Hi everyone, I have been promoting and selling full spectrum CBD oil from SNCE Laboratories since the passage of the Hemp Farm Bill in 2018. I was recently asked how to cook with CBD oil.
The founders of SNCE Labs are avid cooks who have experimented with many cooking methods from sous vide, pressure cookers, wood fires, smokers, steam ovens to fire pits and woks.
I asked them for their advice on how to incorporate CBD oil into food and drink.
Here is what they said.
When cooking with CBD oil, control four factors, temperature, solubility, taste and access.
Hemp is full of nutrients and beneficial compounds including terpenes and CBD.
But it tastes terrible and the CBD inside is not bioavailable. Some form of extraction is required to get at the good stuff inside.
There are two classes of valuable compounds found in hemp. One class is soluble in water (Vitamin C, folate, B- Vitamins and Thiamin) The other class are not soluble in water and include CBD, terpenes and chlorophyll. Extracting CBD focuses on oil soluble compounds, all of the water soluble compounds are discarded.
Snce Labs developed a proprietary process that uses mechanical energy to separate the oil soluble compounds from everything else. The process operates at low temperatures and decarboxylates the CBD to make it bioactive. CBD Oil is stable at room temperatures but will denature when exposed to higher temperatures making it challenging to cook with.
The the best recipes for cooking with CBD oil are ones that that are not exposed to high heat or are exposed to high heat for only a short time period. Also we recommend minimal to no water content as the CBD oil will separate out. For example, infusing coffee with CBD oil adds the risk of heat plus separation and not recommended.
Best Recipes?
CBD-Infused Smoothies. Add Green Serene full spectrum CBD oil to any of your favorite recipes that combine fruit and a handful of green leafy vegetables. The mechanical mixing will keep Green Serene from separating out and the green leafy veggies compliment Green Serene’s earthy/grassy flavor profile.
CBD- Infused Oils & Butters
Most full spectrum and isolate cbd oils use MCT coconut oil as a carrier;.
You can use as these products as is or combine it with other oils such as olive or avocado oil.
CBD-Infused Oils should never be exposed to direct heat. Use on salads, drizzle over sautéed veggies, or add to stir fry dishes after they have been portioned out onto plates.
Our favorite recipes? Drizzle Green Serene infused olive oil on top of Arugula -prosciutto pizza!
Or stir some Green Serene into pesto sauce.
You can also add Green Serene into any low temperature baked products such as whipped cream or protein bars.
Baking with CBD-Butter
As butter is another fat, CBD-infused butter is easy to make. Chop 1 cup of butter add it into a saucepan together with 1/2 cup of water and 10 ml of CBD oil and melt over the lowest heat setting on your stove for 2 hours hour and put in to your refrigerator.
Spread CBD butter on toast or a piece of bread.
However if you use CBD Butter to make a batch of chocolate cookies be careful. You can get away with baking cookies at 350F for 20 minutes but the longer you expose CBD to higher temps and longer cooking times the more you denature CBD and the other goodies you are paying for.
Sous-vide is perfect for CBD- Butter. The lower temps cook meat and veggies perfectly and protect the CBD Butter from being denatured.
How much CBD Oil do I use?
If you are not cooking with heat, the answer is easy. Use the same amount in a recipe that you would take in a tincture.
If you are heating, however, even with sous vide and you are not experiencing relief from pain or anxiety that you normally get from the tincture, then experiment with increasing the number of mg of CBD you are adding. There are no hard and fast rules but the higher the temperature and time of cooking the less CBD you will have that is bioactive.
Access
Hemp-derived CBD oil is regulated and only legal for adults over 18. Incorporating CBD oil into baked goods may create more tempting targets for minors to seek out and try. Always ensure your CBD oil or anything you make is out of reach of children.
Other Recipes?
Check out
The CBD Kitchen (Leah Vandervelt) or
The CBD Cookbook for Beginners (Mary White).
Both on Amazon last I checked.
Stay Healthy,
LIsa