Not ready to dive fork first into a multi-course cannabis meal? No problem. Thanks to a newly published book, The Leafly Guide to Cannabis: A Handbook for the Modern Consumer, edibles can be created in the comfort of a home kitchen.

Leafly’s website has become a one stop shop for information about all things cannabis. Due to the high traffic and interest in the content, the handbook was published because its authors believed: “For most of history, cannabis has remained shrouded in code words, mystery and misinformation. It’s time we ended all of that. This book, crafted by our staff of cannabis connoisseurs at Leafly, is your guide to clarity and understanding.”

The 228-page book has eight distinct chapters, including a more-than-30-page chapter dedicated to all things edibles complete with a top-10 list of cannabis-infused recipes.

Cannabis-infused butter (cannabutter) is one of the simplest and most common ways to make medicated foods, yet making infused butter properly can be a little tricky. In order for THC to properly decarboxylate — change from its acid form to its psychoactive form — the cannabis must be heated at low temperatures over long periods of time. We recommend simmering your cannabis either on the stove or in a slow cooker at a temperature range of 225⁰F to 250⁰F for a long period of time. This will ensure that your cannabis does not become too hot too quickly and burn off active cannabinoids.

Two variations for making cannabis-infused butter (cannabutter)

Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter

1 cup water (add more water at any time if needed)

1 ounce of ground cannabis flower or 1½ ounces of high-quality cannabis trim (this amount will make some pretty potent butter, so decrease the amount of cannabis if you want a recipe that delivers lighter doses)

Note: Some people also use the remnants of vaporized cannabis to make cannabutter, as many vaporizers fail to decarboxylate all of the THC in flower.

Stove-top method

1. Add butter and water to a stockpot or saucepan; let the butter melt and begin to simmer on low. Adding water helps regulate the temperature and prevents the butter from scorching.
2. As butter begins to melt, add in your ground cannabis product.
3. Maintain low heat and let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure the mixture never comes to a full boil.

Slow-cooker method

1. Turn slow cooker onto low; add butter, water, and ground cannabis flower.
2. Cover slow cooker and let simmer on low for 8 to 24 hours, stirring occasionally. When it comes to infusing butter, the longer you let the cannabis product simmer, the more cannabinoids will be infused into the final product.

For both methods

1. After simmering for your desired amount of time, pour the hot mixture into a glass, refrigerator-safe container, using cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer to strain out all plant product from the butter mixture. Squeeze or press the plant material to get as much liquid off of the plant product as possible. Discard leftover plant material.
2. Cover and refrigerate remaining liquid overnight or until the butter is fully hardened. Once hardened, the butter will separate from the water, allowing you to lift the now-infused cannabutter from the water to use in your recipes. Discard remaining water after removing the hardened cannabutter.
3. Let the cannabutter sit at room temperature to soften for use. Do not use microwave to soften the butter.

(original article)