Whether discretion is the better part of valour or not, sometimes edibles are the thing to do when smoking or vaping cannabis is impossible. Smoking and vaping are still highly controlled activities. Unless you’re taking a road trip and couch surfing with good friends, you’re going to run into situations when traveling where edibles are the only way to get high without breaking anti-smoking or anti-vaping laws. Edibles are easily the best way to be considerate of others.
You can buy weed edibles online in Canada, of course. But if you want to make your own, no candy-making experience is required.
Gummy bears have been around for almost a century. They got their English name from the gum arabic initially used in production. They were originally inspired by the dancing bears that used to travel with European circuses. Nowadays, gelatin is used instead of gum arabic, and gummy bears, with their squishy but chewy texture, are sold as adult candy. Whether you choose CBD gummies for relief of pain and anxiety or THC gummies for a special high — gummy bears are the way to go.
If you want to make your own THC gummies, here’s what you need to know.
Assemble Your Equipment to Make THC Gummies at Home
Before you start to assemble your ingredients, you’re going to need some gummy bear molds. They’re available at craft stores, online, and at big box stores like Walmart in sizes ranging from just a few to molds for making 50 or more gummy bears.
Choose the silicone molds — there’s no need to grease or spray the pan to prevent sticking, and they’re light, flexible, and easy to store.
A measuring cup and spoons, a small saucepan, a spatula, or long-handled spoon for stirring, a large eyedropper (a turkey baster would do in a pinch), and a whisk are the only tools you’ll need if you’re using cannabutter.
If you’re decarboxylating your cannabis to make gummies, you’ll need two safe oven dishes: one for your weed and another larger dish you’ll use to create a water bath or bain-marie to infuse the decarbed weed with oil. You’ll also need a filter and cheesecloth if you use decarbed weed to create an infused oil.
Assemble Your Ingredients to Make THC Gummies at Home
If you want to start with a relatively small quantity, adapt this recipe for 24 THC Gummies. If you’re ready to dive in and already have the molds, here’s a quick and easy recipe.
You’ll need:
- 1 large package of Jell-O (flavour of choice)
- 1-1/2 cups juice total (you can use the same flavour juice as the Jell-O or a contrasting flavour — think strawberry and banana or peach and watermelon)
- ½ cup honey or equivalent sweetener (try ⅜ cup maple syrup mixed well with ¼ cup brown sugar if you’re a maple syrup lover or just feeling patriotic)
- ¼ cup canna oil
- 4 packages of unflavoured gelatin
- ½ cup juice
- Cornstarch (optional)
Directions
- Mix the unflavoured gelatin with half cup of juice. Let sit without further stirring.
- Heat the flavoured Jello-O with the remaining cup of juice in a medium-sized pot, then add the sweetener and the canna oil. Stir while you slowly heat the mixture.
- Add the unflavoured gelatin mixture to the pot. Use a whisk to stir constantly and to ensure you’re stirring the entire mixture. Cook over low heat for about six minutes.
- Use your eyedropper or turkey baster to fill the silicone molds. When they’ve reached room temperature, refrigerate for at least half an hour (an hour or two is better).
- Remove the gummies from the molds and dust with cornstarch to prevent sticking. Feel free to skip this step if you have another way to keep your gummies separate from each other.
But if you want more information before diving into THC gummy production, read on.
If you’ve ever tried to make salad dressing without using salt, you’ve learned why emulsifiers are important: they bind one ingredient to another to create a unique third.
You’re going to need an emulsifier to bind the cannabis butter to the water used to make the jello for your gummies. Soy lecithin is one emulsifier; guar gum is another. Salt (just a pinch) is yet another emulsifier. Cornstarch is used to thicken the gummy bear mix in other recipes.
We’ll assume you’ve already stocked up on mail-order bud and have either already been vaped (ABV) or fresh flower on hand. You’ll need about an eighth of an ounce of flower or 10 to 12 grams of ABV (unless you already have a supply of cannabutter).
You’ll also need both flavoured and unflavoured gelatin or fruit juice and unflavoured gelatin, an emulsifier, oil of some kind, and/or cannabutter. Some recipes call for corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing; others for honey. Some let the sugar in the flavoured jello do all the work of sweetening.
Before You Begin Making THC Gummies
Take a look at the recipes linked to and decide how much you want to invest —- in time, money, effort, and weed — in making your own gummies. If you like to gamble and you make a mean fudge, making 50 to 100 gummies at a time may be the way to go. But if you’re not sure how much fun making your gummies vs. consuming them is going to be, maybe start with a recipe for 12 or 20 gummies.
The process is a little bit more complicated than making jello shots. Still, it doesn’t require the precision of regular candy making, which can be a tricky process if you don’t own a candy thermometer.
Hot tip: If you’re making ahead for a special occasion, you can freeze your gummies and thaw the day before the event.
How Long Does it Take to Make Potent Gummies?
Decarbing and infusing the oil is about a two and a half-hour process if you’re using fresh or already vaped flower. Making your own cannabutter takes three hours on top of the stove, and eight to 24 hours if you make it in a slow cooker. If you already have a supply of cannabutter on hand, that will speed up the process, and you should have ready-to-consume gummies within an hour.
You’re going to want to experiment with various strains and flavours, whether you’re using flavoured jello or juice. Starting with a smaller batch will help you figure out the dosage you’re aiming for as well.
Too Hard? Make it Easy! Buy Weed Edibles Online in Canada
But if all this sounds like way too much work, from sourcing the gummy bear molds to using an eyedropper or turkey baster to ensure you don’t overfill them, you can always check out THC gummies from Low Price Bud. Don’t forget, we also carry super-potent chocolates, hard candies, and teas.