be made fairly easily, and allow you to experiment with a wide range of recipes.

So, Is Canna Oil or Cannabutter More Potent?

You won't need to wonder whether you'll receive a more potent dose of THC or CBD from oil or butter, because you can customize your cannabis dose as you create your cannabis-infused fat. In truth, because both cannabutter and canna oil are high-fat ingredients, they will likely provide similar dosages. All that remains is to determine whether your recipe calls for butter or oil, then swap it out for the appropriate cannabis-infused choice.

You’ve likely noticed that most baked goods require either butter or oil, but which fat is best when you’re making cannabis edibles? The final decision regarding whether canna oil or cannabutter is the better choice for your edibles will likely come down to your personal preference. Both products serve similar purposes, are relatively easy to make, and can create delicious edibles with your favorite cannabis strain.

The Best Oil for Making Canna Oil

There are, of course, countless options for cooking oil. Products like olive oil, canola oil, and coconut oil are likely the most familiar to many people, but other oils like avocado, walnut, grapeseed, corn, and peanut oil are also widely available.

Some cooking oils have specific qualities or benefits that make them particularly appealing for a certain type of recipe. For example, avocado oil is filled with natural antioxidants and has a neutral taste suitable for many recipes. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is solid at room temperature and makes a great substitute for butter in a recipe.

A surefire way to determine what oil will work with your edibles is to consider what you want to make, the flavor profile you're looking for, whether you need the oil for frying, sauteing, searing, or incorporating into a batter or dough, and its smoke point. For edible-making purposes, coconut and olive oils are multipurpose oils with mild flavor profiles. But you can swap the oil out as needed depending on your preferences and the recipe at hand.

Your Guide to Making Canna Oil

After you’ve chosen your oil, it’s time to infuse your oil with cannabis. Visit your local MÜV Dispensary and select your favorite cannabis flower. Then, follow these simple steps:

Start with Decarboxylation

Using cannabis flower as-is to make canna oil will not impart the psychoactive effects cannabis is known for. That’s because cannabinoids like THC and CBD are in their naturally-occurring acidic forms: either THC-A or CBD-A. If you want your canna oil to have the psychoactive effects you experience while smoking cannabis flower, you’ll need to heat it to force the THCA and CBDA to drop a carboxyl group, which is a carbon-oxygen-oxygen-hydrogen structure. This will leave behind activated THC or CBD.

The process is known as decarboxylating your cannabis, or decarbing. Decarbing before you infuse your oil will ensure the resulting canna oil has all the effects you want. If you want some of the benefits of cannabis without the high, then you can skip this step.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 oz of your favorite strain of cannabis
• A coarse grinder or scissors
• An oven-safe baking dish, one to two inches deep
• Oven
• Foil

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 225°F.Grind your cannabis flower until it is a coarse consistency like you would use to roll in a joint. Be careful that it is not too fine because it will not be caught in your strainer when you infuse your oil.
• Spread the ground cannabis on your baking sheet. Make sure to spread it evenly and then cover it with foil.
• Bake on the center rack for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
• Keep an eye on your cannabis throughout the process, and stop when the cannabis turns brown. Do not overbake, or you risk losing valuable THC or CBD content.
• Take it out of the oven, keep it covered, and let it cool for 20 minutes.

How to Make Canna Oil

Once you have chosen your oil and decarbed your flower, it is time to begin the infusing process. There are plenty of methods that are equally effective when making canna oil, so you can find the one that fits your budget and supplies. Each one requires the oil to be infused on low heat for several hours, so make sure that you have the proper time to dedicate to it. Experimenting with multiple infusing strategies can help you decide which one is best for you.

Crock Pot

Did you know you can use your trusty crock pot to make quality canna oil? This recipe also includes an option to add sunflower lecithin, which will serve as a binding agent to make sure your oil holds onto all of the best cannabis compounds.

What You’ll Need:

• Crock Pot or  similar slow cooker
• Mason jars, pint or half-pint sized 
• Digital thermometer 
• 1 oz of decarboxylated cannabis flower 
• 16 oz of coconut oil (or your chosen oil)
• 1 t of liquid sunflower lecithin (optional)

Directions:

• Create a buffer to prevent jars from breaking by putting a clean dish towel in the bottom of your slow cooker.

• Add enough warm water to your slow cooker to create a water bath for your jars
• Turn the slow cooker to the highest setting. Once the water inside reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit, change the heat setting to low.
• Fill your mason jars evenly with coconut oil. Leave at least a half inch of space at the top. 
• Add the liquid sunflower lecithin (optional).
• Spread your decarbed flower evenly between the mason jars. Wipe the top of each jar clean and put the lid on, but make sure it is not too tight.
• Place the filled jars into the water bath, put the lid on the slow cooker, and let your oil infuse for at least four hours.
• Remove the jars from your slow cooker after four hours. Set them out to cool.
• After the oil has cooled, strain the contents of each jar through a paper filter to remove all of the cannabis plant matter from the oil.
• Consider saving the leftover plant matter for future use.
• Store your cannabis-infused oil in a place that is cool and dry. For the longest-lasting oil, store it in the refrigerator for up to thirty days, or freeze it until you wish to use it again.

Stove Top

Do you prefer a recipe that requires minimal steps? Making your canna oil on the stovetop is a much shorter process that still produces great results. Be aware: this recipe does require a double boiler, or a DIY version.

What You’ll Need:

• Double boiler (or medium saucepan with oven-safe bowl)
• Grinder
• Your desired dose of cannabis flower
• 3 T distilled water
• 1 c of your preferred oil 

Directions:

• Take your double boiler (or saucepan and bowl) and add about an inch of water into the bottom pan.
• Set heat to low-medium, and place the top piece of the double boiler (or your bowl) atop the saucepan and water.

• Combine the oil and cannabis in the top saucepan or bowl. Bring it to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes, stirring often. Remove the saucepan from heat and let it infuse for thirty more minutes.
• Strain the oil and cannabis into a heat-proof container with a lid. Store it in the refrigerator for up to thirty days.

How Much Canna Oil to Use in Edibles

Trial and error is a natural part of any cooking process, but there are additional considerations when you are making cannabis edibles with infused canna oil. Everyone responds to cannabis differently, so there is no one-size-fits-all way to dose your edibles.

To ensure you don’t overdo the THC content in your homemade edibles, always start the cooking process with the number of finished servings top of mind. To calculate the dose per serving, you would then divide the THC in your canna oil by total servings. 

For example, if you’re making a batch of 24 infused cookies, and have 800mg THC infused into a cup of cooking oil, you could use the entirety of the oil for a ~33mg dose per cookie. If that dose is too high, you would instead use half of your oil - ~400mg THC - for ~17mg THC per cookie.

And of course, always follow the recipe! Don’t add more oil than the recipe calls for, as it will ruin your finished goods and your hard work!

Find High-Quality Cannabis for Your Canna Oil at MÜV

Making edibles for the first time can be an exciting process. One way to make sure that your edibles turn out well is to use only the highest quality ingredients; do your best to purchase high-end oils and shop at only the best dispensaries to ensure top-shelf cannabis. For access to top-quality cannabis, including a wide variety of strains, visit your nearest MÜV Dispensary.

Want to try making edibles using concentrates instead of flower? Check out our Tips for Using Cannabis Concentrates in Edibles here!