About to launch into making my first edibles. Can anyone recommend an infuser that decarbs and infuses? Gummies are the first goal.
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The best and cheapest method ive found is instant pots. You can decarb and infuse in the instant pot, worry free from over cooking it.
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For gummies i used mct oil with sunflower lectin as a stabilizer
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Gummies can be tricky to get right because the oil tends to leach out. For a first time edible id suggest starting out with classic brownies using clarified butter. Butter holds on to THC better than any other oil.
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I use a Ardent decarb unit then my infuser. Takes the guess work out there are some good youtube sour gummies recipes. I infuse unscented coconut oil keeps and not as greasy as butter. A few have just had this similar conversation. I did find with any thing I in fuse from 190everclear to coconut oil I use an emulsifier to avoid hot spots. 2-3 oz to 23oz jar of oil, I make cookies brownies and candy gummies. I spun my tires guessing at a lot of ways I was tired of it not being consistent strength.
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Second this. Because its a pressure cooker it reaches temps of 235-240 which is perfect for decarbing. We don’t do two separate steps, just add the weed to the oil and run it for an hour. Works fine. Strain out the weed in a tea strainer and use the oil in whatever. Agree coconut oil is best.
We do 14grams weed in 8oz oil. 1 cup.
Perk is the Instant Pot will cook your dinner on other days. Its a great tool.
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Just got an Ardent FX, in the middle of my 3rd infusion of oil. Works very well, mindless opperation (decarb in it then add oil,turn on and wait till done. Strain and use. Easy peasy. I didn’t want to spend the mony and looked at all alternatives and ended up with the Ardent. Pleased with it so far.
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Yes I was thinking you were involved with the infusion talk. Easy peasy I had wasted enough that this alternative was well worth the small investment.
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Im infusing 3 ozs trimmings that were screened for kief into a cup of oil.
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28g Bud, Trim, Larf Etc, (Coarsly Ground)
1lb unsalted butter (Clarified for best results) or any oil you prefer.
place the ground up bud in a mason jar and lightly close the lid. Add 4 cups water to the Instant-Pot and place the jar inside and set the IP to cook on High for 40 mins. Release the pressure and remove the lid and when its cooled enough open the jar and add in your clarrified butter or oil and lightly put the lid back on and place back in the Instant-Pot and set it to low or the slow cook setting and set the timer for 4 hours. Then ill strain mine through a french press to get the majority of the oil back and finish with a cheesecloth to squeeze the remaining goodness out.
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That will probably work well given you screened them already. Normally anything over a 1.5oz per pound of oil is wasted due to the oils thc holding capacity. You may want to run a second pass on 3 zips to 1/2lb of oil.
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Yes im doing 3 infusing in the 1 cup, 1 oz at a time and reinfusing that again with a another oz and so on. Its either that or toss it out. The brownies i made with the good bud was (1 oz/cup) was real good. I was buzzed all day and didnt smoke anything till evening.
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Is a levo2 what youre looking for
I have used all for extraction. Butter, coconut, mct, and olive oil. I have settled down on olive oil over the years.
It has the longest carbon chain triglycerides compared to the other food grade solvents. That means it has more places to bond with cannabinoids. Therefore the olive oil can hold on to more cannabinoid per volume than the other oils.
Olive oil has 17-20 carbons on average
Coconut oil has 8-14 carbons on average
Butter has 18 carbons on average
MCT has 6-12 carbons (mediumlength chain triglyceride)
Butter can hold as many cannabinoids as olive oil but in the head to head it cannot compete. Butter is hard to dose because it is solid at room temp and sticky. How much is a bat o butter? Olive oil can be precisely micro (or macro) dosed multiple times a day for those that have to work on medicine. Just use an eye dropper since it’s liquid at room temp. Too strong, cut it in half with more pure olive oil. Butter goes rancid in the fridge after a month, and is hard to get personal doses from out of the freezer. Olive oil is a natural preservative and has an extremely long shelf life at room temp. A small splash can be added to food or drink without dosing the communal pot with ease. Just throw it in the back of the truck camping. It also makes an excellent substitute in baked goods for butter that your tastebuds cannot tell.
But most importantly, it flushes cleanest in GI tubes for those that cannot eat like the rest of us. Much better than MCT or coconut oil. All the while holding onto more cannabinoids per volume.
Just like others mentioned,don’t forget the lecithin.
Most important is the lecithin, regardless of what food grade solvent you use. I like sunflower lecithin over soy lecithin because it has virtually no food allergy unlike the soy based product. The lecithin breaks the large canabiniod molecules (that like to clump together) down in individual micelles so they are bioavailable for our body. If clumped together our bodies have a hard time breaking large chain glycerides and acids into usable small enough snipits to get into our blood stream. Before our body’s pass it (waste it). It essentially amplifies the potency by forcing the body to waste less of it. By making micelles and holding the cannabinoids apart in individually small (ready to go) molecules.
But even more importantly, the sunflower lecithin makes dosing uniform as it spreads out the glycerides (chains of carbon attached to fat) and attached cannabinoids (bonded to the carbons) evenly through the oil. So one brownie doesn’t have all the weed and the other side of the pan is a dud. I have read that lecithin is used in virtually all pharmaceutical pill rendering for exactly this reason.
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I have found in lab testing the finished product little difference in potency if the decarb is done separate from the extraction; or if the decarb is done at the same time as extraction. The only note is that the solvent should decarb/extract for at least 2 hours if I do it all in one step. Then I leave it till it’s room temp to strain it.
The biggest difference is the cannabis “weed” taste. If decarb is done separate from the extraction a more mellow tasting extract is the result. If the one step method is done then the weedy taste will be much more noticeable.
I give away most of my harvest dissolved in oil. Most of my samplers prefer it to flower. Like 90% preference. Most of my samplers are retirees that I had to convince to try the devil weed. Most would rather die than smoke. But put some oil drops in the tea or coffee or spaghetti is just fine. I to this day am surprised for the preference.
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Thank you for the break down on the different oils. I have been using coconut oil mainly because of shelf life and not as greasy as butter. My last batch of infused CBN is in coconut cooking oil and 1/2 cup of olive oil to make the batch in my machine. Yes on the sunflower lectin I also have Gaur Gum to emulsify the oils less chance for a hot spot. Thank you for this information.
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I use the Leevo 2 
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Thanks for you detailed response @noddykitty1
Think I’ll give it a go this weekend! Wound up getting the ardent fx mini. I’m only ever going to do small batches at a time. this thing claims to do an ounce at a time. I’ll let ya know how it goes!
Thanks for all the info!
Somehow got through my first attempt at growing with some pretty damn good weed! And a lot of it considering just 1 indoor GDP plant. Trimming and curing tomorrow then I’ll know how much. But I am quite pleased! The buds are not as tight as weed i buy, but tight enough. But it smokes well, tastes good and gets you to a good cruising altitude gradually, but not too gradually. And hits hard if you do. Perfect for my needs
Thank you guys for holding my hand when i was nervous lol!
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