Maple syrup holds a sweet spot for Canadians (and Americans in the North East). Already superior to anything else you could possibly apply to pancakes, the sweet distilled sap is hard to improve on… but we did it. This recipe for cannabis-infused maple syrup from The Wellness Soldier Cody Lindsay requires just two ingredients, indirect heat, and time.
Step by step instructions are provided below but you can also follow along with this video.
Note: Homemade edibles are very difficult to accurately dose. This guide will give you some tips for more precise dosing, but all DIY cannabis cooks should be aware that there’s no way to guarantee the potency or homogeneity of their batch.
How to Make Cannabis-Infused Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is not just a delicious addition at the breakfast table, it’s also an excellent natural sweetener in smoothies and baked goods, not to mention savoury recipes like glazed salmon, roasted root veggies, and vinaigrettes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of maple syrup
- 3.5 grams of decarboxylated cannabis
The Essential (and Often Missed) First Step: Decarboxylating the Cannabis
Before making your infusion, you’ll need to decarboxylate, or “decarb”, the cannabis flower you’re working with. Skipping this step will result in a weak or inactive finished product. Here’s why: Cannabis buds produce a non-intoxicating acidic cannabinoid called THCA. When we smoke or vaporize cannabis, the heat converts THCA into THC, the molecule that delivers euphoric effects. If preparing CBD edibles, this same process should be applied.
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Directions for Making a Cannabis Infusion with Maple Syrup
- Decarb the cannabis. Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Place cannabis buds on a non-stick, oven-safe tray. Cover the tray with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Insert the tray into the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes. Older, drier cannabis may require less time. (Tip: you can also set your oven to 300ºF and heat for 10 to 18 minutes, although low-and-slow is the recommended approach when decarbing to better preserve the cannabinoids.) Every 10 minutes, gently mix the buds with a light shake of the tray to expose the surface area of the buds equally.
- Combine the cannabis and maple syrup in a double boiler to apply gentle heat on the stove top.
- Simmer. Maintain low heat and let the mixture simmer for at least 40 minutes. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
- Strain the maple syrup. Set a funnel on top of a jar and line it with cheesecloth. Once the maple syrup has cooled off, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. (Tip: Squeezing the cheesecloth may push more bad-tasting plant material through).
- Refrigerate maple syrup for 15-30 days.
- Dose carefully. Refer to dosing information below before adding your maple syrup to any snacks, dishes, or desserts.
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Tips for Dosing Cannabis Infusions
The potency of your infusions depends on many factors, from how long and hot it was cooked to the potency of your starting material. To test the potency of your finished product, try spreading ¼ or ½ teaspoon on a snack and see how that dose affects you after an hour. Decrease or increase dose as desired. You can then use this personalized “standard” dose as a baseline for your recipes. Click here for more information on why potency is so difficult to measure in homemade cannabis edibles.
Check out The Wellness Soldier for more recipes and to learn about the science behind cooking with cannabis.
