Before you tackle your next baking project, or try baking edibles for the first time, it’s important to know the different options you have when it comes to cooking and baking with cannabis. You can purchase your own flower and make the perfect cannabutter at home, but if you’re worried about smell, you may want to explore a different, more discrete, option.

Whether you share kitchen space with roommates or you’d prefer to spare your favorite cookware from a cannabutter mishap, there are a lot of advantages to baking with distillate. Find out more about some techniques for cooking with cannabis concentrate and how you can make edibles with distillate right at home.

What is Cannabis Distillate?

Before you can roll up your sleeves and bake a batch of brownies, it’s important to understand what cannabis distillate is and how it should be handled when cooking.

A distillate is a molecularly pure concentrate created through the process of distillation. In the case of cannabis specifically, the distillation process isolates cannabinoids, like THC or CBD, into a highly concentrated substance which can be used for a variety of purposes.

Benefits of Baking With Distillate

In addition to high levels of cannabinoids, one of the reasons cannabis users are baking with distillate more and more is due to the concentrate’s versatility. Unlike cannabutter, which can often have remnants of plant matter, cannabis distillate is purely composed of cannabinoids, meaning you have a lot more control over the dose you add to cookie batter or drip on a batch as it cools.

One of the main reasons cannabis has such a distinct smell and even taste is due to the presence of organic compounds called terpenes. When cannabis is distilled for the purpose of isolating THC, non-essential compounds like CBD and terpenes also get removed and this removes the skunky, plant-like smell and taste that is often associated with certain strains.

Because distillate has no detectable taste and smell, it is very versatile and pairs nicely with just about anything. You can bake it into a batch of brownies or even add it to your favorite entree for dinner. You’ll still get the therapeutic effects of THC without the distinct taste.

When baking with distillate, a lot goes a long way. Unlike cannabutter, you can use a relatively small amount of distillate in your batter and get the same effect as a recommended serving of cannabutter depending on the size of your batch of edibles. This means cooking and baking with distillate will save you trips to the distillery and could potentially save you money.

How to Make Edibles With Distillate

Now, let’s get to the real reason we’re all here: how to make distillate infused edibles. Interestingly enough, the answer to this riddle is a little anticlimactic-that’s really how easy it is. Once you purchase your concentrate, it’s really as simple as adding the distillate to your edible batter and baking at a low, consistent temperature. See our breakdown for making distillate infused edibles below:

1. Loosen the distillate by placing the container in warm water
2. Once the mixture looses up, measure out the amount you need
3. Pour the distillate into your oil or melted butter
4. Stir constantly to ensure it is thoroughly integrated into the mixture
5. After you’ve added your distillate to your wet ingredients, add the oil to the dry ingredients in a larger bowl
6. Combine all ingredients and pour the batter with the distillate into the baking tin and place in the oven

While adding distillate to the batter will ensure that your cannabinoids are thoroughly integrated into your baked goods, this isn’t the only way to bake with distillate. You can also get creative with your concentrate and stir a few drops into your frosting and spread that over your treats instead. This will keep clean up minimal, and you’ll still be able to enjoy the effects of cannabinoids in your favorite baked goods.

Making Homemade Cannabis Edibles with Distillate

Cooking or baking at home with cannabis distillates is actually incredibly simple, though not quite as simple as putting a few drops from a dropper into a pre-made brownie mix. At the very least, you’ll have to do some stirring. Lucky for us, our very own PotGuide contributor Abby Hutmacher has spelled out a foolproof method to make DIY cannabis distillate infused edibles: 

What You’ll Need:

• One gram cannabis distillate
• A bowl of hot water
• Oil or butter
• An oil or butter-based recipe

Instructions

1. With your distillate in its container, place in a bowl of hot water to warm the concentrate (not too hot! Cannabinoids like THC begin to degrade at 230 degrees Fahrenheit)
2. While the distillate warms, measure out the oil or butter (liquefied) to the recipe’s specifications
3. Drop the gram of distillate into the oil or butter and mix thoroughly to ensure homogenization, a process that breaks big particles into small ones, and provides a uniformity to the product
4. Place the combined distillate/oil or butter mixture into a microwave-safe dish and heat on medium power for up to two minutes to ensure all ingredients are combined
5. Your oil is ready to be infused into your recipe

As mentioned above, cannabis exposed to high temperatures does degrade, so if you’re baking something, be sure to keep the temperature at 325 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. But be assured that you won’t lose much of cannabis’ kick through baking if done properly. Remember, distillate is extremely potent!

How to Make Cannabis Infused Gummies with Distillate

Making homemade cannabis-infused gummies with distillate is another crowd-pleaser and easy to do, though dosing can be a bit tricky with these tiny treats (more on that in a minute). Check out the simple recipe below:

What You’ll Need:

• 1 Cup Fruit puree or fruit juice
• ¼ Cup water
• 1 ½ Tablespoons of gelatin, or for vegan folks, agar agar is a fine substitute
• 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ⅛ Teaspoon pink salt
• 1 gram cannabis distillate (pro tip: divide the total milligrams of the distillate by the number of gummies to figure out the approximate dosage per gummy)

Instructions

1. Heat the fruit puree or juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat
2. With puree heating, pour gelatin and water in a bowl and mix until well-dissolved
3. When puree reaches a low boil, add granulated sugar and pink salt, then mix until dissolved
4. Slowly add the water and gelatin mixture to the puree, stirring constantly, for about three minutes
5. Add the cannabis distillate and stir until thoroughly combined to ensure homogenization (if you have a candy thermometer handy, ensure that the fruit puree is below 350 degrees Fahrenheit)
6. Pour or scrape your gummy mix into a turkey baster syringe for transfer into the gummy molds. Handle with care, it will be hot!
7. Fill the molds and let it sit at room temperature for twenty minutes
8. After 20 minutes have passed, place molds in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or until gummies set
9. After the gummies are set, remove them from the mold and toss them with granulated sugar to keep them from sticking
10. Voila! Your homemade gummies are ready to eat!

Now that you’ve got a couple of recipes handy, you’ll need to find a great distillate for at your at-home cannabis culinary adventures. Distillates have are known to be some of the purest extracts on the market, and for good reason. Distillation removes everything but the desired cannabinoid, including extraction compounds like hydrocarbons, any plant matter, and pesticides. The end product should be a light yellow with excellent clarity.