Here’s a Fun, Easy Way To Make Cannabis Sugar
If you’ve ever made DIY edibles before, you know that they usually involve some kind of butter or oil. Cannabis-infused butters and oils are versatile ingredients, but they aren’t suitable for every kind of edible you’d want to make. Most people prefer to use their cannabis to make sweet snacks, but not every sweet snack requires butter or oil.
Cannabis sugar opens up some options. You can do a lot more with sugar than you can with oil. It’s just as versatile as any other sugar. The flavor and structure are the same, and it takes on the same characteristics as table sugar in any recipe. It simply offers a little something extra that adults might enjoy.
Cannabis sugar is easy to make. All you need is cannabis, sugar, high-proof alcohol, and some very basic kitchen skills.
It Starts with Decarboxylation
When you purchase cannabis from a dispensary, it isn’t in its active state. The cannabinoids only activate when exposed to heat. Your cannabis becomes active as you smoke it, converting itself with every flick of a lighter or puff.
To infuse sugar (or oil, or butter, or anything else you’re using) with cannabis, the cannabinoids need to be activated. This process is called decarboxylation, and although the name makes it sound complicated, it’s easier than roasting vegetables in the oven.
Preheat your oven to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the optimal temperature for activating cannabinoids without burning them off. If your oven runs hot, preheat to 225 degrees. Clear all the racks, and place one rack in the exact center.
Grind the cannabis you want to use to infuse your sugar. A uniform grind where each piece is roughly the same size as a grain of rice will produce the best result.
Next, you need two sheets of aluminum foil and a baking tray that will maintain a consistent temperature. Glass baking trays are perfect. Crumple up both pieces of aluminum foil and uncrumple them. When you use them, the crumpled texture will allow for better airflow.
Place one sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the pan, sprinkle the ground cannabis evenly over the sheet, and gently lay the remaining sheet on top.
Put the tray on the center rack of the oven and bake it for 30 to 40 minutes. It helps to check your cannabis every 10 minutes. If it’s turning gold, it’ll come out perfect. If it starts to turn deep brown, take it out. That’s a sign your cannabis is burning.
When the timer goes off, remove your cannabis from the oven and set it aside. It’s decarboxylated and ready to be used for all kinds of edibles.
How to Make Toasted Cannabis Sugar
To make cannabis sugar, you need high-proof food-grade alcohol (like Everclear or grain alcohol), decarboxylated cannabis, and sugar.
Great news: you can use raw sugar or coconut sugar (which is lower on the glycemic index) if you’re looking to avoid refined sugars! The only thing that won’t work is powdered sweeteners or sugar alternatives. Any crystalline sugar will get the job done.
Start By Making Cannabis and Alcohol Tincture
The process begins with infusing the alcohol with decarboxylated cannabis. This can work at any ratio. Put your cannabis into a jar, and pour the alcohol over it. You want the alcohol level to be ever so slightly above the cannabis to allow for room to shake and incorporate the mixture.
Put the lid on tightly, and shake very well. You might want to spend a few minutes the first time you shake the jar, just to make sure the alcohol and the cannabis are evenly incorporated. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and shake it again. Repeat this process four times. 20 minutes later, your alcohol will be infused with cannabis.
Strain away the pieces of plant material with a cheesecloth or a mesh screen. Pour your cannabis-infused alcohol into a bowl.
Infuse Your Sugar
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Your cannabis is already decarboxylated. The goal at this stage is simply to cook the alcohol off of the sugar at the end of the process.
Begin to fill your bowl of cannabis-infused alcohol with sugar, stirring as you add the sugar. The result should come out like wet beach sand. You’re aiming for a thick, almost sludgy texture.
Evenly spread the mixture over a foil-covered baking sheet, and place it on the center rack of the oven. It should take about 20 minutes for the alcohol to cook-off. You’ll need to stir and mix the sugar around every 5 minutes or so to ensure that the alcohol evaporates evenly.
Take the cannabis sugar out of the oven and set it on the counter for about half an hour, continuing to mix it every five minutes. All the alcohol will evaporate away, leaving behind toasted, dry sugar infused with cannabis.
Storing Your Cannabis Infused Sugar
Sugar doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but it does need to be protected. You need to minimize its exposure to air and light until you’re ready to use it.
Put your cannabis sugar in a Stori pod with a Boveda humidity pack. The humidity pack will prevent the sugar from developing rock-hard clumps that make the sugar challenging to use.
What Can You Do With Cannabis Sugar?
You can use coconut sugar to sweeten coffee or tea. You can also sprinkle it on top of pre-baked goods. If making a fresh batch of homemade brownies isn’t on the agenda, you can put a pinch of cannabis sugar on top of the brownies you got from your favorite local bakery.
Using cannabis sugar as a topping rather than an ingredient also adds to its versatility. If you make a big batch of baked goods, you can keep the cannabis to the side.
People who would rather have conventional baked goods don’t need to add cannabis sugar. Everyone else can control the amount of cannabis they’re consuming by putting their own sugar on top.
This keeps options open for experienced cannabis users, people new to cannabis, and people who don’t use cannabis. If you’re serving your dessert to a large group of people, you’re letting everyone decide.
You can also use cannabis sugar to make edibles that don’t require the addition of butter or oil. This means cannabis ice cream, cannabis frozen yogurt pops, and cannabis whipped cream is on the menu.
How to Make Cannabis Sugar Syrup
Cannabis sugar syrup, also known as THC syrup, is an alternative to crystalline cannabis sugar. It’s easy to flavor your sugar syrup if you intend to use it for sweetened beverages.
All you need to do is combine equal parts cannabis-infused sugar and water into a pot, simmer it on low heat and constantly stir until the sugar has completely dissolved into the water.
After the sugar has dissolved, you can add a few drops of flavoring or extract. Any extract you find in the baking aisle of the grocery store will work. Vanilla extract is popular for cannabis-infused lattes. You can also add maple flavoring extract to make wake and bake pancake syrup.
When it’s done, pour it into a Stori pod to keep it fresh. When you’ve used up all your syrup, be sure to thoroughly clean and dry the pod before you use it to store dry herbs. You don’t want any sticky, sugary residue left behind.
What Can You Do With Cannabis Sugar Syrup?
Cannabis sugar syrup can be used the same way any other syrup would be used. It makes cannabis-infused lattes and tea beverages very easy to prepare. It’s the star ingredient in a vanilla cannabis coffee frappe.
Fruit-flavored cannabis syrups can be used to sweeten tea. Try infusing your cannabis syrup with lemon flavoring to use in green tea. Strawberry or maple cannabis syrup is great on waffles or pancakes.
Some people use cannabis syrup in cocktails. We don’t think it’s a good idea to mix cannabis and alcoholic beverages. As an alternative, we suggest using it to make cannabis mocktails. You can make a cannabis pina colada without any alcohol. It’s the same vibe. It’s just a different experience.
Stori Keeps Your Cannabis Organized
You wouldn’t put your wine in an old jam jar and stick it in the door of the fridge. Why would you do that with your cannabis?
Stori’s stash case comes equipped with special pods and tubes designed specifically to protect and preserve your cannabis products. Our storage pods are made of durable aluminum and feature air-tight, child-resistant lids.
You can use dry-erase markers to label the color-coded cap with the contents and date of the pod. Keep yourself organized and keep your cannabis tasty.
Sources:
What is decarboxylation, and why does your cannabis need it? | Leafly
What Is Grain Alcohol, and How Is it Made? | Spoon University
What Is Coconut Sugar, the Alt-Sweetener Taking Over Baking? | Bon Apetit
