Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Disclosure:

The statements in this forum have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are generated by non-professional writers. Any products described are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Website Disclosure:

This forum contains general information about diet, health and nutrition. The information is not advice and is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional.

Cannabutter Alcohol Extraction

Discussion in 'Weed Edibles' started by countzer0, Dec 5, 2008.

  1. #1 countzer0, Dec 5, 2008
    Been doing allot of reading regarding cannabutter trying to get the best extraction possible. I have been doing alot of baking with herb lately and i have noticed varying degrees of extraction even when following the same methodology and using the same materials.

    It is commonly accepted that THC extraction is greater in alcohol then fat so i figured i would give an alcohol cannabutter extraction a whirl.

    I used everclear grain alcohol but i imagine any high proof vodka would probably work.

    I did two extractions so i could compare the results. I did 14 grams of vaporizer leftover in each.

    Extraction 1

    14 grams vaporizer leftover
    3 cups water
    1 stick butter

    Extraction 2

    14 grams vaporizer leftover
    3 cups Everclear
    1 stick butter

    Im sure everyone know the procedure for the water/butter extraction so i will focus on the alcohol one.

    Basically i combined the everclear, butter, and herb in the Crockpot on medium. I let it simmer until almost all the alcohol was gone. Then i added two table spoons of water (which boils at a higher temperature and will wash away some of the water soluble crap). At this point i let i go a bit more till it stopped activity on the top (meaning the alcohol was gone) I then set it in the fridge after filtering the same way as usual.

    From each butter sample i baked some simple spice cake and cut into 12 portions each.

    I ate one from each batch on two separate mornings upon waking before any eating.

    The one from the water/butter extraction was good and got me pretty high
    for about 5-6 hrs.

    The one from the alcohol/butter extraction was superb and got me couch locked for no fewer then 8 hours.

    So in conclusion it seems the alcohol is in fact extracting the THC better.

    Anyone else ever tried this?
     
  2. #2 JimMorrison, Dec 5, 2008
    Haha, "couch locked", love it. Never tried that shit above but had a laugh at ur post so had to reply :smoke:
     
  3. #3 Deleted member 86623, Dec 5, 2008
    Fun experiment, though I think you will find several very informative threads on the subject from hashmouf (cannabutter/qwiso hash) and trikky (bho, the best for extractions)
     
  4. #4 countzer0, Dec 5, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 5, 2008
    Yep read those threads. Just Looking for better extraction.

    Even BHO leaves behind a certain amount of what were after....

    I often make butter with the remnats from several BHO runs and still get potent baked goods from it.

    I have conversely ISO extracted from previously used for butter weed and gotten decent results.

    Since my end goal is edibles i have just been experimenting for better butter extraction.
     
  5. #5 bgbg, Mar 9, 2010
    when the alcohol and butter are mixed, do they seperate? I am wondering if this technique could also be used to make oil, but I imagine that the alcohol and oil would just seperate and the alcohol wouldn't absorb any of the thc.
     
  6. #6 mhughes, Mar 9, 2010
  7. #7 Caprican, Mar 9, 2010
    How's the taste Count? I'm working on my own edible research sideline and my focus has been on removing as much chlorophyl as possible. I've found that by water curing your vaped remains for about 3 days (changing the water every day) you remove almost all the nasty shit (which vaped has a TON of) - The butters and tinctures I've been prototyping have almost no taste on their own and cut into chocolate etc. are undetectable (not intended for covert dosing, just looking for something that can be pleasing on a culinary level as well as a psychoactive level)

    Have you experimented with citric acid extractions? I've found they have a very different and much more social effect compared to butter or alcohol
     
  8. #8 carnival, Apr 26, 2011
    Caprican I would love to see more of your work.
     
  9. #9 VoldyFlashes, Apr 27, 2011
    I love the Alcohol Extraction method!! It always works very well for me, as well. I also always throw in some nutmeg into the budder ;P
     
  10. #10 Anemoi, Sep 29, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2011
    I tried this last night, with my own twist.
    After adding a bit of water after all the alcohol was gone, I fell asleep for ~2.5 hours...
    The crockpot doesn't get quite hot enough to burn, so even though all of the water had evaporated it didn't look too gross, just really really green.
    I guess we'll see what happens. I used 1/8th + 1g ground up shake and stems, 2 cups everclear, 1/4th cup water.

    UPDATE: Came on really slowly, but my brownies were definitely good. I'm still feeling a little fuzzy the next morning. I ate half of what I baked, buddy ate the other half.
     
  11. #11 Vee, Oct 1, 2011

    How did you deal with the ever green chlorophyl, it's one aspect of cooking with MJ, I find quite distasteful:mad:....many thanks

    "V"
     
  12. #12 BadKittySmiles, Oct 1, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 1, 2011
    When made properly, without diluting your edible solvent (oil) with water (which both reduces its efficiency as a solvent, and invites loads of inert properties such as plant wax and chlorophyll into the resulting oil), you should hardly taste anything except a very faint, pleasant, hashy taste.. very similar to a vaporizer, but more mild. And that's only if you're eating a very mild or subtle-tasting dish or desert. When using an alcohol extraction you should use the highest proof (alcohol content) possible, and water-washed, decarbed herb, to reduce those inert properties extracted by your alcohol and its water content. I generally consider an alcohol pre-extraction redundant, if you only plan on making oil, or (most) edibles with what it gives you. You can skip it, save yourself some time (and spare the material the additional processing) and go straight to the oil, removing much less inert plant matter with much less effort.


    For instance a batch of blondies can taste almost as though no canna was involved in their making, but less material than you would normally smoke, sends you flying :)

    [​IMG]
     
  13. #13 rastafarmer1, Oct 2, 2011
    if i made butter with tincture replacing plain everclear would that work
     
  14. #14 happymidgetpaul, Oct 11, 2011
    Rasta, ive used tinctures that ive tired of to make oil and butter, it works exactly the same, just remember if your tincture has a strong flavor it carries through to whatever you choose to make :)
     
  15. #15 kevinbaconrules420, Dec 20, 2014
    Basically i combined the everclear, butter, and herb in the Crockpot on medium. I let it simmer until almost all the alcohol was gone. Then i added two table spoons of water (which boils at a higher temperature and will wash away some of the water soluble crap). At this point i let i go a bit more till it stopped activity on the top (meaning the alcohol was gone) I then set it in the fridge after filtering the same way as usual.
     
     
    How long did it take to cook off the everclear? Then how long when you put in the water?
     
  16. #16 puddleglum, Dec 21, 2014
     
    About 6 years...
     
  17. #17 PsychedelicSam, Dec 21, 2014
     
    You're doing a form of solvent transfer. You'll get less chlorophyll if you do your alcohol extraction first and strain the material before adding the butter and evaporating. This is a pretty old thread, btw.  :)
     

Share This Page