ABV flower is already-been-vaped flower. It is dry flower that you’ve used in a dry herb vaporizer. You probably think that once you’ve used it, you discard it. Not so fast – there are uses for the ABV flower since not all of the cannabinoids have been exhausted.
Here are a few things you can do with ABV flower.
Decarboxylation Has Occurred
When you’ve heated dry cannabis flower for any reason, it has been decarboxylated. Decarboxylation is the process of activating the cannabinoids by applying heat. When it comes to cannabis concentrates, those cannabinoids are already activated. Cannabinoids are also already activated in edibles.
Even though the cannabinoids have been activated, and partially used – there are still some present. The potency of the flower will decrease, so it is important to take note of that. Every cannabinoid has a unique boiling point or kill point. A kill point is a temperature at which the cannabinoids cannot survive and are exhausted (destroyed). We will create a separate article in the near future regarding the kill and boiling points of cannabinoids.
Cannabutter
Making cannabutter is an ideal way to use your ABV flower. It’s quite simple to make. You can either use a crockpot or the magic butter maker machine. All you need is equal parts butter and flower. You don’t want to use butter spread for this application – use whole butter (stick butter).
All you need to do is put the butter and ABV flower in the crockpot, turn the heat setting to low and leave it alone for 3 hours. After 3 hours, you use 2 pieces of cheesecloth to strain out the bits of flower. The remaining butter should be a greenish color and should be labeled so others in the home do not use it unless they are cannabis friendly.
Let the butter cool completely before putting it in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. It’ll store for about a month if tightly sealed.
Oil Infusions
Your ABV flower makes great oil infusions. Again, these won’t be potent at all. This requires a low and slow approach just like the cannabutter. You’ll want a heavy saucepot for this to help protect the remaining cannabinoids.
Use a heat tolerant oil like:
- Olive oil
- Walnut oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Canola oil
- Safflower oil
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut oil
You can combine a couple of oils. Coconut is said to have the highest smoke point and best heat tolerance, so combining the coconut oil with another oil, such as olive, walnut or avocado oil, would give you a complex flavor.
Now that you’ve decided on your oils, place your ABV flower into a piece of cheesecloth and tie it with butcher’s twine. You’re making a satchel. For this application, it’s just much easier to put the dry cannabis flower into a satchel since straining hot oil can be dangerous.
Put 1 cup of your chosen oil plus your satchel into the saucepot. Turn the heat to medium low. If you have a candy thermometer, attach it to your pan to monitor the temperature. Try not to let the temperature reach above 180 degrees as it could kill the remainder of the viable cannabinoids in the ABV flower.
You can flavor this oil with fresh herbs, peppercorns, whole spices, cinnamon sticks and smashed but not chopped garlic. These oil infusions can be used in dozens of ways.
Using your ABV Flower Infused Oils:
- Mixed with melted chocolate to make chocolate shell topping for ice cream
- In salad dressings
- As a drizzle on top of pasta
- Finishing oil for soups, protein and side dishes
- As a floater on top of beverages
Get creative with these infused oils. You might want a little cannabis oil on your popcorn – no problem, add some. You can add it to your marinara sauce, pizza, warmed up chips or just dip some good quality bread in it.
ABV Flower Tea
Grab your tea kettle and start a pot of fresh ABV flower tea. You’ll combine equal parts of fresh tea leaves with your ABV flower in your tea infuser (it’s kind of like a screen-line sieve/strainer that closes). Heat your water to your desired temperature. Insert your infuser into your tea cup and pour the hot water over the top.
Leave the infuser in the cup for 5 – 10 minutes.
You can dress up your tea with honey, lemon, CBD honey, cannabis honey, cream or other flavorings.
Closing Thoughts
These are just a few ways that you can use your ABV flower. There are dozens of applications. It isn’t suggested, however, to use the ABV flower by itself. It’ll change the flavor and texture of your food item. It’s best to just infuse it in the different ways that we’ve suggested here. If you have an idea for ABV flower that we’ve not covered, please sharer your preferred uses with us.
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