Cannabis Cookery 101: Green Butter
Why would anyone eat cannabis when they could simply smoke it? There are many reasons. Respiratory issues are one reason. Preferring to live in a smoke-free environment is another. Enjoying a different sort of buzz is yet another reason. The thing is, you can’t just chomp a bud and expect it to do the trick. One of the best methods of preparing cannabis for eating is to make Green Butter. Here’s how:
First, gather a few everyday kitchen items. You will need a large saucepan with a lid, a long-handled wooden spoon, an electric coffee/spice grinder, a large bowl, a yard of cheesecloth and a sealing container to store your Green Butter in. The ingredients are simple: Water, unsalted butter and chopped dried cannabis. If you use strictly bud, the ratio is about 1/4 ounce cannabis to 1 stick of unsalted butter. If you use leafy cannabis, use 1/2 ounce herb to 1 stick of unsalted butter. You can use vaporized cannabis to make Green Butter with, as well– use 1/2 ounce vaped bud to 1 stick unsalted butter. Here are the instructions in recipe form:
Green Butter (water method)
Large saucepan 3/4 full of water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 oz to 1/2 oz chopped dried cannabis
Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Once water is boiling, reduce heat to low and add one unwrapped stick of unsalted butter. While the butter is melting in the water, put your herb into a coffee grinder, put on the lid and give it a few quick spins. The goal is to grind the dried cannabis just a bit coarser than powder and much finer than it would be if you were going to roll it. When the butter is melted into the water, add the chopped ground cannabis and stir gently with a long-handled wooden spoon.
Simmer slowly over VERY LOW HEAT and stir occasionally for at least three hours– longer is even better, up to six hours. If the water level decreases, add another cup or two of water. The water is going to be discarded at the end of the process and THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) will not dissolve in water.
Make room in your refrigerator for the saucepan. Turn off heat under the pan. Allow the saucepan to cool in place for an hour so it doesn’t melt the rack in your refrigerator. Once the pan is relatively cool to the touch, place it in the refrigerator and allow butter to solidify and separate from the water. This will probably take another hour at least.
Once the butter has solidified, drape the cheesecloth over a large bowl and have a friend hold it in place or use a big rubber band. Once the cheesecloth is securely fastened to the large bowl, slowly pour the cannabis mixture through the cheesecloth. If the bowl becomes full, dump the water then continue pouring the cannabis mixture through the cheesecloth, slowly. Once all the water is discarded and the butter substance in captured in the cheesecloth, fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the cannabis butter to wrap it. Discard water and gently squeeze any remaining water out of the butter. Unwrap and place Green Butter in an airtight container. Store in refrigerator or freeze for up to six months.
Green Butter may be used in any recipe calling for butter or margarine. Spread it on warm toast or use it to saute things like scrambled eggs. Green Butter needs a bit of heat to be most effective, so use your imagination and however you use it, have fun!
