How To Make Edibles With Cannabis Concentrates

Imagine you and your friends are sitting on the couch with a table full of concentrates. You could dab or vape it all, but those effects don’t last too long, and your throats would surely hurt by the end of the night. As you consider that, you also start to feel like having a snack. How could both of these problems be solved? Well, maybe you should try making some cannabis edibles!

Sure, the ones you buy at the coffeeshop or dispensary may seem too hard to make, but there’s nothing stopping you from making delicious, potent edibles with materials you have at home. Not only will you enjoy a high that lasts hours on end, but you’ll do far less damage to your lungs than you would otherwise! In turn, you’ll get some baking experience that you can apply outside of your weed sessions.

Why Use Cannabis Concentrates to Make Edibles?

So, you may already be intrigued by the idea of weed edibles, but perhaps you’re still wondering why we’re suggesting you use cannabis concentrates to make them. Well, although edibles made from cannabis buds are still valid, there are quite a few reasons why someone would choose to make theirs out of concentrates instead of flower.

Your Concentrates Have Become Stale

Have you noticed the flavour of your dabs waning? Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean your wax is expired; rather, it means you’ve got a chunk of concentrate that would fit nicely in a recipe for your favourite edibles! Once you blend it into a cannabutter, or otherwise add it in when making edibles, you won’t be able to detect any hint of the staleness that would cross your tongue while dabbing. You’ll experience every bit of the high, without any of the unpalatable flavours.

More Neutral Flavour Than Flower

Speaking of avoiding unpleasant flavours, using concentrates means you won’t have to contend with the strong herbal taste of cannabis buds and foliage. Sure, the sugar and butter in recipes can go far to minimise the flavour, but the unmistakable taste of plant matter can really put a damper on your edibles experience. Since concentrates contain little to no plant matter, the resulting edibles will have a much more neutral taste, allowing the other ingredients in your recipe to shine.

Higher Potency

You might not always be able to recognise a concentrate-rich edible just by tasting it, but you’ll definitely be able to tell once an hour or two passes. As you digest the snack and the cannabinoids make their way into your bloodstream, you’ll find it hits noticeably harder than an edible made with ground-up buds. Dosing will be the main determinant, of course, but treats made with concentrates typically end up more potent due to higher concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes. Along with that, it’s easier to increase the dose with concentrates than it is with flower, as the volume of cannabis material is much smaller.

Easier to Use

Going along with the above point, the higher potency and lower mass of concentrates simply makes them more convenient when cooking or baking. Working with a proportional amount of plant matter involves more space, effort (measuring, grinding), and a higher degree of error to boot. You’ll free up space, and you’ll likely have an easier time keeping track of doses and measurements by opting for extracts.

8 Steps to Making Cannabis Edibles With Concentrates

With all of that in mind, we think you’re ready to start taking the steps towards making your own edibles with concentrates. Below, you’ll find eight essential steps detailing what you need to consider, and prepare, in order to create high-quality concentrate-rich edibles at home.

Step 1: Know Your Concentrate

The first step in the process, of course, is having an idea of which concentrate you plan on using. If you’re able to find crystal distillate, which is essentially just pure THC or CBD (~99%), that’ll be the easiest to work with, as there’s no real math involved. You also won’t have to worry about decarboxylating the crystals, so you can get started with baking—and get baked—even sooner.

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You can also use any of the waxes or budders available in dispensaries and coffeeshops to make your edibles. They too will be easy to measure, although you’ll have to do some light calculations to figure out exactly how much THC you’re dealing with. After that, along with decarboxylation, you should be ready to go.

The most common concentrate in a stoner’s household, of course, is kief. In case you didn’t know, the magic dust that collects in the bottom chamber of your grinder is actually a pile of trichomes—resin-bearing glands found on cannabis buds. In other words, a kief pile is nothing but cannabinoids, terpenes, etc. with a bit of plant matter in the mix. It’ll be a bit more of a headache to work with, as the measurements won’t be as precise, but it’s one of the most accessible options for the average stoner.

Step 2: Consider a Dish That Works Well With Your Concentrate

The flavours of cannabis concentrates aren’t as intense as those of flower, but even those notes can make a world of difference depending on the edible. No matter what you’re making, though, you’ll want to ensure it has a high amount of fat, as that will guarantee more of the cannabinoids are absorbed into the food.

Wax, budder, and other semi-solid concentrates are fine to use in most edibles recipes, as the flavours are mild and can blend into most dishes. If you’re using THC oil or full-spectrum extract, though, you’ll want to pick something with a strong, rich flavour to mask any bitterness or earthiness. Sweet treats like cookies and brownies fit perfectly, although you’re far from limited to just those. Get creative, and let us know what new recipes you try out!

Step 3: Calculate the Correct Dose

We hinted at this part of the process in earlier steps, but we can’t stress enough that you need to be careful when dosing out your edibles. An under-dosed edible is underwhelming at worst, but one with excessive amounts of THC can have you feeling off for up to 12 hours. Considering that, make a note of your personal tolerance level and those of the people you’re sharing with. If you’re all occasional users, for instance, don’t bother putting more than 10–20mg of THC in each edible. If you all smoke on a regular basis, however, you could get away with putting in anywhere from 30 to even 50mg of THC per serving.

So, for example, if you have 1 gram of wax that contains 80% THC, you’ll have 800 milligrams of THC to divide between your edibles. In turn, if you want each of your brownies to have 20mg doses, you’ll have to make enough cannabutter for 40 brownies. Whichever path you’re taking, you need to be sure that you’re measuring correctly. That means you have to be aware of how much THC your concentrate contains. With that in mind, you then have to consider the total amount of concentrate you’ll need in order to hit your potency mark.

Step 4: Decarb if Necessary

Now that you know what concentrate you’re using and what edibles you’re making, it’s time to get in the kitchen and decarboxylate your weed! That just means you’re going to heat it up. Why heat it up, though? Well, before heat is applied, a good amount of the THC in most concentrates actually exists as THCA, an acidic precursor that won’t get you high. All you need to do, though, is apply some heat to convert the cannabinoid acid into the psychotropic THC.

Of course, you don’t need to carry out this process if you’re using THC crystals (distillate), as those have already been converted. If you’ve got wax, cannabis oil, kief, butter, shatter, hash, or crumble, however, it’s time to turn up the heat.

• Best Way to Decarb BHO (Wax, Budder, Shatter, Crumble, etc.)

To properly decarboxylate butane hash oil, such as wax, shatter, etc., you’ll need an oven, a baking sheet (or a pan you can safely put in the oven), an oven thermometer, and some parchment paper.

Preheat your oven to around 110–120ºC (230–250ºF). In the meantime, cover the surface of your baking sheet in parchment paper and spread your BHO onto the centre. Stick the sheet in the oven, and keep it in there for around 20 minutes or so.

Make sure you check on it periodically after the first 10, as you want to make sure the BHO doesn’t start to degrade from the heat. Once it starts to melt and bubble significantly, take it out and let it cool on the counter for a few minutes.

• Best Way to Decarb Cannabis Oil(RSO)

The setup for decarbing cannabis oil, also known as Rick Simpson oil or RSO, requires different materials, but isn’t much more difficult. You’ll just need a large pot, some cooking oil, a glass (or otherwise highly heat-resistant) container for the RSO, some tongs, a thermometer, and a stirring utensil.

Fill the pot 25% of the way with your cooking oil of choice, place your glass container of RSO in there, and set it to medium-low heat (around 94ºC / 200ºF). Pop any bubbles that make their way to the top, and check the temperature once every minute or two. Once it hits 94ºC / 200ºF, turn off the heat and let the oil settle. Wait for the bubbles to stop forming, then use your tongs to take out the container of RSO.

• Best Way to Decarb Kief and Hash

Lastly, to decarb some hash or kief, you’ll need to break out your baking sheet and parchment paper again, along with a butter knife and your oven thermometer. This time, preheat your oven to exactly 94ºC (or 200ºF), and use your thermometer to verify.

As it heats up, cover the surface of your baking sheet in parchment paper, and spread your kief or hash evenly across the centre with the butter knife. Once your oven is hot enough, place the baking sheet in there for around 15–20 minutes. Then, once time is up, pull the sheet out of the oven and let it cool on your counter.

Step 5: Infuse Into a Fat of Choice

Once you’ve decarbed your concentrate and let it cool for a bit, it’s time to infuse it with your cooking fat of choice. The most classic option, of course, is to make cannabutter. Along with being flavourful, versatile, and full of cannabinoid-absorbing fat, it’s also pretty inexpensive and one of the easier fats to prepare. It’s worth noting, however, that it has a low smoke point (150ºC / 302ºF), meaning high heat will burn it and subsequently taint the flavour.

Cannabis-infused olive oil is also a good option, especially for savoury dishes, and it’s also notably more nutritious than butter. You’ll also have some options when it comes to price and quality, allowing you to be as fancy or casual as you’d like. In turn, you have more options with what you cook, since its smoke point can be up to 38ºC higher (177–204ºC / 350–400ºF) than butter.

If you want something even more healthy and versatile, though, we’re always happy to suggest THC-rich coconut oil. Although it’s not as flavourful or rich as the other two options, it’s the healthiest amongst them, is just as versatile as cannabutter, and has a higher smoke point than butter (177ºC / 350ºF).

Step 6: Add Lecithin to Your Fat-Concentrate Mix if You Wish to Boost Effects

Now, the fat should do a pretty good job of absorbing the cannabinoids, but what if we told you the edible could be stronger, without additional cannabis? Well, we’d like to introduce you to lecithin! The term refers to an assortment of fat compounds that can act as an emulsifier, meaning it’ll break down the fat it touches into smaller bits. Once broken down, the fat molecules will have an easier time absorbing cannabinoids, enhancing the potency of whatever edible they’re included in. You can find lecithin on Amazon, eBay, and perhaps some speciality food stores as well. If you do decide to use it, be sure to put slightly less concentrate in there so you don’t overdo it with the potency.

Step 7: Follow Your Chosen Recipe

With your fat and concentrate mixed and emulsified, it’s time to make the edibles of your dreams! If you want to start with something light and savoury, you could use some infused olive oil to make an elevated guacamole. You can then use that same oil to whip up a hearty ganja lasagna for the main course. After that, if your dinner guests are still awake, end the meal with some scrumptious no-bake cannabis energy balls.

There are plenty of other options out there, but we think the above recipes are a good place to start if you want to impress your friends and get used to working with concentrate-infused fats.

Step 8: When Consuming, Go Low and Slow

Lastly, before you head off on your concentrate-infused edibles adventure, we want you to remember one last thing: take it easy. Sure, not getting high enough is a bummer, but you can always take another bite if you want to amp things up incrementally. However, if you take too much to start, the only way to fix it is to wait it out or go to bed. So, no matter what you make, or how strong it is, go low and slow when you’re taking bites. Enjoy!

Adam Parsons

Professional cannabis journalist, copywriter, and author Adam Parsons is a long-time staff member of Zamnesia. Tasked with covering a wide range of topics from CBD to psychedelics and everything in between, Adam creates blog posts, guides, and explores an ever-growing range of products.

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