Honey Edibles

The possibilities are endless for this versatile cannabis infusion. Use it in lieu of other types of sweetener by incorporating it into your favourite sweet and savoury dishes ( honey oat muffins, chocolate avocado mousse, smoothies, and more), or just simply stir the sweet liquid gold into a cup of tea or drizzle over a cheeseboard.

Note: Homemade edibles are very difficult to accurately dose. This guide will give you some tips for more precise dosing, but all DIY cannabis cooks should be aware that there’s no way to guarantee the potency or homogeneity of their batch.

How to make cannabis-infused honey

Cannabis-infused honey couldn’t be any easier to make. This recipe comes courtesy of The Wellness Soldier Cody Lindsay and requires just two ingredients, indirect heat, and time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of honey
• 3.5 grams of decarboxylated cannabis

The essential Decarboxylating the cannabis

Before making your infusion, you’ll need to decarboxylate, or “decarb”, the cannabis flower you’re working with. Skipping this step will result in a weak or inactive finished product. Here’s why: Cannabis buds produce a non-intoxicating acidic cannabinoid called THCA. When we smoke or vaporize cannabis, the heat converts THCA into THC, the molecule that delivers euphoric effects. If preparing CBD edibles, this same process should be applied.

1. Decarb the cannabis. Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Place cannabis buds on a non-stick, oven-safe tray. Cover the tray with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Insert the tray into the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes. Older, drier cannabis may require less time. (Tip: you can also set your oven to 300ºF and heat for 10 to 18 minutes, although low-and-slow is the recommended approach when decarbing to better preserve the cannabinoids.) Every 10 minutes, gently mix the buds with a light shake of the tray to expose the surface area of the buds equally.
2. Combine the cannabis and honey in a double boiler to apply gentle heat on the stove top.
3. Simmer. Maintain low heat and let the mixture simmer for at least 40 minutes. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
4. Strain the honey. Set a funnel on top of a jar and line it with cheesecloth. Once the honey has cooled off, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. (Tip: Squeezing the cheesecloth may push more bad-tasting plant material through).
5. Storing: Honey can be stored in a cool dark area for 1-2 months.
6. Dose carefully. Refer to dosing information below before adding your honey to any snacks, dishes, or desserts.

How to Create Cannabis-Infused Honey

The first step is to decarboxylate your marijuana to transform the THCA into THC. If you fail to complete this process, all you’re doing is adding plant matter to the honey and you’re unlikely to experience much of a high.

• Firstly, preheat your oven to 240 degrees Fahrenheit and place your herb on a baking sheet in a thin layer. It is best to keep the temperature fairly low to preserve as many cannabinoids and terpenes as possible. (Once you get into the 320+ degree range, a fair percentage of weed’s amazing compounds begin to vaporize).
• Bake the marijuana for at least 40 minutes; some users ‘cook’ their weed for up to an hour at this low temperature. Make sure you stir the cannabis and rotate the sheet a few times during the process, or else it won’t cook evenly.
• Once the precious weed is “decarbed” and ready for action, you can add it to your honey.

Materials You Will Need to Make Cannabis Honey:

• Baking Pan: You’ll need this to decarboxylate the weed.
• Cannabis: Ideally, you’ll have at least half an ounce of decarbed weed ready. The more you use, the stronger your honey will be.
• Crockpot: While you can use any crockpot, make sure it is large enough for the glass jar you use. The process takes several hours, so it doesn’t pay to risk a crappy crockpot!
• Cheesecloth: This simple piece of equipment is vital because it holds your decarbed weed. It also helps the honey to saturate and take in the precious cannabinoids.
• Glass Jar: Choose a durable, airtight jar. Clean and dry it thoroughly before using it.
• Honey: The amount you use is entirely up to you. Most canna honey experts believe two cups is enough if using half an ounce of marijuana. However, you can choose a different amount to change the potency.
• Piece of String: Pick strong string made from natural fibers because you’ll use it while slow cooking the product. If you use an old piece of string, you’re adding a slew of unknown ingredients.
• Parchment Paper: Essential if you want to avoid the irritation of weed sticking to the baking pan!

Place the weed into the cheesecloth and tie it with the piece of string.

1. Add the cloth to the glass jar, and insert the honey.
2. Put the jar into the crockpot with a cloth between the pot and the bottom of the jar.
3. Fill the pot until the jar is 75% submerged in water and set it to a temperature of around 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Allow the honey to cook for approximately eight hours and give the jar a slight shake every couple of hours to make sure the pressure inside doesn’t build up. Never allow the mixture to come to a full boil.
5. Carefully remove the jar from the pot, take away the cheesecloth, and strain the weed trapped in the cloth. Be wary because your jar will be incredibly hot.

One of the many great things about your cannabis honey concoction is its long shelf life. It will last up to several years as long as you store it in an airtight container. Ideally, you will keep the jar of honey in a room away from direct sunlight at a temperature of between 50 and 70 degrees.

Who Makes Better Canna-Honey: People or Bees?

Although we need bees to make honey naturally, our flying friends are unable to infuse honey with marijuana, at least not without human help! Weed produces pollen but has no evolutionary need to produce nectar, so it doesn’t. As a consequence, bees are unable to create marijuana-infused honey.However, an eccentric French beekeeper, using the pseudonym ‘Nicolas Trainerbees,’ created a storm online when he posted a bizarre YouTube video in 2016. The video in question shows his bees enjoying cannabis flowers. Nicolas has a combined love of beekeeping and weed and has used his twin passions to incredible effect.