From rich, infused butter to delicious cookies and sweet treats, you’d be surprised about the number of things you can cook using CBD or CBD oil. This is a great way to sharpen your culinary skills while also ensuring that you’re enjoying the many well-documented benefits of CBD products.
However, if this is something you’ve never done before or are known among your friend group for kitchen-related disasters, it can be hard to know where to start. Fortunately, it's something that we are experts in!
Read on to discover some top tips for cooking with CBD!
What are the benefits of CBD?
There are a wide range of benefits associated with consuming or using CBD products. For example, they can help with rest, relaxation and recovery, helping to alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety. On a similar note, they can also help you to improve your sleeping habits, ensuring that sleepless nights become a thing of the past and you’re more likely to wake up on the good side of the bed.
CBD is also revolutionizing the skincare industry due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and moisturizing properties. This means that it can help you to restore your skin’s natural glow while also dealing with any skincare complaints that you may be dealing with.
Last (but not least), CBD can also help with exercise or fitness recovery.
As such, if you’re currently looking for ways to introduce CBD into your routine, you aren’t alone. In fact, 20% of adults in the US currently use some form of CBD, with many choosing to cook.
Why cook with CBD in the first place?
It goes without saying that there are plenty of ways to use CBD that don’t require a lot of time and effort. This includes capsules and gummies, to name just a few.
However, when you consume CBD with your food, it is digested and absorbed at a much slower rate. This is because it needs to be metabolized in your liver before you begin to feel the effects. For this reason, if you don’t need immediate relief, consuming CBD is a great way to get the benefits you are craving.
In addition to this, while many people enjoy the benefits of CBD, the taste is not for everyone. Mixing it into your food can help to mask this, making the process of consuming CBD much more enjoyable.
Finally, cooking with CBD can be a lot of fun!
What Kind of CBD is Good for Cooking?
It goes without saying that some forms of CBD are better for cooking than others. For example, you’re unlikely to want to add gummies or capsules to your favorite recipes. Generally speaking, you have two options to choose from here:
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CBD Isolate
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CBD Oil
CBD Isolate
CBD Isolate comes in two forms: powder or small crystals of pure CBD. For this reason, both products are easy to incorporate in a range of recipes. For example, you could blend this into your morning smoothie or even add it to a delicious homemade soup. Generally speaking, this is a little harder to get hold of than CBD oil.
CBD Oil
The majority of CBD chefs use CBD oil. This is because it is incredibly versatile, which means that it can be used in both sweet and savory dishes without becoming too overpowering. For example, it can be added to baked goods or even used to saute a peice of chicken or fish. There are endless options out there, so be sure to try out as many as you can.
A little research will bring up tonnes of recipes to try out. However, don’t be afraid to experiment and put your creativity (and culinary process) to the test!
Getting Started
There are many things that you must take into consideration before you start cooking with CBD.
CBD Serving Size. For example, you should be cautious about the amount of product you are using (the serving size). While you do not have to worry about any psychoactive effects when using CBD, you should still be sure to keep a close eye on your supplement consumption.
Flavor. Avoiding being too frivolous when using CBD when cooking also ensures that the flavor does not overwhelm the dish. Remember, it should be an accompaniment to your recipe, not the star. For this reason, it is often advised that you start with a smaller amount, especially when cooking with CBD for the first time. You can always adjust or increase this over time.
On a similar note, you should also pay close attention to the products you are mixing your CBD oil with. CBD oil has a strong, earthy flavor, which can quickly be overpowering if it isn’t paired with the right ingredients. That’s typically when cookies and booked goods are the number #1 product made using CBD oil; the sweetness can help to reduce bitterness.
Portion size. When you are first starting out with cooking with CBD, focus on making smaller batches of food. Doing so means that you do not feel as though you’ve wasted CBD on dishes that didn’t turn out quite as planned. Similarly, if you enjoy the fruits of your labor, you can always make a bigger portion/batch next time!
Distribution. Make sure you mix all of your ingredients together well. This ensures that your CBD is evenly distributed so that every bite of your meal or sweet treat contains a similar amount of CBD.
Temperature. When preparing food that needs to be heated, it is important to remember that when it reaches around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, it will start to evaporate. This reduces the potency of the oil and any benefits you will glean from this. It can also draw out bitterness from your oils’ flavor profile, making it too overpowering.
Keeping the above information in mind when cooking or baking will help to ensure you get the best possible results when cooking with CBD. However, it is also important to remember that practice makes perfect. This means that it may take you a few trials (or fails) before you find the perfect measurement of CBD or the best recipes to add CBD to. Don’t be disheartened; it happens to the best of us.
What Can I Cook with CBD?
The truth is, you can cook whatever you want with CBD.
From caramel-soaked banana bread to a healthy fruit smoothie, you can add CBD oil to a wide range of recipes. As mentioned above, this is a great way to enjoy the benefits of CBD, while also strengthening your culinary skills. This means that you’ll become a master baker (or chef) in no time!
As CBD oil tends to pair best with sweet dishes, you may want to use this as your starting ground. For example, you could add a few drops to your tried-and-tested cookie recipe or mix it into cake batter.
You’ll likely find that the more time you spend cooking with CBD, you’ll get a little braver and more experimental. For example, you may start to add the oil to salad dressing, sauces, bread, guacamole, or even drinks. The options are endless, and you’ll likely have a lot of fun putting your imagination to the test!
What CBD Oil Should I Use?
It goes without saying that choosing the right CBD Oil is important. This can have an impact on everything from the potency of the dish you create to the overall flavor profile.
Generally speaking, the more refined your choice of oil, the lower the chances of your recipe being overpowered by an earthy CBD flavor that some people find unpleasant. However, if this is something that you enjoy, you can afford to use a lower-potency oil. In this case, the oil is best paired with a savory dish, such as a herby bread or casserole.
At Direct CBD Online, we stock a wide range of CBD products that pair perfectly with any recipe. Here, you can choose between flavored or non-flavored products from your favorite brands, all of which will be delivered directly to your door.