January 16, 2025 • 25 mins
This episode highlights the top five mistakes new edible makers often make, providing insights on how to avoid them for a smoother cannabis cooking experience. Listeners gain valuable knowledge on decarboxylation, dosing, infusion mixing, timely patience, and more in order to create effective and enjoyable edibles.
• Not decarboxylating cannabis properly
• Incorrect dosing and understanding potency
• Poor mixing leading to uneven infusions
• Limiting edibles to baked goods and sweets
• Impatience with onset time of edibles
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome, friends, to episode 282.
And today we're looking at thetop five mistakes that new
edibles makers make.
Welcome to Bite Me, the showabout edibles, where I help you
take control of your high life.
I'm your host and certifiedganja, margaret, and I love
helping cooks make safe andeffective edibles at home.
(00:27):
I'm so glad you're here andwelcome back my friends to
another fantastic episode ofBite Me.
I am so glad you're here.
If you're just tuning in forthe first time, I'm glad that
you found me.
How did you discover the show?
Let me know.
You can send me a fan mail, aDM, an email, whichever is your
preference, but if you go intoyour podcast player app, the fan
(00:47):
mail button is right there andyou can just press it right now
and let me know.
And you've been around for awhile.
I want to hear, too, how youfound this show.
I always find it reallyinteresting when people share
unusual ways that they firstheard about Bite Me.
It's sort of like where wereyou when the Challenger exploded
?
I am definitely dating myselfwith that one.
I was alive for that and I doactually remember it vividly.
(01:10):
Well, take that with a grain ofsalt, because memory is a funny
thing, isn't it?
But I do remember.
It was grade three.
They wheeled the TV into theclassroom and they turned it on.
A bunch of excited childrenready to watch this historic
moment, and we all know whathappened after that.
And if you don't, because youweren't alive then well, it
exploded with all the astronautson board.
It was actually a really tragicevent, but I do recall exactly
(01:32):
where I was and I think everyoneprobably has that one event
where, like, where were you when9-11 happened?
That sort of thing where,collectively, as a group of
people, we can think about thosemoments.
So where were you when youfirst discovered Bite Me?
Let me know, because I wouldlove to hear it.
(01:55):
But today's episode the top fivemistakes that cannabis edibles
makers make.
I thought this was an importantone, a good way to start out
the new year as well, because wehave some new listeners and and
people following along with thebite me fun.
If you've been making ediblesfor a while, maybe you can skip
this one, but honestly, maybeit's a good refresher Because
(02:16):
sometimes, as time goes on, wecreate habits that aren't
necessarily ideal, and I've beenthe maker of all these mistakes
myself.
This is not to throw shade atanybody who's doing this stuff.
I've done it all myself.
That's one of the reasons Istarted this show, because I
wanted to help other peopleavoid making these mistakes
(02:38):
Although sometimes you end upmaking them anyway because it's
all part of the process andmaking edibles is a special
process.
Now, before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to share
some listener fan mail, and thisone comes from Danny in
Maryland and he says Iappreciate your podcast and what
I've learned from it.
(02:58):
I heard you first on high onhomegrown podcast.
I listened to you on bothcurrently.
I just want to say thank you,danny, for sending that message.
I love getting fan mail.
Have I mentioned that before?
If I haven't, well now you know.
So please send me one please.
It's lonely podcasting sometimes, which is another reason why I
started the Bite Me CannabisClub.
(03:19):
You can find me over there aswell.
Over there as well, I amfeeling much better.
As I mentioned, I believe, inlast week's episode, I spent the
early new year feeling prettyshitty.
It was not a great way to start2025, but things have changed
quite a bit since then.
(03:39):
I'm feeling so much better andI'm working on my mental wealth
and I'm really excited about2025 for myself, for Bite Me and
for all of you as well.
I think we can make 2025 areally special year, and one of
the ways I'm going to be doingthat, of course, like I said, is
focusing on my mental wealth,because health is the foundation
(04:01):
for all the things that comeafter that, and so that means
I'm going to be working ongetting better sleep, getting
some some exercise and eating myfruits and vegetables and
getting my protein and eating agood diet, which includes
edibles, of course, reducing mystress where I can and using
exogenous compounds likecannabis, but also like Magic
(04:24):
Mind, and I've been using theMagic Mind focus shots in the
mornings and it has made anoticeable difference in my
clarity, and that's why I reallylike it, because it's not a
coffee replacement, which Ithink is important to note,
because I love my morning coffeeritual.
So this is something that Iusually take after my first
coffee in the morning.
I drink two cups of coffee inthe morning.
(04:45):
One is decaffeinated and theother one is caffeinated,
because sometimes I find it'sreally easy to consume too much
caffeine.
When you love coffee as much asI do, I'm sure many of you can
relate to that.
But once I've had my coffee andI've done the breakfast and
gotten ready, I love to take theMagic Mind shot before I sit
down to work, because it reallydoes help me dial in and focus
(05:08):
on what I need to be focused on.
It also helps me in the sensethat when I take the shot, I'm
like, okay, now I'm down to getsome work done and focus for a
little while, and so I put myphone on, do not disturb and
don't pay attention to it, andthat's part of the ritual as
well.
Around that, the focus shotgives me the clarity, a sharper
mind, this clean energy that Ireally like.
(05:30):
That, I find, is very helpfulwhen I sit down to work on all
things bite me.
This is part of my 2025building my mental resilience,
and magic mind has become a partof that.
It's doctor validated, it'sbacked by scientific studies and
that's another thing that Ireally love about it.
So you can get 45% off theMagic Mind bundle with my link
(05:53):
magicmindcom slash.
Bite me, jan, and you can tryit out for yourself and see what
you think, and I would love tohear how you find it if you do
try it out for yourself.
The top five mistakes that newedible makers make, and the
purpose of this is just to avoidsome of the common pitfalls
(06:15):
that people make when they'remaking edibles for the first
time or when they're pretty newto it, because it can feel
daunting.
I can appreciate that.
I remember the first time thatI was making my own cannabis
butter on the stove.
I did it in the most.
I mean it worked out.
Obviously I'm sitting hererecording this episode and if it
had not worked out to bite me,the show about edibles and bite
(06:36):
me cannabis club and all theother things that I've been
working on probably wouldn'texist right now.
So I'm really glad that itworked out.
Perhaps it was fate, but Ispent a long time stirring
butter on the stove because Ithought that's what you had to
do, so that you didn't burn thebutter, and I think I spent like
two hours on the stove likestirring this stuff.
It was so slow and painful, butagain, like I said, it worked
(06:58):
out, I guess, over time.
But you don't need to make thesame mistakes that I did.
So that's why I'm here to helpyou, so you can get better
results faster.
You are, of course, going tolearn from some of the mistakes
that you make.
When you have a little bit ofguidance, if you will, from
somebody who has also made allthese mistakes, it can really go
a long way to help you avoidsome of these common ones.
(07:20):
So mistake number one I wouldsay is not decarboxylating the
cannabis properly or skipping italtogether.
Sometimes I find there's one orthe other.
And decarboxylation is thefirst step of the cannabis
edibles process.
You don't want to skip it.
It's essential to activatingthe THC and the CBD, and most
(07:45):
people don't realize that rawcannabis doesn't contain THC at
all.
What it does contain is THCA,and the A is an acid molecule.
So it's THCA and it takes theprocess of adding heat or, in
the case of edibles,decarboxylation, to make the
(08:07):
chemical reaction that convertsthe THCA to THC.
This is the same for CBD andother cannabinoids as well.
Think, when you're smoking ajoint.
This happens much moreimmediately because the heat is
applied from the lighter thatyou're using to light that joint
With edibles.
You need to take the step ofdecarboxylation to evenly heat
(08:30):
that cannabis in order toachieve the same result.
And if you skip this step, yourinfusions aren't going to be
potent at all.
I mean, they will decarb alittle bit during the infusion
process.
I'll get into that in a second,but you definitely want to make
sure that you're decarbing.
Another mistake that sometimesyou'll find around this is using
(08:52):
the wrong temperature or time,which won't activate enough of
the plant material, and also thethinking that weed will decarb
during the infusion process.
So what you basically want to dois take your cannabis and
you're going to put it out on apan with some parchment paper
for easy cleanup.
And you're going to put it outon a pan with some parchment
paper for easy cleanup.
(09:12):
You're going to set your ovento 240 degrees Fahrenheit and
you're going to put it in theoven for 30 minutes and you're
going to smell it.
It's going to smell liketoasted weed and it's going to
come out looking brown andtoasty.
And also note that you don'tneed to finely grind your
cannabis to do this.
Don't take the time to do it.
(09:34):
It's unnecessary.
You can, of course, break uplarge buds that can be helpful
but otherwise you don't need togrind it.
Of course, a lot of people areusing shake, sugar, leaf trim,
that kind of thing, so it'salready broken up pretty well
anyway, but don't spend theextra time to grind up your weed
.
And, of course, if you want tocontrol the smell, you can try
putting the cannabis in a masonjar with a foil lid and put it
(09:59):
in the oven Although I think youcan use the regular mason jar
lids that come with it as well,because the oven temperature is
not so high that it will meltthe rubber on it.
But that is one thing you cando to help contain the smell,
because it is a smelly process.
You can also try the sous videmethod if you happen to have an
immersion circulator.
Do note that if you do it thatway, it usually takes quite a
bit longer.
(10:20):
That is the one drawback tousing a sous vide method.
If you have one of thosedevices already, they are great
in the kitchen for a whole widerange of cooking applications.
So if you do happen to have one, it's great for decarbing and
of course there's all kinds ofdevices on the market that will
do it for you and virtuallyeliminate the smell, if that's a
real concern for you and forsome people.
(10:40):
Naturally, it is Now mistakenumber two incorrect dosing, and
I know I hear this all the timethat when edibles makers are
starting out and even furtheralong down the line.
Dosing is something that reallygets people and I can
understand it, because it'sreally important.
(11:00):
You want to know how potent theedibles are that you're making,
because otherwise you're prettywell flying blind and that's
not a great feeling.
It doesn't give you any context, any frame of reference.
When you have calculated thepotency of your homemade edibles
and you can say, well, you know, I think they're about 25
(11:20):
milligrams, suddenly you have apoint of reference and if you
are fortunate enough to live ina place where you have access to
a legal market, sometimes youcan even go to a dispensary and
see how those compare todispensary made edibles.
Does this sort of does the highfrom a dispensary like 25
milligrams of a dispensaryedible seem similar to what you
just created?
There are limitations, of course, of dosing your homemade
(11:43):
edibles, but if you recognizewhat they are, then it's not
going to be as big of an issue.
But you definitely want to makesure that you know how potent
they are and, of course,skipping that step altogether
not a great idea.
And that also can mean thatyou're not measuring the
(12:03):
starting plant material properlyor paying attention to portion
sizes, and these all obviouslycome into play when you're
trying to dose.
Your edibles obviously comeinto play when you're trying to
dose your edibles.
So one of the best ways to tofigure out the potency of your
edibles is to use an onlinecalculator.
There's plenty of them online.
There happens to be one atbitemepodcastcom.
You'll find it in the cannabisresources section.
(12:25):
That's free to use and you canjust plug everything into that
and it'll give you the potencyper infusion and per batch as
well.
So you might just want to bewanting to figure out how potent
your olive oil is.
You can use the calculator forthat, and then once you use a
portion of that olive oil tomake a batch of cookies or two
(12:45):
or whatever it is that you'remaking, then you have the port.
This is where portion sizescomes in as well.
Then you can figure out howpotent they are per dose or per
serving.
And another good practice arounddosing is to keep a journal or
note when you're creatingedibles, because oftentimes I
get I do get people who requestthat I get more specific about
(13:07):
potency when I'm doing recipes,and one of the reasons I don't
really is because toleranceranges so widely from person to
person.
I am somebody who can consume25 milligrams and that's a good
dose for me.
A little bit higher than that,I'd probably just be couch
locked and I know people whowould take that dose and it
(13:29):
would obliterate them.
And I have friends also who caneasily eat 100 milligrams and
go about their day like it'snothing, which would obliterate
me.
So it's really difficult to saythese are the dosing guidelines
you should be following,because it really is a trial and
error kind of thing.
So if you can use an onlinecalculator, that can really help
(13:52):
you dial it down.
Now, of course, if you'reunsure of how potent the
starting material is, that canbe a bit of a drawback.
It means that you areguesstimating a little bit and
you have to keep that in mindwhen you are estimating the
potency.
I realize online calculatorsthey're not perfect, but it's
something.
And, of course, if you want totry your hand at the math, my
(14:12):
online calculator if you scrollto the bottom of the page, we'll
show you the actual steps tocalculate the math yourself,
just so you know how it allworks.
You know, because the more youknow, knowledge is power.
You can, of course, also get atesting device like a T-check,
but if you're just starting out,that's probably not something
you want to spend your money onand something you want to spend
your money on and it's reallyunnecessary at that point.
Just get into the habit offiguring out the dosing.
(14:35):
And when I said, keep a journalor note whether that's a note on
your phone, a paper journal,which I do tend to like because
I'm old school like that One ofthe reasons I suggest that is
because it is so easy to forgetwhat it was that you did, and
I've said this numerous times onthe show.
You think you'll remember howmuch weed you put into that cup
or two cups of fat that you'redoing, and then you come back
(14:56):
later and you have no fuckingidea.
So that is why I suggest youwrite it down.
Mistake number three uneveninfusions or poor mixing.
I guess poor mixing.
Mistake number three poormixing.
So it's essential to infuse orto put your cannabis infusion
into your mix of whatever it isthat you're making.
(15:19):
Really well, and commonly youjust people might not stir
enough and this lack ofhomogeneity I don't I think you
know what I mean can causeproblems if you're trying to
enjoy an edible, because if ithasn't been properly mixed into
(15:40):
the batter or into the sauce orinto whatever it is that you're
infusing.
You're going to end up with aportion size that is stronger or
weaker than the rest of themand that's going to throw
everything off and that's goingto affect the dosing and that's
going to affect the time thatsomebody has when they enjoy
your edibles.
So you want to make sure thatyou're mixing really well.
(16:02):
Some tips for that sometimes tohelp with the mixing process
using a little lecithin can behelpful, and I did a whole
podcast episode on lecithin.
I'll tag in the show notes aswell or I'll link in the show
notes so you can check that oneout.
And you just want to make surethat you're stirring really well
.
If you are using a stand mixer,that could be helpful.
You just want to make sure thatit is really evenly mixed.
(16:32):
And tip number four not thinkingbeyond baked goods and sweets.
This is a big one for me, andnot that that's really a mistake
, it's just sort of a limitationin thinking when you're new to
making edibles.
Because when you think edibles,what's the first thing?
Everybody thinks of Brownies orcookies.
I love a good brownie and Ilove a good cookie, although I
tend to make more cookies thanbrownies in my particular
instance, but there's plenty ofreasons why you might not want a
(16:53):
brownie or a cookie right now,like you're trying to consume
less sugar, maybe you don't liketo bake I mean, there could be
a bunch of reasons why somebodydoesn't want brownies or cookies
as their way to infuse theirbodies with cannabis.
And so the error is that you'rethinking in terms of sweet
treats when really the practiceof making edibles and the beauty
(17:14):
of making your own edibles isthat literally the sky is the
limit.
It can be almost anything, withfew exceptions.
If you don't like baking, don'tbake, because you can add your
infusions into just aboutanything.
Maybe your favorite sauce,maybe you're infusing a barbecue
(17:35):
sauce and then you're having iton your favorite chicken dish,
or maybe you're infusingmayonnaise and making a tuna
salad sandwich.
Choose any recipe that you lovemaking and find a way to
incorporate cannabis into it,which is basically, if there's a
fat in the recipe, you can addcannabis, because you can swap
out some of that fat for a ratioof infused fat.
(17:55):
And, of course, this is whereknowing the potency of your
infusion once again becomesimportant, because you want to
know how much you're consumingin that portion that you're
going to be enjoying.
But if you love tacos and youwant to make an infused, an
infused salsa, what a beautifulway to enjoy cannabis that is
not cookies or candies orgummies or brownies, and that
(18:19):
really does open up a wholeworld of possibilities.
And I know there's some savorypeople out there that loves
things other than the sweettreats and I know I do a lot of
sweet treats on the show,probably because, again, it is
hard sometimes to think beyondthe baked goods and sweets,
cause that's sort of like thedefault and I have a sweet tooth
, but there's so many otheramazing recipes out there that
(18:40):
are wonderful for infusing Ifthat's what you are interested
in making.
So make edibles more accessibleto yourself by focusing on the
foods and the food types and thecuisines that you love, because
if you don't love to bake, thatdoesn't necessarily have to be
a prerequisite for making goodedibles.
Mistake number five impatience.
(19:00):
And this is a big one, becausewe all know that edibles take
longer to kick in than otherforms of cannabis and we've all
seen those memes that are startout with these edibles ain't
shit.
And then, of course, it'susually followed up by an image
or a video of somebody who isridiculously high and they're
funny.
(19:21):
But of course, that impatientoften leads newer edibles makers
or consumers to get impatientwhen it comes to the onset time,
because onset time can be 30minutes to an hour, sometimes
longer.
It can depend on so manydifferent factors as well.
Just be patient.
In fact, usually when I'mrecommending people, if they're
(19:42):
just starting out, I would saywait at least two hours before
consuming more.
Again, it's a very commonmistake to make.
I've done it.
I know plenty of other peoplethat have done it.
That is one mistake that I hopethat other people don't have to
make, because it's probably theleast fun one.
I mean, if you've consumed, youknow, consume some edibles and
you consume more because youdon't think you're going to feel
anything off of them.
(20:02):
It can be not great.
I remember being at a cottagewith some friends a couple of
years ago and I was there withsome folks and they had some
edibles with them and these wereexperienced edibles users.
I distinctly remember one ofthem decided to eat an edible,
which is totally fine.
I think we were all enjoyingenjoying the cannabis libations.
She did the classic, which Iwas.
(20:23):
Uh, I learned later she wasn'tfeeling anything off the edibles
so she ate another one.
And she was so high that nightand really uncomfortable in her
body.
I mean, this was somebody who'sused edibles pretty extensively
.
It was a fairly comfortableedibles user and you know it
happens to the best of us.
So just be patient.
She just didn't wait long enough, and for whatever reason,
(20:45):
because sometimes something canhappen Maybe you've eaten
something that might slow up theedibles onset time.
So you have to keep that inmind and you definitely don't
want to eat that edible, secondedible too quickly and realize,
oh shit, the first one'sstarting to kick in, because
that is not a fun realization tomake.
So just be patient.
If you're the first time tryingedibles as well, I would
(21:08):
definitely start out with asession.
If you don't feel anything,there's nothing wrong with
saying, hey, let's just waituntil the next day and then you
can perhaps increase the doseincrementally from there.
See how you feel.
If you don't feel anything, doit again the next night.
That's probably the safest wayto do it.
That's start low, go slow mantrathat you hear over and over and
over again.
The reason people repeat itover and over and over again is
(21:29):
because it needs to be repeatedover and over and over again,
because people forget and ittakes a lot of repetition for
folks to learn that there is areason why we say start low and
go slow, because once you're onthat ride, friends, you're on
that ride for four to six hours,maybe sometimes longer, and if
you're uncomfortable it's not alot of fun.
So be patient.
That's probably the easiest oneto rectify as well.
(21:51):
So just to recap really quicklymistake number one not
decarbing your cannabis properlyor skipping it altogether.
Mistake number two is incorrectdosing or not figuring out the
potency of your edibles figuringout the potency of your edibles
.
Mistake number three is unevenmixing.
Mistake number four notthinking beyond baked goods and
(22:19):
sweets.
And mistake number five isimpatience.
I've given you simple ways tosort of rectify each of these
common mistakes that new ediblesmakers make and, of course, I
would love to hear some of yourown thoughts on this.
So next week we're going to bedoing an episode on edibles
trends for 2025.
And I'm really excited aboutthis episode because I got the
(22:40):
opinions of quite a number ofwonderful people in the edible
space who have their ear to theground on what's going to be
happening.
What are the hot.
What are the hot new trends foredibles in 2025?
So stay tuned for that.
Next week and don't forget, youcan get 45% off Magic Mind
bundle with my link magicmindcom.
Forward slash.
Bite me, jan.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with somebody
(23:02):
you think would also enjoy it.
And I think that's it for thisweek, my friends.
I am your host, margaret, anduntil next week, stay high and
check out Bite Me Cannabis Club.
Welcome, friends, to episode 282.
And today we're looking at thetop five mistakes that new
edibles makers make.
Welcome to Bite Me, the showabout edibles, where I help you
take control of your high life.
I'm your host and certifiedganja, margaret, and I love
helping cooks make safe andeffective edibles at home.
(00:27):
I'm so glad you're here andwelcome back my friends to
another fantastic episode ofBite Me.
I am so glad you're here.
If you're just tuning in forthe first time, I'm glad that
you found me.
How did you discover the show?
Let me know.
You can send me a fan mail, aDM, an email, whichever is your
preference, but if you go intoyour podcast player app, the fan
(00:47):
mail button is right there andyou can just press it right now
and let me know.
And you've been around for awhile.
I want to hear, too, how youfound this show.
I always find it reallyinteresting when people share
unusual ways that they firstheard about Bite Me.
It's sort of like where wereyou when the Challenger exploded
?
I am definitely dating myselfwith that one.
I was alive for that and I doactually remember it vividly.
(01:10):
Well, take that with a grain ofsalt, because memory is a funny
thing, isn't it?
But I do remember.
It was grade three.
They wheeled the TV into theclassroom and they turned it on.
A bunch of excited childrenready to watch this historic
moment, and we all know whathappened after that.
And if you don't, because youweren't alive then well, it
exploded with all the astronautson board.
It was actually a really tragicevent, but I do recall exactly
(01:32):
where I was and I think everyoneprobably has that one event
where, like, where were you when9-11 happened?
That sort of thing where,collectively, as a group of
people, we can think about thosemoments.
So where were you when youfirst discovered Bite Me?
Let me know, because I wouldlove to hear it.
(01:55):
But today's episode the top fivemistakes that cannabis edibles
makers make.
I thought this was an importantone, a good way to start out
the new year as well, because wehave some new listeners and and
people following along with thebite me fun.
If you've been making ediblesfor a while, maybe you can skip
this one, but honestly, maybeit's a good refresher Because
(02:16):
sometimes, as time goes on, wecreate habits that aren't
necessarily ideal, and I've beenthe maker of all these mistakes
myself.
This is not to throw shade atanybody who's doing this stuff.
I've done it all myself.
That's one of the reasons Istarted this show, because I
wanted to help other peopleavoid making these mistakes
(02:38):
Although sometimes you end upmaking them anyway because it's
all part of the process andmaking edibles is a special
process.
Now, before we get into today'sepisode, I just wanted to share
some listener fan mail, and thisone comes from Danny in
Maryland and he says Iappreciate your podcast and what
I've learned from it.
(02:58):
I heard you first on high onhomegrown podcast.
I listened to you on bothcurrently.
I just want to say thank you,danny, for sending that message.
I love getting fan mail.
Have I mentioned that before?
If I haven't, well now you know.
So please send me one please.
It's lonely podcasting sometimes, which is another reason why I
started the Bite Me CannabisClub.
(03:19):
You can find me over there aswell.
Over there as well, I amfeeling much better.
As I mentioned, I believe, inlast week's episode, I spent the
early new year feeling prettyshitty.
It was not a great way to start2025, but things have changed
quite a bit since then.
(03:39):
I'm feeling so much better andI'm working on my mental wealth
and I'm really excited about2025 for myself, for Bite Me and
for all of you as well.
I think we can make 2025 areally special year, and one of
the ways I'm going to be doingthat, of course, like I said, is
focusing on my mental wealth,because health is the foundation
(04:01):
for all the things that comeafter that, and so that means
I'm going to be working ongetting better sleep, getting
some some exercise and eating myfruits and vegetables and
getting my protein and eating agood diet, which includes
edibles, of course, reducing mystress where I can and using
exogenous compounds likecannabis, but also like Magic
(04:24):
Mind, and I've been using theMagic Mind focus shots in the
mornings and it has made anoticeable difference in my
clarity, and that's why I reallylike it, because it's not a
coffee replacement, which Ithink is important to note,
because I love my morning coffeeritual.
So this is something that Iusually take after my first
coffee in the morning.
I drink two cups of coffee inthe morning.
(04:45):
One is decaffeinated and theother one is caffeinated,
because sometimes I find it'sreally easy to consume too much
caffeine.
When you love coffee as much asI do, I'm sure many of you can
relate to that.
But once I've had my coffee andI've done the breakfast and
gotten ready, I love to take theMagic Mind shot before I sit
down to work, because it reallydoes help me dial in and focus
(05:08):
on what I need to be focused on.
It also helps me in the sensethat when I take the shot, I'm
like, okay, now I'm down to getsome work done and focus for a
little while, and so I put myphone on, do not disturb and
don't pay attention to it, andthat's part of the ritual as
well.
Around that, the focus shotgives me the clarity, a sharper
mind, this clean energy that Ireally like.
(05:30):
That, I find, is very helpfulwhen I sit down to work on all
things bite me.
This is part of my 2025building my mental resilience,
and magic mind has become a partof that.
It's doctor validated, it'sbacked by scientific studies and
that's another thing that Ireally love about it.
So you can get 45% off theMagic Mind bundle with my link
(05:53):
magicmindcom slash.
Bite me, jan, and you can tryit out for yourself and see what
you think, and I would love tohear how you find it if you do
try it out for yourself.
The top five mistakes that newedible makers make, and the
purpose of this is just to avoidsome of the common pitfalls
(06:15):
that people make when they'remaking edibles for the first
time or when they're pretty newto it, because it can feel
daunting.
I can appreciate that.
I remember the first time thatI was making my own cannabis
butter on the stove.
I did it in the most.
I mean it worked out.
Obviously I'm sitting hererecording this episode and if it
had not worked out to bite me,the show about edibles and bite
(06:36):
me cannabis club and all theother things that I've been
working on probably wouldn'texist right now.
So I'm really glad that itworked out.
Perhaps it was fate, but Ispent a long time stirring
butter on the stove because Ithought that's what you had to
do, so that you didn't burn thebutter, and I think I spent like
two hours on the stove likestirring this stuff.
It was so slow and painful, butagain, like I said, it worked
(06:58):
out, I guess, over time.
But you don't need to make thesame mistakes that I did.
So that's why I'm here to helpyou, so you can get better
results faster.
You are, of course, going tolearn from some of the mistakes
that you make.
When you have a little bit ofguidance, if you will, from
somebody who has also made allthese mistakes, it can really go
a long way to help you avoidsome of these common ones.
(07:20):
So mistake number one I wouldsay is not decarboxylating the
cannabis properly or skipping italtogether.
Sometimes I find there's one orthe other.
And decarboxylation is thefirst step of the cannabis
edibles process.
You don't want to skip it.
It's essential to activatingthe THC and the CBD, and most
(07:45):
people don't realize that rawcannabis doesn't contain THC at
all.
What it does contain is THCA,and the A is an acid molecule.
So it's THCA and it takes theprocess of adding heat or, in
the case of edibles,decarboxylation, to make the
(08:07):
chemical reaction that convertsthe THCA to THC.
This is the same for CBD andother cannabinoids as well.
Think, when you're smoking ajoint.
This happens much moreimmediately because the heat is
applied from the lighter thatyou're using to light that joint
With edibles.
You need to take the step ofdecarboxylation to evenly heat
(08:30):
that cannabis in order toachieve the same result.
And if you skip this step, yourinfusions aren't going to be
potent at all.
I mean, they will decarb alittle bit during the infusion
process.
I'll get into that in a second,but you definitely want to make
sure that you're decarbing.
Another mistake that sometimesyou'll find around this is using
(08:52):
the wrong temperature or time,which won't activate enough of
the plant material, and also thethinking that weed will decarb
during the infusion process.
So what you basically want to dois take your cannabis and
you're going to put it out on apan with some parchment paper
for easy cleanup.
And you're going to put it outon a pan with some parchment
paper for easy cleanup.
(09:12):
You're going to set your ovento 240 degrees Fahrenheit and
you're going to put it in theoven for 30 minutes and you're
going to smell it.
It's going to smell liketoasted weed and it's going to
come out looking brown andtoasty.
And also note that you don'tneed to finely grind your
cannabis to do this.
Don't take the time to do it.
(09:34):
It's unnecessary.
You can, of course, break uplarge buds that can be helpful
but otherwise you don't need togrind it.
Of course, a lot of people areusing shake, sugar, leaf trim,
that kind of thing, so it'salready broken up pretty well
anyway, but don't spend theextra time to grind up your weed
.
And, of course, if you want tocontrol the smell, you can try
putting the cannabis in a masonjar with a foil lid and put it
(09:59):
in the oven Although I think youcan use the regular mason jar
lids that come with it as well,because the oven temperature is
not so high that it will meltthe rubber on it.
But that is one thing you cando to help contain the smell,
because it is a smelly process.
You can also try the sous videmethod if you happen to have an
immersion circulator.
Do note that if you do it thatway, it usually takes quite a
bit longer.
(10:20):
That is the one drawback tousing a sous vide method.
If you have one of thosedevices already, they are great
in the kitchen for a whole widerange of cooking applications.
So if you do happen to have one, it's great for decarbing and
of course there's all kinds ofdevices on the market that will
do it for you and virtuallyeliminate the smell, if that's a
real concern for you and forsome people.
(10:40):
Naturally, it is Now mistakenumber two incorrect dosing, and
I know I hear this all the timethat when edibles makers are
starting out and even furtheralong down the line.
Dosing is something that reallygets people and I can
understand it, because it'sreally important.
(11:00):
You want to know how potent theedibles are that you're making,
because otherwise you're prettywell flying blind and that's
not a great feeling.
It doesn't give you any context, any frame of reference.
When you have calculated thepotency of your homemade edibles
and you can say, well, you know, I think they're about 25
(11:20):
milligrams, suddenly you have apoint of reference and if you
are fortunate enough to live ina place where you have access to
a legal market, sometimes youcan even go to a dispensary and
see how those compare todispensary made edibles.
Does this sort of does the highfrom a dispensary like 25
milligrams of a dispensaryedible seem similar to what you
just created?
There are limitations, of course, of dosing your homemade
(11:43):
edibles, but if you recognizewhat they are, then it's not
going to be as big of an issue.
But you definitely want to makesure that you know how potent
they are and, of course,skipping that step altogether
not a great idea.
And that also can mean thatyou're not measuring the
(12:03):
starting plant material properlyor paying attention to portion
sizes, and these all obviouslycome into play when you're
trying to dose.
Your edibles obviously comeinto play when you're trying to
dose your edibles.
So one of the best ways to tofigure out the potency of your
edibles is to use an onlinecalculator.
There's plenty of them online.
There happens to be one atbitemepodcastcom.
You'll find it in the cannabisresources section.
(12:25):
That's free to use and you canjust plug everything into that
and it'll give you the potencyper infusion and per batch as
well.
So you might just want to bewanting to figure out how potent
your olive oil is.
You can use the calculator forthat, and then once you use a
portion of that olive oil tomake a batch of cookies or two
(12:45):
or whatever it is that you'remaking, then you have the port.
This is where portion sizescomes in as well.
Then you can figure out howpotent they are per dose or per
serving.
And another good practice arounddosing is to keep a journal or
note when you're creatingedibles, because oftentimes I
get I do get people who requestthat I get more specific about
(13:07):
potency when I'm doing recipes,and one of the reasons I don't
really is because toleranceranges so widely from person to
person.
I am somebody who can consume25 milligrams and that's a good
dose for me.
A little bit higher than that,I'd probably just be couch
locked and I know people whowould take that dose and it
(13:29):
would obliterate them.
And I have friends also who caneasily eat 100 milligrams and
go about their day like it'snothing, which would obliterate
me.
So it's really difficult to saythese are the dosing guidelines
you should be following,because it really is a trial and
error kind of thing.
So if you can use an onlinecalculator, that can really help
(13:52):
you dial it down.
Now, of course, if you'reunsure of how potent the
starting material is, that canbe a bit of a drawback.
It means that you areguesstimating a little bit and
you have to keep that in mindwhen you are estimating the
potency.
I realize online calculatorsthey're not perfect, but it's
something.
And, of course, if you want totry your hand at the math, my
(14:12):
online calculator if you scrollto the bottom of the page, we'll
show you the actual steps tocalculate the math yourself,
just so you know how it allworks.
You know, because the more youknow, knowledge is power.
You can, of course, also get atesting device like a T-check,
but if you're just starting out,that's probably not something
you want to spend your money onand something you want to spend
your money on and it's reallyunnecessary at that point.
Just get into the habit offiguring out the dosing.
(14:35):
And when I said, keep a journalor note whether that's a note on
your phone, a paper journal,which I do tend to like because
I'm old school like that One ofthe reasons I suggest that is
because it is so easy to forgetwhat it was that you did, and
I've said this numerous times onthe show.
You think you'll remember howmuch weed you put into that cup
or two cups of fat that you'redoing, and then you come back
(14:56):
later and you have no fuckingidea.
So that is why I suggest youwrite it down.
Mistake number three uneveninfusions or poor mixing.
I guess poor mixing.
Mistake number three poormixing.
So it's essential to infuse orto put your cannabis infusion
into your mix of whatever it isthat you're making.
(15:19):
Really well, and commonly youjust people might not stir
enough and this lack ofhomogeneity I don't I think you
know what I mean can causeproblems if you're trying to
enjoy an edible, because if ithasn't been properly mixed into
(15:40):
the batter or into the sauce orinto whatever it is that you're
infusing.
You're going to end up with aportion size that is stronger or
weaker than the rest of themand that's going to throw
everything off and that's goingto affect the dosing and that's
going to affect the time thatsomebody has when they enjoy
your edibles.
So you want to make sure thatyou're mixing really well.
(16:02):
Some tips for that sometimes tohelp with the mixing process
using a little lecithin can behelpful, and I did a whole
podcast episode on lecithin.
I'll tag in the show notes aswell or I'll link in the show
notes so you can check that oneout.
And you just want to make surethat you're stirring really well
.
If you are using a stand mixer,that could be helpful.
You just want to make sure thatit is really evenly mixed.
(16:32):
And tip number four not thinkingbeyond baked goods and sweets.
This is a big one for me, andnot that that's really a mistake
, it's just sort of a limitationin thinking when you're new to
making edibles.
Because when you think edibles,what's the first thing?
Everybody thinks of Brownies orcookies.
I love a good brownie and Ilove a good cookie, although I
tend to make more cookies thanbrownies in my particular
instance, but there's plenty ofreasons why you might not want a
(16:53):
brownie or a cookie right now,like you're trying to consume
less sugar, maybe you don't liketo bake I mean, there could be
a bunch of reasons why somebodydoesn't want brownies or cookies
as their way to infuse theirbodies with cannabis.
And so the error is that you'rethinking in terms of sweet
treats when really the practiceof making edibles and the beauty
(17:14):
of making your own edibles isthat literally the sky is the
limit.
It can be almost anything, withfew exceptions.
If you don't like baking, don'tbake, because you can add your
infusions into just aboutanything.
Maybe your favorite sauce,maybe you're infusing a barbecue
(17:35):
sauce and then you're having iton your favorite chicken dish,
or maybe you're infusingmayonnaise and making a tuna
salad sandwich.
Choose any recipe that you lovemaking and find a way to
incorporate cannabis into it,which is basically, if there's a
fat in the recipe, you can addcannabis, because you can swap
out some of that fat for a ratioof infused fat.
(17:55):
And, of course, this is whereknowing the potency of your
infusion once again becomesimportant, because you want to
know how much you're consumingin that portion that you're
going to be enjoying.
But if you love tacos and youwant to make an infused, an
infused salsa, what a beautifulway to enjoy cannabis that is
not cookies or candies orgummies or brownies, and that
(18:19):
really does open up a wholeworld of possibilities.
And I know there's some savorypeople out there that loves
things other than the sweettreats and I know I do a lot of
sweet treats on the show,probably because, again, it is
hard sometimes to think beyondthe baked goods and sweets,
cause that's sort of like thedefault and I have a sweet tooth
, but there's so many otheramazing recipes out there that
(18:40):
are wonderful for infusing Ifthat's what you are interested
in making.
So make edibles more accessibleto yourself by focusing on the
foods and the food types and thecuisines that you love, because
if you don't love to bake, thatdoesn't necessarily have to be
a prerequisite for making goodedibles.
Mistake number five impatience.
(19:00):
And this is a big one, becausewe all know that edibles take
longer to kick in than otherforms of cannabis and we've all
seen those memes that are startout with these edibles ain't
shit.
And then, of course, it'susually followed up by an image
or a video of somebody who isridiculously high and they're
funny.
(19:21):
But of course, that impatientoften leads newer edibles makers
or consumers to get impatientwhen it comes to the onset time,
because onset time can be 30minutes to an hour, sometimes
longer.
It can depend on so manydifferent factors as well.
Just be patient.
In fact, usually when I'mrecommending people, if they're
(19:42):
just starting out, I would saywait at least two hours before
consuming more.
Again, it's a very commonmistake to make.
I've done it.
I know plenty of other peoplethat have done it.
That is one mistake that I hopethat other people don't have to
make, because it's probably theleast fun one.
I mean, if you've consumed, youknow, consume some edibles and
you consume more because youdon't think you're going to feel
anything off of them.
(20:02):
It can be not great.
I remember being at a cottagewith some friends a couple of
years ago and I was there withsome folks and they had some
edibles with them and these wereexperienced edibles users.
I distinctly remember one ofthem decided to eat an edible,
which is totally fine.
I think we were all enjoyingenjoying the cannabis libations.
She did the classic, which Iwas.
(20:23):
Uh, I learned later she wasn'tfeeling anything off the edibles
so she ate another one.
And she was so high that nightand really uncomfortable in her
body.
I mean, this was somebody who'sused edibles pretty extensively
.
It was a fairly comfortableedibles user and you know it
happens to the best of us.
So just be patient.
She just didn't wait long enough, and for whatever reason,
(20:45):
because sometimes something canhappen Maybe you've eaten
something that might slow up theedibles onset time.
So you have to keep that inmind and you definitely don't
want to eat that edible, secondedible too quickly and realize,
oh shit, the first one'sstarting to kick in, because
that is not a fun realization tomake.
So just be patient.
If you're the first time tryingedibles as well, I would
(21:08):
definitely start out with asession.
If you don't feel anything,there's nothing wrong with
saying, hey, let's just waituntil the next day and then you
can perhaps increase the doseincrementally from there.
See how you feel.
If you don't feel anything, doit again the next night.
That's probably the safest wayto do it.
That's start low, go slow mantrathat you hear over and over and
over again.
The reason people repeat itover and over and over again is
(21:29):
because it needs to be repeatedover and over and over again,
because people forget and ittakes a lot of repetition for
folks to learn that there is areason why we say start low and
go slow, because once you're onthat ride, friends, you're on
that ride for four to six hours,maybe sometimes longer, and if
you're uncomfortable it's not alot of fun.
So be patient.
That's probably the easiest oneto rectify as well.
(21:51):
So just to recap really quicklymistake number one not
decarbing your cannabis properlyor skipping it altogether.
Mistake number two is incorrectdosing or not figuring out the
potency of your edibles figuringout the potency of your edibles
.
Mistake number three is unevenmixing.
Mistake number four notthinking beyond baked goods and
(22:19):
sweets.
And mistake number five isimpatience.
I've given you simple ways tosort of rectify each of these
common mistakes that new ediblesmakers make and, of course, I
would love to hear some of yourown thoughts on this.
So next week we're going to bedoing an episode on edibles
trends for 2025.
And I'm really excited aboutthis episode because I got the
(22:40):
opinions of quite a number ofwonderful people in the edible
space who have their ear to theground on what's going to be
happening.
What are the hot.
What are the hot new trends foredibles in 2025?
So stay tuned for that.
Next week and don't forget, youcan get 45% off Magic Mind
bundle with my link magicmindcom.
Forward slash.
Bite me, jan.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with somebody
(23:02):
you think would also enjoy it.
And I think that's it for thisweek, my friends.
I am your host, margaret, anduntil next week, stay high and
check out Bite Me Cannabis Club.
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