data on how long of a cooking time is required for best extraction? please read!

I've seen recipes that call for cooking ground buds in either fat or alcohol anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours.

I'm seriously hoping that it doesn't take anywhere near 24 hours to extract all of the good stuff into fat.

I usually put ground buds in coconut oil at 300 degrees F for about an hour. Is this enough time to extract everything?

I'm hoping to find some solid science on how long of cooking time is required

It is going to be heavily dependent upon your chosen solvent.

Thanks for the reply. I really hope more people reply and soon!!!

My chosen solvent is coconut oil.

I have heard that hot ethanol extractions only take a half hour or so. Cold ethanol extraction recipes usually call for leaving grass in the alcohol for days or weeks.

I am really just interested in cooking oils, butter, peanut butter, etc.

Hot solvent extractions of most any sort will be invariably faster than cold solvent extractions, the only exception I can see being supercritical solvent extractions.

I like the hemp oil bases personally, tastes more minty! And if you can manage to keep THC solved in glycerin, that stuff tastes like raisins when it's warmed up!

I'm desperately trying to find some data on how long the extraction takes when using butter, coconut oil, etc.


Does anyone know of a chart that shows time vs temperature for making cannabutter?

I want to know as well. What are the different methods of achieving great extraction in oil through pan heating, or double boiling, or oven heating?

You're not likely to find data on this, as such things will vary depending upon altitude/atmospheric pressure, quality of the solvent, and other stuff typically unaccountable for without strict laboratory testing conditions.

I know this isn't "exactly" what you're looking for, but I offer it up in case it helps...

hello. i know nothing about extraction for cooking. i suggest requesting from cannabis food purveyors, or as you put it- conducting scientific experimentation on your own, and compiling a chart with your air pressure, altitude, and quality strain. i am a total sucker when anyone asks please read, and am voting Ron Paul, so wanted to wish you well. 300* just seems excessive to me. i am thinking higher percentage loss in manufacture. i personally would avoid alcohol or ethanol- to not introduce free hydrocarbons with mutagenetic cancerous characteristics into the cook. i am probably wrong, and another arm will be handy. i just keep the food separate from my intake. i like spreading the flavors on my palate. i get the advantage of simultaneous munchie satisfaction; just like the pleasures that way. perhaps give a class at Berkeley a call, alike a business dude with a product to market, and get them to work on it. i am just a sucker for politeness. enjoy.

Thanks for the link StoneMeadow. Not sure where ya found it, but I'm hoping to find a lot more like it.

I have read that saturated fats like butter and coconut oil are more efficient than ethanol. Most people who casually make brownies use butter.

I have some of my own data to post. Anyone want to help me conduct a somewhat scientific study on this?

I always decarboyxlate my nugs before grinding them. I decarboxylate (THCA ---> THC) at 145 C (290 F) for 7 minutes. 25 minutes at 120 C (255 F) is probably the better choice in terms of taste, but I am impatient.

I always use coconut oil since it is the most saturated fat i can find. And it is healthier and less ethically-problematic than butter.

After I decarboxylate my nugs, I grind them to a fine powder and add it to the melted coconut oil in a glass bowl. I place the glass bowl in the oven. I have gotten good results baking the oil at 100 C (210 F) for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. I have also gotten good results using 150 C (300 F) for 45-60 minutes. I have also made firecrackers using 325 F for 25 minutes.

If taste is my priority, I always go with the 100 C for 2 hours, although I am not positive if this is enough time to extract all the goodies.

It is so difficult to control for quality of grass, personal tolerance, etc with these experiments.

Hey melodious fellow... Liking this thread!!!:thumbsup:

I'm starting to explore the cooking aspect of this wonderful plant. Been reading up and have been finding lots of different recipes but only few brake it down, and most contradict each other....

So let me get this right, you place your nugs in the oven to decarboxylate before using? Also wondering what bud weight to coconut oil ratio you use? Do you strain the coconut oil after it's cooked? Do you still have that weed taste after cooking with your cannanut oil???

Your answers would be much appreciated. Thanks in advanced...

CGI::::::

Hey CanGro! The plants in your pic look beautiful! You are a lucky duck! I need to move to a hipper community before I can grow (5 years here!)

Decarboxylation is always a must before cooking! This converts non-active THCA to active THC. This process happens naturally with proper drying and curing and storage in glass jars. It is more important when cooking with fresh erb or lower-quality erb, but I always decarb just to make sure I'm getting the most out of my cooking.

For decarboxylating, I prefer 120 C (250 F) for 25 minutes because it preserves some of the tasty terpenes, but since I am lazy and impatient, I usually go with 145 C (190 F) for 7 minutes. According to the decarboxylation graph from the Journal of Chromatography that is around here somewhere, either is fine.

I have never measured the ratio of ground bud to melted coconut oil, but I make sure the ground herb is completely soaked and saturated in the oil. I guess I usually use about 3-4 tablespoons of oil per gram.

I usually don't bother to strain the oil after cooking. I just add peanut butter to the oil and eat with a spoon. Because I don't strain, I can taste a faint bit of weed. I don't mind it. Plus it is good fiber I think. If you decide to cook with the oil, make sure to keep the temperatures fairly low. If you strain your oil, you can probably go a little higher with your cooking temperatures, but I wouldn't advise anything much more than 300 F or you might start to lose some cannabinoids.

Ok, so decarboxalation also occurs during the curing process, cool, didn't know that....

Well yesterday morning I decided to try some canna chocolate. I used a 7oz Hershey bar and 4grams of some sticky purple. I placed a square pyrex bowl on a flat iron cooker, like the ones you would use to make pancakes with. Placed like half an inch of water in the Pyrex bowl, then a smaller round glass bowl in the water and turned on the heat. I cranked it to the highest power level. Then i put some water to boil in a separate small pot on the stove. Once the water in the small pot got to boiling, I poured some of it into the square Pyrex bowl, up to half way. Then placed the broken chocolate pieces in the small round bowl to melt. Once all the solid chocolate was melted I added the grinder bud. I stirred it in until the cannabis was well covered. Right after putting in the grinded cannabis, I poured some more boiling water into the square Pyrex bowl. Stirred every thirty seconds or so for ten minutes. Then using a tablespoon, I scooped up portions and placed amounts into an ice cube tray, then into the freezer. They were ready after 30 minutes.

I know you were looking for science facts and all but I just ate one of these about half an hour ago and I just wanted to share with you what I did. I haven't felt like a high from them but I do feel relaxed, like shrug my shoulders and feel like I just got a massage type of relaxed.... I'm definitely going to try your coconut oil method. Ultimately I'm going to attempt, try and perfect making BHO and using that to cook with.....

CGI::::::

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by melodious fellow

Thanks for the link StoneMeadow. Not sure where ya found it, but I'm hoping to find a lot more like it.

---

I found it in my copy of Medical Marijuana Handbook, which includes a fair bit more information and recipes. As a newbie to all things marijuana I found the book very helpful.

mel - The butter sticky is pretty detailed. The info BobBong presented seems to have been strongly verified. If you decarb the weed before making tincture you are making Green Dragon.

I have confirmed that cooking the butter at least 22 but not more than 24 hours results in stronger butter than cooking 8 to 10 hours. I have not tried cooking the butter more than 24 hours.

I have seen a wide variety of information on making tincture and even the Green Dragon thread needs some cleaning up. The original recipe by Master Wu has the decarb temp too high. Also the amount of time to soak is from 20 minutes to several months for tincture or Green Dragon. I have only had tincture made from weed that was not decarboxilated. The weed was in the alcohol for 2 months then strained and soaked another two months with fresh weed. The results are excellent. I have never tried making Green Dragon but I have a bottle of 151 and plan to give it a try.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CanGroIt

Ok, so decarboxalation also occurs during the curing process, cool, didn't know that....

I know you were looking for science facts and all but I just ate one of these about half an hour ago and I just wanted to share with you what I did. I haven't felt like a high from them but I do feel relaxed, like shrug my shoulders and feel like I just got a massage type of relaxed.... I'm definitely going to try your coconut oil method. Ultimately I'm going to attempt, try and perfect making BHO and using that to cook with.....

---

Yes, decarb occurs naturally over several months. If you look at the left side of the scanned page I posted above, you'll see where the author suggests 390F for 5 minutes in a sealed container. Bearing in mind the the evap temp is 350, I set my oven for 300, and while it was coming up to temp I put ground bud on an aluminum foil boat, then put that in the oven for 5 minutes. That way there's no danger of flashing off the good stuff, and no having to wait an hour or more like you have to at lower temps.

It came out with a very pleasant toasted smell, and works great with a quarter gram or so in a tablespoon of peanut butter. Gives me a prolonged (several hours) relaxed feeling like you describe, though it does take an hour to kick in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by melodious fellow

I'm hoping to find some solid science on how long of cooking time is required

---

Been thinking about how to find out the best method using science.... Experimentation will be the only way to find out what is the best method to extract the most out of the plant material.....a lot of experimentation and storage of samples....

The saved samples can then be taken to a lab for chemical composition testing. Each sample will have a unique chemical compound structure.... It would be imperative to use the same cannabis batch and same extraction solution for just one set of results. After different strains and different extraction solutions have been tested, one can look at the results and determine which extraction solution and time had the best results.... If I had the software and lab equipment, I'd definitely do something like this....

CGI::::::