In recent years, a new trend has swept the culinary world and made its way into kitchens around the world: yes, we’re talking about the air fryer. At first, many people viewed it with apprehension… What do you mean you can fry without oil and only with air? What kind of sorcery is this? However, over time, more and more people saw with their own eyes that yes, the air fryer works, and it brings many benefits. One of them, perhaps the least known, is that you can also use the air fryer to decarboxylate cannabis.
Wait a minute, decarboxylate? What’s that? What does it have to do with pot? Fear not: in this article, we’ll explain why it’s essential to decarboxylate your weed to cook with it, and how you can conveniently do it with the air fryer.
The Magic of Decarboxylation
If you’ve ever cooked with weed, you already know what we’re talking about. If not, you might know that it’s not possible to eat raw cannabis directly (well, it is possible, but it’s not effective). To feel the effects that make pot so coveted, you first have to heat it.
Why? Because THC is actually almost nonexistent in the cannabis plant: rather, we find THCA, its chemical precursor, among other cannabinoids. When we apply heat to THCA, it turns into THC: that’s why a joint is lit, not eaten. THCA has its own benefits, but it doesn’t provide the psychotropic effects of THC, which must be “activated.”
This is where decarboxylation comes in: basically, this process occurs when weed is exposed to heat, light, or simply time. To cook, then, we heat cannabis to activate the desired cannabinoids. But careful! Heating is not the same as burning. When we light a joint, we are engaging in a combustion process. There, THC is released, but the plant material is lost (along with the precious terpenes), and toxins and carcinogenic compounds are also released. This is why vaping is recommended over smoking, and it is also possible to cook with your already vaped weed.
Thus, you will find that decarboxylation is usually the first step in the vast majority of cannabis recipes. This process is typically performed using an oven, although a double boiler can also work. However, these techniques often present a significant downside, since they do not always allow for precise temperature control, which is crucial for optimal decarboxylation. The process is delicate: too high a temperature will burn your cannabis, and too low a temperature will not activate the cannabinoids.
That’s where the air fryer comes in, whose technology allows you to control the temperature at all times.
Benefits of Decarbing Weed in an Air Fryer
As we mentioned, precise temperature control is one of the reasons why it’s best to use an air fryer to decarboxylate cannabis. But it’s not the only one! Among the benefits of using this technology are:
- Speed: The air fryer heats up significantly faster than conventional ovens, saving you time.
- Even Heating: Air fryers are designed to cook food evenly from all angles.
- Minimal Odor: A classic problem when cooking with weed, which won’t be so terrible, as air fryers contain aromas significantly more than ovens.
- Energy Efficiency: The air fryer consumes less energy compared to a large oven, making it a more environmentally friendly option.
- Temperature Control: Most air fryers come with adjustable temperature settings, providing greater control over the process.
Below, we’ll show you how to use this appliance to cook with marijuana.
How to Decarboxylate Cannabis in an Air Fryer
You’ll only need three things: your buds, your air fryer, and a suitable container.
Here are the step-by-step instructions:
- Crumble the buds: Use your fingers to grind your weed into a medium or fine consistency. It may be tempting to use a grinder, but most experts warn that this can turn your cannabis into a too fine powder and ruin the process.
- Place your weed in a suitable container: It should be one specifically designed for the air fryer, in a thin, even layer. Some people choose to cover the container with aluminum foil to prevent its contents from blowing away.
- Check the temperature and time: Preheating your air fryer is optional. The optimal temperature for releasing cannabinoids is 240°F (115°C). The time it takes will depend on the size and model of your fryer, but we recommend starting with 30 minutes. You can pause the process halfway through to check out your progress and move the plant material around. If you find that your cannabis is still a little green after 30 minutes, leave it for 10 more minutes. It should be light brown, but not too dark.
Well, that’s it. Yes, it’s that easy. For real.
Now what? That’s up to you. You can use your decarbed weed to make some classic pot brownies. Or how about some delicious weed milk? Or you can simply make cannabutter and include it in any recipe you can think of. But be careful with the proportions! You don’t want to green out, which is very easy when you’re dealing with edibles… especially if they’re delicious.
