The Best W🌱d Butter

We Tried and Tested Five Infusion Techniques So You Don’t Have To

Hello! I’m feeling squeezed for time this week and thought you’d enjoy this in-depth w**d butter technique comparison I did for a digital magazine project.

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Originally on The Clever Root // Words, science and photos By Rachel Burkons and Christina Wong

For decades, the culture, knowledge, and techniques of c****bis were hidden among the shadows, passed down clandestinely from one generation of stoner to the next. The ways in which can****s could be cooked and eaten were particularly murky, with the details of dosing, decarbing and infusion often left up to trial and error, while techniques were rooted in legend and lore.

While we are increasingly moving toward a new era of ca***abis – one rooted in science, information, and education – much remains unclear and uncertain for the at-home cann**** chef looking to understand the best ways to make infused foods. A quick Google search of decarbing times, temperatures and best infusion methods returns results all over the map, leaving a burgeoning w**d chef unclear about how to get the best bang from their bud.

Our mission at The Clever Root is to educate and normalize culinary c**nabis, so we set out to clarify, once and for all, the best techniques to make at-home can**bis-infusions. Welcome to The Clever Test Kitchen, where we’re using cold hard facts and science to help you make the most of your infused cooking. Beginning with the best techniques to make infused butter, this series will explore the mythology of cooking with c****bis–and test those techniques using a modern-day testing lab to get answers backed by science.

W🌱d Butter 101

Learning how to make an infused butter is a building block of cooking with c****bis. Cannabutter is an important ingredient to understand for two simple reasons: Ca**abinoids easily bind to fats, making butter an ideal vehicle to infuse, and a wide variety of dishes can be made with butter. Infused butter can be used in baking, thrown into a low-heat pan to infuse savory foods, or even simply spread across good bread or toast for the most basic infused “dish” ever.

Making infused butter generally involves two key steps: decarbing the c****bis, and then infusing it into butter over a slow and low heating technique. There are a variety of well-known infusion techniques and devices, and we wanted to know which is the best? Which is the most effective at capturing cannabinoids? Which is the easiest and results in the best-tasting final product? We set out to get the answer once and for all.

Our Methodology

To find the best butter technique, we established a basic semi-scientific method:

Flower: We used the same trim, decarbed at once using a basic oven decarbing method for all batches to ensure consistent potency.

Butter: We used the same brand of butter with the same fat content for all batches.

Temperature + Time: Each method was infused at 180-degrees Fahrenheit for four hours.

Testing: We tested the final cannabutters at a professional lab to analyze cannabinoid content and terpene profile.

Dosing Hypothesis: Recipe Editor Christina Wong set out to dose our butters as follows: