How I make 'clean' cannabutter- a tutorial

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ozzydiodude

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This was originally posted by Stinkyattic at Cannabis . com


I like to turn my 'popcorn buds' and shake into cannabutter for making caramels and chocolate truffles. A problem with confectionery is the high temperatures that one needs to bring the sugar to before it is at the correct stage for making candy. Typically, caramels will be brought to 245 degrees F, and if there is any plant material or even excess chlorophyll in the butter, it will have a scorched and very unpleasant flavor.

So this is a little tutorial on the process by which I make my washed cannabutter.

Step 1 is to grind up the herb. I just run it through a hand grinder but if you feel sassy, a $15 coffee grinder just for your pot is really trick. Next, I weigh it out and decide what I want my dosage to be. I like to dose butter at 2 grams per tablespoon. The butter should be of decent quality. It doesn't matter if it is salted, because we are going to 'wash' it later.

Next, take your butter and ground herb and put it in a wide-mouthed canning jar. Add enough water to fully wet the herb.

Put the jar with the butter, water, and cannabis in a large stockpot with enough hot water to reach up to the shoulders of the jar. Screw on the band but don't tighten it down- hot air and water vapor must be able to escape. Bring the water bath just to BARELY a simmer.

Periodically, remove the jar from the water bath, tighten the lid, and gently shake the contents to re-mix, as they tend to stratify. Loosen the band again before returning the jar to the water bath. Heat for about 2 hours, then pour into a second jar, through a potato ricer to strain, and squeeze out ALL the liquid.

Place this jar in the refridgerator until the two phases stratify and the butter sets into a solid mass. Poke a large hole through the butter and pour out all the water through a strainer to catch any butter pieces floating in the water. Re-fill with clean water and return to the hot water bath. HOT WATER ON COLD GLASS WILL CRACK THE GLASS! Bring the bath back to temperature gradually.

Now repeat the heating and shaking process. You will see that the water becomes cloudy. This is all contamination leaving the butter. Chlorophyll, plant matter, even excess fertilizer salts are washed away, leaving pure butter with the psychoactive compounds.

This is called a liquid-liquid extraction, and takes advantage of the different solubilities of polar (salts) vs nonpolar (hydrocarbons) compounds in polar (water) vs nonpolar (oil) solvents.

Repeat the chilling and separating process, re-fill with water, heat again. The third time, the water should remain quite clear, and when you pour it out, pour it through a permanent coffee filter (the metal kind) to remove any large particles still remaining. This time when you chill it, you will notice what a lovely pale green color it is, and also that it smells like sweet butter and hash, but not really like pot.

When you cook with washed butter, the cannabis flavors are very subdued, to the point where you may not even notice any at all. Nice stuff.

Here's a couple pics of different techniques and pieces of equiptment- note that in some pics, the product I'm making is actually heavy cream, but the straining technique is the same

CIMG0223.JPG


CIMG0226.JPG


CIMG0228.JPG
 
Very excellent post, Oz!!

I have done this tech many, many times.. And for what it is (making cannabutter from raw material) it is definitely the way to go. It won't make the butter tastless, though. There is still a very strong presence of canna in the flavor. And I just use the pot, no glass.. When the butter hardens, it's easy enough to remove it from the pot and refill with fresh water ;)

Also, when I store it I have several ice cube trays I only use for canna. You can get them for, like, 3 for a buck at the dollar store.. I put 1 TBSP per square (easier for measuring purposes later..) and freeze, then store in a freezer baggie in the freezer. I like to wrap mine in little wax paper squares..


This is usually what I end up with in the deep freeze.. Ready to be added to any recipe :D

2012_0114Jan14-20120002.JPG
 
That's a great idea to use the icecube trays

Thanks NV
 
I like the ice tray as welll...thanks NV...I been useing the yogurt cups..it holds about a cup...and from me experience the "wash" is most important...I would like to get My color golden like Ive seen...but it still a light green...Good post ozzy...
 
4u2sm0ke said:
I like the ice tray as welll...thanks NV...I been useing the yogurt cups..it holds about a cup...and from me experience the "wash" is most important...I would like to get My color golden like Ive seen...but it still a light green...Good post ozzy...

I can think of a few things to try, bro. Water curing before hand might work..

Not chopping up the material when it's dry might do it. I know when making extractions if I 'chop' up the material before drying it, it gives me a clearer end product. Not sure what the science is there.

Also cook times might be a key.. A lot of people have suggested that a short 5 to 10 minute cook time is all you really need.. This might make sense as again, when doing extractions, faster extractions make HUGE differences..
 
Good info guys.....now I hve an excuse to go to the dollar store. :)
 
The dollar store is a dangerous place standing in the isles wondering how I can use this to grow will get you run over by little ol'ladies
 
aint that the truth ozzy...as bad as The GoodWIll...Dam Old ladies...:giggle:

thanks Nvthis:48:
 
will cheese cloth work as well as the potato ricer?
 
yes you can use cheese cloth

I bought a "gold" reusable coffee filter that has survived me making butter twice now..
 
well i did it, but kinda disappointed with the returns. i dunno if the cheese cloth soaked up alot of the butter or what. but when i was all said and done i only had about 3 tbs of butter left from a 8tbs stick. hmm
 
you never mentioned cooking the pot first oz (decarbolaxytion or whatever it's called)
do you not do this? i keep hearing you must for potency

i've never done it. but i've also never made any quality edibles ;) :(
thanks for the tut, kinda makes me want to try again
:)
 
IMO the decarbolaxytion(?) takes place during the heating in the double boiler.
 
another flop here :(
thanks for lighting a fire ozzy.. but i think i'm officially done with budder.
not once has it worked for me, be it mine or someone else's
..hell maybe it's just in relation to my screwed up digestive system, cause all it does now is cripple me (and not in a good way)

it definitely turned out nicer this time though, wasn't so green with washing and was more tolerable tasting ;)
but still, yet to have any positive effects from cannabutter here :(
 
kaotik said:
you never mentioned cooking the pot first oz (decarbolaxytion or whatever it's called)
do you not do this? i keep hearing you must for potency

i've never done it. but i've also never made any quality edibles ;) :(
thanks for the tut, kinda makes me want to try again
:)

I do decarboxylation anytime that I am going to put marijuana in any kind of water or anytime I make anything that does not involve heating (like alcohol extraction). THCA and CBCA exist as acids--they are not usable by the body in that form, and are water soluable. Heating releases the carboxyl group and changes the THCA and the CBCA to non water soluable THC and CBC--something the body can use. If the bud is not going to be heated somehow you lose that.
 
Good stuff guys, lots of this I tried myself and it works. A lil trick for getting rid of the water after cooling the budder in a jar... if while still liquid you put it in the fridge up-side down when you take it out and pop off the lid the water will be on top rather than the bottom.

Thanks for being there for me MP... you made my secret life a lil more brighter. Glad I can offer a tip or two now that I done it all haha...

:icon_smile:

Laylow... lay'n low ...
 
why not use wax in medibles? can make A LOT more potent doses, great taste.. simple, as quick as 5min butter prep, just simmer butter and drop extract in and let it dissolve and bind for a while and done. avoids any plant matter at all and instead of that nasty green taste in the backround, you taste a candylike version of the smell of the bud you extracted it from....i never liked medibles or felt them much either until i started making my own with my wax and WOW everything i heard about edibles being more effective is true if you make it strong enough lol. i put an 1/8th of wax into some brownies and it blew my mind.
:peace:
 
Killuminati420 said:
why not use wax in medibles? can make A LOT more potent doses, great taste.. simple, as quick as 5min butter prep, just simmer butter and drop extract in and let it dissolve and bind for a while and done. avoids any plant matter at all and instead of that nasty green taste in the backround, you taste a candylike version of the smell of the bud you extracted it from....i never liked medibles or felt them much either until i started making my own with my wax and WOW everything i heard about edibles being more effective is true if you make it strong enough lol. i put an 1/8th of wax into some brownies and it blew my mind.
:peace:

Killum, Give us your wax recipe.
 

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