Home Cooking with Cannabis: Guidelines and a Recipe

With the floodgates open on consumption, now more then ever folks need to know what a proper dose to ingest is and how to attain that in their home cooking.

When baking with marijuana, consistency is the number one problem, assuming you’ve acquired a clean, sustainable supply.

THC content is typically measured in milligrams (mg). The higher the stated milligrams, the higher you’ll get. Most people are not prepared for high doses when they first begin ingesting cannabis. Over time tolerance will increase, but it’s best to start with lower doses to avoid unwanted effects like anxiety or even nausea.

(Get more of Watermelon's weed wisdom with Watermelon's Cover Girl Aspirations: From Selling Pot on Wreck Beach to Gracing the Cover of Magazines)

Begin with 15 mg or Less

In my observations, the average person plateaus somewhere around 50 mg. If ingesting consistently, that tolerance can double. After taking three or four days away from edibles, your tolerance level usually drops back down to 50 mg.

The burgeoning cannabis market has a lot of proprietary products with more coming each day. Every product is going to have a different effect on different people, so I can’t comment on marketed products.

My rules are for home bakers and cooks.

Adding pre-made marijuana extract to a brownie mixture does not make you a marijuana chef. Converting fresh or dried cannabis into recipes at home does.

Here, I’ve set out time-honored truths I’ve observed along the way about serving size and how to achieve that goal within a small delta every time.

When cooking with cannabis, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Know your source

• Less is more

• Use a scale

• Food variables

• Be patient

Rule 1: Know your Source.

I prefer clean, dried, outdoor cannabis sativa. It’s grown drenched in sunlight and refreshed in rainwater, much like most of the farm fresh vegetables we eat. Nothing beats clean dirt and sunshine.

Rule 2: Less is More

Always err on the side of caution. The other side of caution, with edibles, can scare people off for life with a bad experience. I am focusing entirely on the average person. There can be quite a delta even within this category. Don’t be a hero, be a subtle genius.

Rule 3: Use a Scale

There’s a fine grind and there’s finer. Don’t eyeball your way into a sleepover. Scale up a perfectly good time and make it an enjoyable experience; one you’ll want to have over and over.

Rule 4: Food Variables

Simple sugars process faster through the liver than complex carbohydrates. As a result, simple sugars have faster onset but shorter lasting effects. Put cannabis on a ribeye steak and you could be high for a day or two as it slowly makes its way through your system. Proper planning is essential.

Rule 5: Be Patient

Achieving the full effects of cannabis by ingestion takes more than an hour with many contributing factors along the way. Did you have dinner before you ingested cannabis, or dinner after? Do you have a fast or slow metabolism? Please wait. Then wait a little longer to be sure.

For whatever reason you have decided to cook with cannabis, it’s important to understand all the variables that will determine its effect on you. It will be much better, in the long run, to start at Julie Andres and slowly work your way up to a comfortable level, whatever that may be for you. Take notes and pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. Over time, you’ll know exactly what you need to get you to that sweet spot.

Clarified Budder & Lobster Recipe

-serves 4

• 1 gram dried, ground and sifted cannabis (Shake Flour)
• 2/3 cup of butter broken into chunks
• Chopped green onion
• Lobster for 4

Melt butter and shake in sauce pan on super low heat. DO NOT STIR.
Wait for white milky foam to form on top.
Pour through a fine sieve once or twice, removing the milky foam.
You will be left with beautiful green clarified budder.
Garnish with fresh chopped green onion.
Dip with lobster. Crab is nice too.

- Watermelon

(Looking for another recipe? try Baking a Fool of Myself: The No Frownie Brownie