By Sarah Fertsch
Staff Writer
Since April 21, 2022, recreational marijuana use has been legal in the state of New Jersey. If you are a self-proclaimed pothead, you’ve probably waited in the two hour lines at local dispensaries or lit up a joint hidden at the bottom of your pajama drawer. The prohibition of cannabis is long-gone. If you are like me, you love the concept of getting high but gag at the smell of buds. One popular solution is edibles, or weed you consume by eating rather than smoking. Other ingredients mask the strong aroma and offer a more controlled, slower cognitive effect (if you had trouble reading that sentence, you’re already high).
Cooking with cannabis is simple and exciting and it doesn’t require any special equipment. All you need are the right ingredients and room to experiment, and of course, your special stash. Brownies are a popular representation of edibles, but you can expand your horizons much broader. You may feel overwhelmed by adding marijuana into your food, so you should start by creating an infused item that can be easily added into recipes. Food and Wine magazine recommends making cannabis-infused butter or oil and replacing the fat in muffins or cookies with the grassy alternative.
It’s important to select the right strand and amount of buds for your culinary adventure. Like wine, it’s best to try different types to learn your preferences. Every strand has a different flavor and THC concentration, so educate yourself on different kinds before hitting up the dispensary. If you have additional questions (like when the high kicks in), ask your “budtender” and if possible, smell the plant before purchase. Indicas and sativas are very different, so know what you like.
Marijuana has two components that have effects on your being (once ingested). THC is the chemical that causes you to feel loopy and light. CBD calms your body and has great benefits for people who experience chronic pain, anxiety, ADHD, depression and other ailments. Pay attention to the fine print on every strand/product at the dispensary, and if you would prefer to feel a certain way, communicate that to your budtender.
Smoking a joint and consuming edibles are very different experiences, so know what to expect. Smoking buds have quicker and more intense highs, typically lasting only an hour. Consumers of edibles won’t feel anything from cannabis until at least 45 minutes later and the high will not taper off until three hours later. Make sure that when you consume marijuana you are in a safe location surrounded by supporting people, and that you will not be operating heavy machinery in the near future.
Raw cannabis is not psychoactive; it’s the same as kale or spinach. To ensure that your bud does its job, make sure it’s cured and dried. Thankfully, most dispensaries complete this process for you. Do not make the pothead-classic mistake of simply dumping your stash into brownie batter. This mistake will leave you pretending you’re high and vomiting all night. Always grind your cannabis with a grinder into a fine powder before cooking with it. The trichomes within the bud (the holders of cannabinoids) will be released and evenly distributed across the surface area of the powder, making your edibles effective.
It’s always best to use high-quality marijuana than cheap, street weed. Chefs recommend using “headies” or “beasters” rather than “mids” or “regs” so that the food product will taste good and be safe for your eaters. Organic marijunana is free of pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals that harm your buzz, so if you can splurge for the good kush, do it.
Cannabutter Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3.5 grams of cannabis flower
- 3 tablespoons of distilled water
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour flower onto a baking sheet and bake for two-three hours.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add cannabis and water, stirring for 20 minutes until smooth.
Strain the mixture with a fine mesh sieve. Pour cannabutter into an airtight container and keep in the fridge and use within 30 days.
