Common Mistakes To Avoid When Making Marijuana Edibles

Making edibles is a learning experience. Aside from the fact that you handle and cook with weed, you also bake, which is a spirited art. While dosage may take a few tries to get right, a bad tasting edible will ruin a good amount of weed, which we should avoid.

While there is no way to protect yourself from all unexpected factors when making infused treats, there are a few simple mistakes that can be avoided with some forethought. These will keep your edibles from tasting gross and, most importantly, prevent them from wiping you out in a single bite.

Here are six common mistakes to look out for when preparing edibles.

Use equal amounts of weed and oil

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“Less is more” might as well be the marijuana slogan, because it’s better to be a little excited than having a full blown freak for eating something too strong. Even if you’re trying to get a crazy high, the lipids in the oil only bind so much to your cannabis, so avoid wasting your weed and money.

RELATED: How Do You Calculate THC Levels In Your Cannabis Edibles?

The ratio we are looking for is 1: 1 – equal parts ground cannabis and oil. If you want to extend the life of your weed, you can also add cannabis stems, trims, and vaporized buds to your oil.

Remember to decarboxylate

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Before adding cannabis to your recipe, you’ll need to decarboxylate it. This process occurs when you heat cannabis on its own and allow it to work.

If you add raw cannabis to a mix, your edibles will taste terrible and no one will get high. Make sure to heat the cannabis beforehand and add it once the decarboxylation process has taken place. Here’s how to decarburize cannabis, according to the pros.

Don’t grind your cannabis too much

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If you grind your cannabis into a fine powder, your recipe will taste grassy and bad, while it will give your oil a green tinge. The fine grind also makes it difficult for you to press the plant out of the oil, and leaves ugly and bad-tasting chunks of grass in your edibles. To avoid this, grind the marijuana with your hands, mix it into the oil, and then pass it through.

Try your cannabutter

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RELATED: Cannabutter 101: How to Meter Your Baking Without Baking Your Friends all the way

If you are making cannabutter, be sure to try it while you are making it. Cannabutter is great for cannabis edibles and simplifies recipes. Therefore, it is very important to make sure you know what you are working with in terms of taste and potency. Before you start cooking, try a spoonful of cannabutter. If you cook with the necessary time, you will understand how strong your cannabutter is and how much you should pour into anything you bake.

Avoid taking liberties with the recipe

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When you’re feeling creative, hold back. Unless you’re an expert on baking and cannabis handling, your best bet is to stick to the recipe, increase your chances of success, and make something edible that is actually edible.

Caution is the mother of the porcelain box

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Preparing edibles is a strenuous process, so it makes sense if you feel tired and just want to cook without taking any extra steps. However, if you want your edibles to have some consistency, make sure you use the same amounts of infused oil per serving. If you made the oil yourself and want to know how strong it is, take a teaspoon, wait an hour, and see how you feel.