Aunt Sandy's Medical Marijuana Cookbook (5 page)

The quality of the marijuana you use to create the butter, oil, tincture, or flour effects the potency of the finished food. An ounce of high quality marijuana will have more active ingredients than an ounce of low-grade marijuana. I consistently use high-grade medical cannabis, but depending on the marijuana you have access to, the amount of cannabis can be increased or decreased accordingly.

You can use sensory methods to help better understand whether to use more or less marijuana when preparing cooking extracts. If the medicine looks mediocre, lacks smell, is not resinous to the touch, tastes stale, has limited effects, or lacks freshness, it is likely that using more marijuana will be more beneficial. If the marijuana meets all of the requirements and can be considered high-grade, then a normal or lower amount may be used to achieve optimal therapeutic results. Here are some easy ways to use your senses to distinguish between high- and low-grade marijuana.

 

 

Sight:
Are there visible trichomes (resinous crystal-like formations)? Does it look discolored or old? You can use a magnifying device to examine the material more closely for signs of quality.

 

Smell:
Is the plant material pungent and ripe, or does it lack aroma or smell somewhat stale? Is there a musty smell? Fresh high quality marijuana has a strong distinct odor.

 

Touch:
Does the material have a sticky resin when rubbed between your fingers? Is it a chalky feeling (powdery mildew), or does it have a coarse texture?

 

Taste:
When smoked or vaporized does the marijuana have a chemical or perfume taste? Does it taste fresh or stale? Is the taste powerful or weak?

 

Effect:
When smoked or vaporized does the medicine have a strong and immediate effect, or does it take more than normal to be adequately medicated?

 

Freshness:
Aged medicine or improperly stored medicine may experience a breakdown of cannabinoids. Crumbling, over-dried, or discolored marijuana could be a sign of lack of freshness.

Understanding the ratio of marijuana buds to marijuana leaf trim or shake is essential to developing cooking extracts that produce desired effects consistently. While it is not an exact science because every cannabis plant is different, the folks at Steep Hill Labs in California who test medicine for patient collectives in the state verify that on average the leaves or trimmings from a cannabis plant are about 25% as strong as buds or flowering clusters from the same plant. This means that in general a 1:4 ratio of bud/flower to leaf trim or shake will produce similar medicinal effects.

If you are using the buds/flowers of the plant you should only use from ¼ ounce buds/ flowers to an ounce of leaf trim or shake; or on a larger scale of weaker marijuana, use one ounce of bud/flowers to a quarter pound of leaf trim or shake. This 1:4 general ratio should provide a relatively consistent result. The “1:4 Ratio Chart for Determining Potency” on the next page provides guidelines for amounts to use when preparing butter, oils, and tinctures.

 

 

If you want lower potency, another option is to add less plant material than is called for in the extraction formula to create a less potent potion to cook with. This is a good method if you do not have access to large quantities of marijuana but still want to enjoy Aunt Sandy's marijuana cooking recipes. Making butter, oil, or tincture with lower quantities of marijuana may also be desirable if you want to create entire meals for a group of patients or enjoy larger portions or any combination of snacks, soups, starters, sides, entrees, or desserts.

Adjusting the potency of the marijuana butter, oils, and tinctures, will help you to have a better experience, and in turn will help foster wellness. Always err on the side of caution. (Refer to Appendix A for measurement equivalents.)

Many of my recipes, especially the desserts, use my famous Aunt Sandy's 10x Cannabutter to provide the greatest value and maximum effect to the patients I work with. When made with high-quality buds and flowers, this is an extremely potent formula.
If you are unsure of your tolerance to marijuana as a medicine, do not ingest it at full strength. Also, if you are not sure of the strength of the marijuana you are using, be cautious. You may want to dilute the recipe with non-medicated butter starting at a 25% Aunt Sandy's 10x Cannabutter to 75% regular butter.
Dilute the butters by melting them together in a pot and gently stirring. After ingesting foods at this ratio and following the titration methods to determine the proper portion size (see page 16), you can decide whether to increase or decrease the ratio accordingly.

The same is true for oils; you can dilute any Aunt Sandy's Cannabis Oil by adding more of the oil you used for the infusion. The same ratio works: 25% Aunt Sandy's Cannabis Oil to 75% regular oil. You can manipulate the ratio from there on up to 10x strength.

This will help you to have a better experience, and in turn will help foster wellness.
Always err on the side of caution. It is always easier to eat more if needed, but it is difficult to reduce the amount once you may have ingested too much.

Once the tasty Aunt Sandy's recipe is made, your last chance to control the potency of the medicine is by adjusting the size of the portion of food. This is where the titration method comes in: if you are unsure of how much medication you need, even though you have controlled the recipe by the amount of plant material added and the amount of Cannabutter or cannabis oil used, you can choose how much of the food to eat.

When trying a new recipe, start with a small serving to be on the conservative side. This is very useful when you have prepared a dessert like my Blue Sky Lemon Bars at its highest possible potency. Try a small piece of one bar. Wait an hour to feel the results. You can always eat more if you need it. Once you have experienced your body's response to the medicated food, you will know how much of that particular food makes you feel better. You will feel the relief from this wonderful medicine at its optimal strength for you. And that is the point of my whole story. Bon appétit!

On the following pages is the famous Aunt Sandy's 10x Cannabutter formula. Remember that I use my most potent butter for patients in need of high doses of medication, and at full strength it is a powerful medicine. Please adjust your recipe as needed by either diluting the butter or using less plant material if you do not feel as if you need a maximum strength dosage or if you plan on cooking a dish or meal with larger portions. While Aunt Sandy's recipe provides great value, at it highest strength it can be overwhelming if you have a lower threshold, reduced medical need, or low tolerance for the active ingredients of marijuana.

Butter is a great way to add marijuana to any recipe that calls for butter or oil. Try it in your own recipes and learn to make your favorite foods into delicious medicines. It is important to note THC evaporates at 380° so keep recipes at a safe 350°. Boiling point is 212°, so it's okay to cook at a rapid boil or a strong sauté.

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS: