Ever wonder how CBD oil is made? Companies usually use quite a bit of specific lab equipment to cook up their concoctions, but I’m going to share some secrets to help you make it yourself! The quality of just about every product starts with the hemp that you’re using. Make sure to buy some certified hemp with a nice balance of cannabinoids. If you start with a great product, you end up with a great product. It’s as simple as that! For this recipe all you’ll need is hemp, a slow cooker, cheesecloth (or other straining method), and an oil of your choice. I recommend using MCT oil, avocado oil, or hemp oil.
1. Start by chopping or grinding your hemp into smaller pieces, and drop it into your slow cooker.
2. Add some of your desired oil into the slow cooker and make sure you fully cover your hemp.
3. Put the cover on and set to low.
4. Let it be for about 2 hours, and wait for it to get to about 175 degrees F (should be the final processing temperature at the low setting) If your slow cooker doesn’t show temperature, use a thermometer to make sure you’re at 175.
4. Stir your mixture and make sure to keep doing so every four to five hours (this is the hard part seeing as this takes about 24 hours to fully immerse). Keep in mind that you want to make sure the lid is on for as much time as possible. Terpenes can escape through the air so your slow cooker lid is very important in this process.
5. Leave the cooker on overnight. Don’t worry about waking up to stir, just make sure when you do wake up in the morning to give it some movement.
6. After your 24 hour period is over, unplug your slow cooker and allow the oil to cool for a few hours.
7. Once it’s back to room temperature, strain the oil through a cheesecloth into a glass jar. If you’re using it as a tincture, you can either use a dropper in your glass jar, or transfer it to a smaller dropper bottle. If you’re using it for cooking, store as is.
8. You’re all done! Store in a cool, dry, dark area and use over the next 6 months for best results!
If you’re interested in experimenting with this recipe, try a couple times using different amounts of hemp and oil. To make a super concentrated oil, use more hemp and less oil… and vice a versa. It’s much harder with a homemade product to figure out exactly how many milligrams of CBD you’re getting with each dose, but with more experimentation it gets easier and easier to figure out. Happy cooking!