Cannabis has been coming back into its rightful and honorable place as sacred plant medicine, after having been outlawed for most of the 20th century in most of the world. It has begun its slide towards decriminalization and/or full legalization (19 states plus DC and counting!) in earnest. To celebrate, we want to provide you with a lovely suggestion on how to enjoy your probiotics and cannabinoids at the same time!
This cannabis-infused syrup contains psychoactive THC, CBD, plus a host of other amazing cannabinoid molecules all fashioned by this miraculous medicinal plant. It is designed to be used as a sweetener for a cannabis-infused kombucha! You could also use it in cocktails, as a way to relax with a cup of hot tea, or really any recipe calling for sugar or simple syrup.
♪ Just a spoonful of medicine helps the sugar go down! (wait, is that how it goes?) ♫
You can use almost any bud, from top-shelf flower to old shake. Edibles like this recipe are a great way to use trim (leaves and stems other than the flower, which still have a good amount of trichomes, the sticky resin which contain the active ingredients). Near zero waste! The syrup I made used some old trim for which I did not know the THC content, so I had to estimate that. [2]
You can customize the potency of the syrup to your liking. Try out our handy canna-calculator below.
We like this brand of vegetable glycerin.
Notes & Assumptions
- Cannabis is legal in your state or jurisdiction, and/or it is legal for you to consume (you are over 21 and/or have a medical registration card to legally possess).
- To maximize the effects, decarboxylate cannabis plant matter first (by low roasting) before making edibles with it. This converts THC-A into THC and increases the psychoactive effect significantly. Decarboxylation is not necessary if you are beginning with oil or concentrate.
- It is believed that extraction efficiency (the rate at which cannabinoids and terpenoids are retained) is 50% for fat-based infusions (THC levels drop from plant form to syrup by 50% during the infusion process). We hold the same assumption for this syrup-based infusion. Calculations incorporate this assumption.[4]
Cannabis Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 300 g (12 fl. oz or 375ml) raw, organic sugar
- 375 ml (12 fl. oz) filtered water
- 23 ml 1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. vegetable glycerin
- 13 g cannabis trim assumes 3% THC potency, for 10mg THC per 8 oz. of finished kombucha
Instructions
Decarboxylate Cannabis
- Preheat oven to 225°F/108°C.
- Spread cannabis on an even layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Break into small nuggets or roughly chop.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let cool.
Create simple syrup
- Boil water in a saucepot. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add decarboxylated cannabis to the pot and stir gently.
- Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer 30 minutes.
- Stir in vegetable glycerin. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and let mixture cool.
- Strain mixture through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag suspended over a mixing bowl. Let sit for about 30 minutes to drain.
- Squeeze the solids to extract every last drop of syrup.
- Store syrup in a tightly sealed glass container in the refrigerator OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. Lasts up to 3 months.
Sources:
- Cooking with Cannabis: Delicious Recipes for Edibles and Everyday Favorites. Wolf, Laurie.
How to Calculate Edible Potency, keytocannabis.com. Accessed Mar. 12, 2018.
How to calculate THC dosage in recipes for marijuana edibles, thecannabist.co. Accessed Mar. 12, 2018.
- Dosing Homemade Cannabis, Cooking with Cannabis, Part 4. Leafly.com
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Hey basically when you heat cannabis your decarbing it. There are just some sweet temps to extract the most. When it comes to making syrup you can use raw cannabis. Because the boiling and heat activates the THC. When you decarb it and then boil it, it eliminates some THC
Good to know! That makes sense, and thanks for the tip! We definitely don’t want to reduce the cannabinoids more than needed!
If your using same gram amount of concentrate as bud do you use same amount of vegetable glycerin?
I haven’t made it with concentrate myself, but I suppose it would be slightly more glycerin if you’re using something more potent per cc. HTH!
can the cannabis be used in anything else (like brownie’s or something) after making cannabis simple syrup
Of course! You can use in any dish that calls for sugar (and water, since it is half sugar and half water). Just be sure to adjust the recipe for the added liquid (about 50% of the amount of syrup you use). There’s usually not a lot of water in brownies, for example, so maybe swap out some of the other liquids in the recipe, such as egg white.
I have made the simple syrup without slow roasting in the oven I still get an affect. Should I still slow roast before I put it in the syrup mixture?
Our understanding of decarboxylation is that it helps activate the THC so we can absorb it through our guts. I would imagine it will be more potent if you decarb it vs. not. But try it and let us know!
Why and what is the purpose of the vegetable glycerin?
It binds the cannabinoids to the sugar molecules so that they stay in suspension rather than sink to the bottom.
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