Can you overcook marijuana-infused edibles?

Top Answer

Medical Jane

Last updated: May 31st, 2016

Yes and unfortunately it is pretty easy to do if you are not careful. However, using a candy thermometer and watching your edibles closely while they are cooking will ensure that they stay strong and effective.

When cooking with cannabis, it is important to remember that different cannabinoids boil at different temperatures. Therefore, the temperature at which you would want to cook your edibles would vary slightly depending on what effect you are looking for. While some terpenes and flavonoids reach their boiling point at temperatures as low as 245⁰F, most cannabinoids do not reach this point until they hit temperatures exceeding 300⁰F.

Most baked goods recipes use a standard temperature of 350⁰F, which is much too hot for your cannabinoids. Instead, cook your edibles at a lower temperature (never over 300⁰F) and increase the cooking time by about 50 percent. This means that if you are using a brownie recipe that cooks at 350⁰F for 30 minutes, you should reduce the temperature to under 300⁰ (275⁰F is a good choice) just to be safe and cook your medicated brownies for 45 minutes instead of 30.

NOTE: Remember that every time you cook your canna-butter, you risk burning off valuable terpenes and cannabinoids. You can prevent this by using a lid if possible and keeping the temperature low enough that the cannabinoids do not vaporize.

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