Cannabutter Failure

[Ed Brown]

So I tried making cannabutter using the crockpot method. I thought everything went great until I put the liquid in an open tupperware in the refrigerator and left it over night. I woke up expecting to see the butter separated from the water, but it's all mixed in liquid form still...

I'm considering melting more butter and then adding it to the mix to see if it helps. Any thoughts?

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'd have expected it to be floating on top. You did allow the mix to approach room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator, didn't you? Because if you placed it in there while it was still hot, it may just not have cooled enough yet. (And your milk/etc. might have warmed to the point and for a sufficient duration to cause it to go off early, lol, from placing a heat source in a closed and insulated box with it.) Yes, a modern refrigerator interior is an actively-cooled device - but not that actively .

Try sticking it into the freezer for a while. Not long enough to freeze the water, though.

 

[Old Salt]

Some varieties of butter have a large water content and emulsifiers added to keep things mixed. It sounds like you have one of these varieties. I woudn't add more butter to the mix. I'd wait for someone with more experience to validate my next suggestion. My solution would be to put it in a pot, and bring it to a slow boil to evaporate the water. As I said, someone with more experience may have a better solution.

 

[Ed Brown]

I'm pretty sure it was because I didn't use true butter. It was a "buttery spread". I added two sticks of unsalted butter to the mixture and it reformmed into solid butter in no time. I dont feel like the butter is that strong (thc), but I know where I screwed up for next time.

 

[Ed Brown]

I tried again with 2 sticks unsalted butter and it formed just fine. Although using trim requires a large amount of water, so it is not that thick.

 

[Old Salt]

Try clarified unsalted butter (ghee). It's cheaper to make your own than to buy it.

 

[Ed Brown]

Thanks for the tip. I didn't have that much to make though, so it's really not a burden to buy the butter. I was just looking to do something with all the leaves from my grow.

 

[Old Salt]

Are you trying to use the entire leaf, or do you want the cannabinoids and terpines?

If the cannabinoids and terpines, I suggest dry ice extraction for hash. You won't get much of the vegetation. The hash can be used to make cannabutter, or smoked.

 

[Virgin Ground]

I tried again with 2 sticks unsalted butter and it formed just fine. Although using trim requires a large amount of water, so it is not that thick.

Howdy. I clarify my butter, decarb my bud and simmer in a double boiler for 4 hours. I then strain through a reuseable coffee filter. I don't add the water to the bud and ghee. It makes a really potent butter. I'm going to be making some in the coming weeks after I'm done with my harvest.
I can do a tutorial when the time comes. I need to source some lecithin first.

 

[Edzzed]

I tried again with 2 sticks unsalted butter and it formed just fine. Although using trim requires a large amount of water, so it is not that thick.

Whenever I make butter I use Costco salted butter. Last time I use trim, A lot of trim and two pounds of butter. I put the butter in and melted it in the crock pot. Then tossed in a lot of trim. Totally filled the crock pot. I then added boiling water till it came up enough to submerge the trim. Kept stirring to make that happen. Then ever 3 hours gave it a stir. Let it go over nite and in the morning gave it another stir then 3 hours later strained it al out. Ended up with 432 grams of butter. I also use a glass container in the fridge. It won't melt. All in it was 20 hours or so. I am looking forward to sampling it as I have zero idea of it's potency. In all previous butter cookie matings I used 35 grams of flower to 454 grams of butter. That would net me about 140 cookies.