Updated: January 25, 2024 - Found a better dose calculator!
The THC Dose Calculator is generously provided by https://www.scientificedibles.com/
Rosin Chips/bags. What the hell do you do with your rosin chips/bags? Well. I was in the same boat as you. I had no clue what to do with these pesky chips/bags. I mean, they looked both used up and like they still could offer up some more nectar and on top of that, they.still smelled pretty damn good. Especially the rosin bags. What to do?
Make rosin chip/bag mct oil, coconut oil or rosin butter! What else?! Save those rosin bags! Especially if you are using a hair straightener, not to offend, but the pressure you can offer leaves considerable rosin in those chips. If you use a high pressure press, then it is still worth it to make butter/oil, but you have to use a lot of rosin bags... a lot.
NOTE: You can use your choice of delivery oils, be it butter or your choice of oil. Just substitute it 1:1 with wherever it says “butter”
You hair straightener users (I was one as well at one time) have got it made for high potency butter from your chips! Shop press owners, save those used rosin bags!
It is best to use rosin bags for this recipe. You can use chips but it is very bad way to do this. When done the bags will look bone white again as the rosin has been cleaned from the edges of the bags. Just toss them out once you have squeezed all the butter/oil from them when you are done cooking.
Some points to keep in mind about water:
- Water will boil before the oil will boil (butter). If you add water to the oil, it can and will pull chlorophyll out of the plant material causing your oil to take on the "green" you see in so many cooks. It does not have to be this way. It adds a grass taste to the oil. Keep water out of the oil. Oils do boil AFTER water boils. Coconut boils at about 177C or 350F. Go here to see the smoke point of most oils.
- If you add water to your butter/oil while cooking you will force water, by passive capillary action, into the fibers of the plant ..before the oil has a chance to get there. Basically the plant material will soak up water, while the oil medium you are using to extract with, is being impeded by this passive capillary water action. Simple science.
- Water will be used later on to 'wash the butter'.
Materials Needed:
- Large Pyrex bowl that fits the large pot like a double boiler
- Large Pot that also fits that large Pyrex bowl ..again like a double boiler
- 1 sq. yd. of Cheese cloth, more than you need, but handy to have around.
- Unsalted and clarified butter OR your choice of oil. Do not used salted butter. You are trying to keep salts from the plant, out of your oil. Why insert salts into the mix?
- Rosin Chips OR Rosin puck with the bags still on them (best way to do this is with the used rosin bags.). I suggest a minimum of 10-12 oz of used rosin BAGS to 1 lb of butter or 2 cups of an oil of your choice. This is POTENT, put you to bed potent.
- Adjust accordingly to suit your needs.
- You need a bit of patience as the washing part can take a few hours. .maybe, read on to find out in the "washing" section.
Decarbing is debatable. The material has already been heated once under pressure. I would suggest not decarbing the bags. You are removing the left over rosin from the bags, you don't want it to re-melt while in the oven ..big mess.
How to Decarb Rosin Bags :
You Don't
The Cook:
Set the Pyrex bowl into the pot of boiling water. It should sit so that it acts like a double boiler. If you do not know what a double boiler is, google it. Add the oil and heat the oil until it is hot but not boiling. and add the bags to the Pyrex bowl. Making sure that the oil just covers the bags. If it looks like a golden tea after the cook is done ..success!
The water should be high enough, so that the water is touching at least 1/2 of the way up the side of the contents of that Pyrex bowl (the bags and oil/butter). You do not want the oil to boil or bubble, that's the waters job that's under that Pyrex bowl.. I suggest a setting of 3-4 on the stove for heat, but your stove will be different than mine ..adjust accordingly. You want the oil hot, just shy of boiling, which means the water in the pot must be adjusted to the proper boiling temp. Granted some boiling/bubbles in the oil/butter will happen while cooking. Just try to keep it to a minimum!
Notice I keep saying pyrex bowl instead of just glass bowl. Take the hint please! Use a heat resistant bowl only!
DO NOT remove the material from the bags! Leave them as they are.
DO NOT cut off the bags. Throw the entire rosin puck / bag into the oil.
Monitor this, making sure the oil does not bubble or boil too much. DO NOT add water to this cooking oil. Let the oil and bags simmer for about 15 mins or so for each batch of bags. You only have to keep the bags in the oil until the bags are bone white again (like new). Once they are clean take them out and 'drip dry" them in a stainless steel strainer over a bowl to collect the oils off the bags. Repeat this until all bags are done.
Keep the water level up. Water must always be in contact with the cooking surface of the Pyrex bowl. Again, as much as you have been told it is good to add water to the oil, well you have been lied to, multiple times, by many people. Do NOT add water to the oil while it is cooking.
The Squeeze:
How do you know you are done cooking?
Ok, it has cooked for about 15 mins or so and you can see that the bags are for all intents back to the bone white color they were when new. When you see this, they are done. All the rosin left in the bags is now in the oil and it is time to let the bags 'drip dry' in a stainless steel strainer over a collection bowl. Repeat this for each round of bags you cook.
Once the oil has cooled enough so that you will not burn yourself, run the oil through some cheese cloth as well to get out any particles that may still be in the oil.
You may want to wear some nitrile gloves or something at this point.
Fold the cheesecloth several times so that you have at least 3-4 layers of cloth, put this over a wire strainer and put in any leftover oil from the bowl. Making sure it is cool enough and strain the oil through the cheese cloth
Once the bags have drip dried enough you can just toss the bags away.
Wring our the cheese cloth the best you can and once you have gotten all the oil out that you can, then just toss the entire thing into the garbage. It has done its part and can not be reused again. Be aware, do NOT burn yourself. Cook smart!
NOW we add the water
The Wash:
THIS SHOULD ONLY BE DONE IF THE OIL CAN GET HARD IN THE FRIDGE LIKE COCONUT OIL OR ACTUAL BUTTER. YOU SHOULD NOT WASH AN OIL THAT DOES NOT GET HARD WHEN COLD. IT IS A REAL PAIN SEPARATING THE OIL FROM THE WATER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Once you have strained and FILTERED out ALL the particulate matter out of the oil, put the oil in a clear bottom glass container that can hold 4x the amount of oil you have. Pour the oil into this container then add twice as much cool tap water as you have oil (bottled water is fine as well if your area has crappy water). Give it a mix with a spoon. And put it back on the stove on LOW HEAT. Do not let it boil. It can simmer for 5 mins and just stir it a lot. Take it off the heat when it is hot, but not boiling and strain it again through cheesecloth into that clean bowl. Water and all. Put it in the fridge or freezer to harden. Don't let the water freeze.
Once the oil/butter has hardened, you can drain the water. It looks dirty and smells (to me) like rotten green grass. Toss it out. GENTLY re-melt the butter on LOW heat (no microwaves!!!) until it is oil again. Add clean water and simmer GENTLY for about 5 mins ..stirring often. Put it back in the glass container and put it back in the fridge.
Keep doing this until the water is clear and no smell. If it is clear, BUT the water still smells 'green', wash it again. Repeat this until the smell is acceptable to you. It should be VERY low key at this point. The butter/oil should have a dull gold look to it.
You have just washed some butter. Basically what you have done is extract a great deal of bad color (chlorophyll) out of the butter, by using water AFTER you are done cooking. You have gotten rid of no small part of that nasty "green flavour" from the butter. Oh it's still there, but 50 - 90% reduced. If you had used water while cooking, it would have done the opposite. It would have forced more 'green' into the oils flavor profile.
You can now cooked with this butter/oil and it is way easier to hide that "green flavour" with other cooking flavours like peanut butter or chocolate...or both! Enjoy.
THE END.
P.S.
These cookies will be hard as a rock once they cool and sit for a day or so. This is because you just dumped a whack of rosin into that cookie and it ‘set hard’ after cooking for 7 mins or so in the oven at cookie cooking temps. Do not be sad. 10-15 sec or less in the microwave will make them new!
Remember, you just cooked rosin bags with maybe ..maybe 1- 2% rosin oils left in the bags ..maybe. Doesn't sound like much does it? Start slow, Eat a couple. Wait 2-3 hours. Eat 2 more and so on. So, it could take more than 1 or 2 cookies, depending on your tolerance. Find the level you want, but be smart. Do not be like me and eat 14 cookies at one sitting...all at once. They just tasted SO good with milk right out of the oven. I slept for 2 days and nights. Best rest of my life.
This is an original recipe from the cookbook of CannaPlates, please pass that along, when sharing this with friends. Thanks!