hi 420 - finally got a moment to catch up. hope everyone is staying safe in these stupid stupid days ...
time for an
easter treat edition of
What's Going on in Bluter's Kitchen ? ...
this one is gonna be delicious ....
we've been chatting in the thread about vegetable glycerin for a few days.
infused vegetable glycerin is kind of popular here. vg is a clear or slightly yellowish liquid mostly made from vegetable, palm , or coconut oils. it has a slightly sweet taste to it and is a bit like syrup in consistency. it is low in calories, but is a poor sugar replacement as it's level of sweetness is not that high. it's great for our purposes though.
vg is commonly a by-product of the soap making industry, and is used in a lot of cosmetics as well. if you add a tiny bit of nitric acid to it - it can benefit heart attack victims and folk with bad tickers. add a touch more nitric acid, and you create the explosive base product used in all killing machines everywhere.
so clearly we need to tie up all the product not used for keeping ladies vain and hearts going ...
vg is normally done as a cold infusion. unfortunately the process is time consuming and the extraction rate can be pretty poor. the bud is decarbed, then bottled up in a big jar of the vg liquid and left to sit for 3 - 8 months. the jar needs to get tumbled a couple times a day in order to get the cannabis all through it while the trichomes migrate from the plant material to the liquid. the end product winds up at something like a 40 - 50% extraction rate.
that won't quite cut it. oh canada we can do better....
for a few years i made a vg tincture using a crock pot and a heat infusion process. it has a far better extraction rate than the cold process, but required decarb and a couple other finicky things to start. when i began infusing oils with the instant pot method - i realized immediately vegetable glycerin could probably work in that process.
and here it is ...
there are a couple measurement changes, but the basic process is identical to the instant pot oil infusion method. i do a two cook process, meaning i run two instant pot cook cycles with a cool down period between.
i usually start with 500 ml - 2 cups - of the vegetable glycerin ...
this is 250 ml - 1/4 cup, less than the amount of oil i would normally infuse. the reason is vg will "boil up" inside the instant pot more violently than an oil. i use a lesser amount in order to ensure it stays inside the infusion bowl i put in the instant pot.
pull out that double boiler you put together for the last Bluter's Kitchen episode and warm that vg up on a low heat.
this starts the processes and simply helps it flow better when you pour it in the infusion bowl. vg is syrupy and you wanna be able to get everything out of that bottle you paid for. it can be overly expensive for what it is i noticed...
weigh out your bud while the vg is warming ....
through a bunch of experimentation i have found 20 - 24 grams of dried bud is best for this recipe. this a bit more than is required for oil infusions. the vg does not infuse as well, and the extra tends to make up for it. you can play with amounts to hit a level you personally like. i use the same measurements for both cbd and thc base cooks. this is a cbd cook.
grind up the bud and pour that warm vegetable syrup goodness all over it ....
the bud will float. i let it soak a couple minutes to let it take up the vg and settle. can help the process a bit by pressing the bud down with a tablespoon.
don't be too finicky about it. i just get the worst of it to settle. as per regular infusion - i cover the bowl with aluminium foil before putting it in the instant pot, and i don't want too much sticking to the top.
pull out the magic machine .....
get enough water in there to just touch the bottom of the rack ...
foil up your infusion mix bowl and get 'er in there ....
set your instant pot up for the standard infusion time and cook settings ....
and away we go.
now it's just keep to the set cook and cool times, and we should be ready by tomorrow. i take about a day or two to do the whole process.
quick notes :
i do a two cook process, meaning i run the exact same cycle in the instant pot twice, with a minimum 8 hr cool down period between. this helps pull more terpenes and cannabinoids out, but will effect taste. some folk may prefer a single cook, with a milder effect.
the 8 hr cool down is crucial. running a second cook too soon could destroy terpenes, cannabinoids, effect, etc.
i find the cool down needs to be more thorough with the vg than with an oil. it probably has something to do with the thickness.
letting the mix settle, or cold infuse for a longer period, at any time between or after the two cooks will enhance terpene flavours. debatable if it gains potency, but i would bet you may get some.
for a supreme treat, i will cook and jar some up with the cannabis still in, then forget about it to "cure", until the mood strikes me to strain it out and use it. this is simply adding a shorter cold infusion process to the instant pot method.
it is usable on it's own right after the first or second cook.
ding ... ! through the magic of interwebz the instant pot has finished a coupla cooks.
somehow thought that would be much more exciting -- --
get out the trusted canning strainer and cheese cloth - a la
@SweetSue 's instant pot infusion straining method - it's really the best way.
get some clips and a jar and set it all up ...
and interruption .
before you dig the infusion bowl out of the instant pot :
the whole instant pot method is kind of a prepare / set / walk away while it does it's thing process. -- like grandma's crock-pot. almost too easy lol.
if you are like me, i will set things up and let them run overnight, or when i am away at work. often i won't get to the stuff till well after it has finished it's cook.
since the vg is so thick, i will warm it in the instant pot for 5 - 10 min before straining. don't let it go too far or forget it - the stuff can re-cook uncontrolled fast - super no bueno 
warmed carefully for straining after a good cool down.
dig it out of the instant pot
try to strain it while still warm. you'll get way more out easier. the stuff won't strain as easy as an infused oil would.
the moment you take the foil off the bowl you will see how much the stuff boils up ---
strain it out
if you do the infused oils you will see how much thicker the stuff is.
make sure to squeeze all that delicious goodness out after you have done the initial straining.
bit more hands on - -
if you wrap a baggie around the top you can get an extra squeeze out. would normally do this with gloves, but those are needed better places these days.
make sure you invert the clean side of the baggie around the squeezed out weed.
keep it in the cheesecloth and all. pop the baggie in the freezer. it will keep indefinite. dump the weed - sans cheesecloth duh - in your favorite recipe for a sweet weed edible. have never tossed anything from a vg infusion. ever. so yummy.
anyway you should end up with something like this.
will generally be deep dark honey to brown colour with green hue.
dropper bottles are the best way to divvy it up. i have a clean syringe and tube rig i use to help. it's not hard to take apart and clean after. i found it easier than tiny funnels.
should get something like this .. i get all drooly looking at it sometime ...
dosing is 1 - 2 dropper fulls sublingual - placed under the tongue - hold it there as long as you can without swallowing. it's hard - delicious.
wait 20 - 30 min between dosing to get a clear idea of where you are going. especially with a thc tincture.
length can be close to an edible but onset is faster. way faster.
i do mostly med stuff - but i have folk begging for the thc cooks. and well you know.
if they don't grow i just kinda shrug as i'm not in sales ...
to increase absorption : i recommend heating a cup of water in a microwave the same as you would a cup of coffee. place the dropper bottle in the cup for a minute or so before dosing to warm it.
flavour is about what you think the base weed would be if sweet and delicious lol
some folk report a slight "burnt" taste. sometime the weed terpenes contribute to this, but i notice it is more present in this method. there may be a slight caramelization of some of the sugars in the vg that would contribute as well. it really varies with the weed. you get a great expression of the terpene flavours, so who cares ..
extraction is pretty decent -- a flat guess is 70 - 75%.
i really like the cbd cook stuff. i give a bunch to my folks. super great for a general hit cbd bomb .
have watched their movement and moods improve real time on dosing.
they don't even realize -- all they know is everything is ok so i'll keep doing it ...
happy easter guys. stay safe. connect with family if you can't be there in person.
this is my easter egg to you ...
bringing the damaged CBD NL back to life.
