Over the past 15 years, I’ve tried making homemade edibles a handful of times, mostly space cakes. I’ve followed a few different tutorials, and while some batches turned out great, the results have always been far too inconsistent. Sometimes they’re weak, sometimes they’re incredibly strong, and I’ve never managed to develop a process I can fully trust.
At this point, I’d rather stop relying on random tutorials and learn from people who have already spent years refining their own methods.
I’ve been wondering what the best route really is:
Cannabutter?
RSO?
Another type of infusion or extract?
At one point I even considered buying a rosin press to make concentrates specifically for edibles, but after seeing the price of decent presses, I decided it wasn’t worth it.
For context, I mainly dry herb vape my flower. While I much prefer vaping over smoking, I still feel like inhaling anything still irritates my lungs. I’m not looking to quit THC—I simply want to shift part of my consumption toward edibles and have something that’s reliable, enjoyable, and easier on my lungs.
I’d also love to make small gummies or candies instead of brownies or cakes. Eating an entire slice of cake every time isn’t very practical, and having small, consistently dosed edibles sounds much more appealing.
I’m not looking for another recipe copied from Google. I’d really like advice from people who have gone through years of trial and error and now have a process they completely trust.
If you’ve reached that point, I’d love to hear:
What method you settled on and why.
How you achieve consistent potency and dosing.
Whether you think RSO, cannabutter, infused oil, or another method is the best long-term approach.
Any lessons that took you years to learn.
And if you make gummies or candies, I’d be especially interested in your process.
Thanks in advance—I really appreciate any advice from people who have already put in the time and experience.
Been doing edibles for about six years. Started by doing my own extractions and reductions after some tutoring from Psychedelic Sam. After feedback from my group we incorporated color remediation to get rid of the “plant” taste. From there we moved away from batch edibles. People were having problems with dosing, one side of the pan being dosed and the other side not so much. Using emulsifiers can help in situations like gummies. A binder helps but you have to get a good mix. Lots of separation in the gummies goes back to the emulsification.
We worked on infused simple syrup which became the number one request by far. Predictable, easy to dose in just about any circumstance. Sam shared his secret about using xanthan gum to bind the sugar water and cannabis oil. Some mystery guy popped into the conversation once or twice and recommended 210S which is a blend of Xanthan (90%) and Gum Arabic (10%). This product is 210S - Modernist Pantry, LLC This blend of gums gives the syrup the ability to mix into hot and cold drinks. For very cold drinks and carbonation it needs a little thinning in order to mix seamlessly with as little agitation as possible. Dosing right now for me is 40-50mg in a half TEAspoon of infused syrup. Goes into morning coffee. I get the caffeine and thc hit all at once so best to be doing some type of work.
As long as you don’t get near that 314f (157c) THC evaporation point when making edibles you can pretty much infuse anything. We were making infused blueberry and green apple gel spheres to put into vodka and tequila cocktails.
Nano emulsification is a really interesting concept, if you don´t mind to invest some money to buy an ultrasonic homogenizer. It is possible to create a nano emulsion with olive oil and / or coconut oil (not MCT), liquid soy lecithin for the oil phase and water with glycerin as a co emulsifier in the water phase. Do not heat the mixture to more than 60°C (140F) because of the glycerin as a co emulsifier. The used extract should be free of plant fats and lipids (extract can be cleaned by winterisation) if the goal is to produce a stable nano emulsion. For gummies the emulsion does not need to be stable if it is processed right away. The Nano emulsion stores best at room temp, storing it in the fridge speeds up the ostwald ripening so the phases might separate faster.
This company makes sonicators too. They are around $2500 last time I checked. May be able to find one in the $500 range but have to confirm it is a sonicator, not just a high speed hand mixer being passed off as a sonicator.
Some of these dealer/distributors like Ali do not regulate how people advertise merchandise. So a lot of inaccurate listings, sometimes straight out lies, make purchasing a gamble. It takes several months of researching and trying to find reviews for the manufacturer and the retailer. This is for medical so there is no compromise or guessing. Some of the mixers advertise sonication but do not have the ability, just high speed hand mixers.
Right now the syrup I make hits in about 30-45 minutes, not sure why but the effects are also lighter and last about 6 hours. Probably something to do with uptake and metabolism.
After lots of edibles in every form I have found the base syrup to be the best edible. It can be added to a lot of different foods easily. People carry it in the little rso syringes and add it as needed.
Dude I use the magic butter machine. It make perfect infusions. I do olive oil. You can find a dosage calculator online to determine how strong you wanna make it. It makes it really easy. I grow my own herb. Think I had tested at the lab so things are spot on every time. You know what you’re getting you can also do lotion and salves. Oh yeah, and gummy’s too it’s super easy to use and makes the best medicine. Here’s the link. See if you can find a used one I picked one up used once for $75 and I’ve been using it for the past five years. I would, however, paid the full price without blinking.
I make hard candies using RSO. Hard candy has a long shelf life. Can last over a year if kept in fridge. RSO is just easier than using buds. No need to decarboxylate. No need to heat soak for hours.
I clarify the butter using a mini crock pot. Add between 1-3 grams RSO (as strong as your preference) and mix well. Use buddah in recipe. I use lecithin as an emulsifier. Makes about 100 small candies with the molds I have.
I use this one from Troy’s site for coconut oil works great couple of Teaspoons in a cup of coffee or hot chocolate or I just eat it and Im good. Super easy too. Making Canna Oil with ABV/AVB - 420 VapeZone
I agree its better to get medical grade equipment. The device i linked on ali can process up to 100ml but you are right what someone gets depends on the vendor and also its important to get the right ultrasonic probe.
If it was recreational then it would be easier to take a chance. Most of the people interested in nano emulsion on my end are dealing with chronic issues, lots of pain. Having the ability for fast onset to help with episodic symptoms would help management. The corporate end of cannabis has developed a fast onset process which is trademarked and is NOT nano emulsion. Outside of that they are doing very little for the community and even that advancement is overpriced and out of reach for most medical users.
I’ve tried a lot of oils and a few techniques and this is what I usually do. Homegrown to table.
I do 2oz flower into 2 cups of oil.
I like 3/4 coconut oil & 1/4 mct infusion, it makes for a more pliable, spreadable product. I use refined coconut oil and Amazon basics MCT oil.
I grind my weed and decarb it at 240F for 40mins. I keep the weed pile about 1/2 inch or so. I find if you go to thin it gets a bit toasty.
Infuse on the stove top with about equal parts water and oil with the decarbed weed. Simmer for 2 hours, checking every 15 mins or so to stir and make sure the water level is ok. You can always add more water.
Strain. I do a water wash which really helps remove the taste, but completely optional. Either way let cool and once room temperature put the mix in the fridge. The coconut oil will solidify on the top and the water underneath. Drain off the water. If you have a good lid on your container you can refrigerate it upside down and when you flip it to drain it, the water will be on top.
I melt that solid puck on a double boiler and add 1 tbs of liquid soy letchin per cup of oil and give that a good whisk. Let cool and then pour into molds or final jars and refrigerate.
I’ve been back and forth on soy letchin, but have settled on using it.
This is pretty versatile and about 90mg a tsp. I can take it straight with coffee as a chaser. Spread it on anything or coconut oil works in a lot of recipes including ice creams.
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar to 1 cup (240 grams) of water.
Keep a small brush and bowl of water on the side.
Bring water and sugar to a rolling boil then reduce to simmer. Take the brush and wet it with the water. Dab the sides of the pan all the way around about an inch above the waterline. This will prevent crystallization. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes repeating the water dab at the 5 minute mark and once more at 10 minutes after you shut off the heat. Very easy.
Some caution, you are working with hot syrup so be careful. You need gums to bind the cannabis oil to the sugar water. 210S - Modernist Pantry, LLC If you don’t want to use this then use a mix of xanthan gum (90%) and gum Arabic (10%). I add 2 grams of 210S to the syrup in the pot and blend with a hand mixer. You need to thrash it for about 30 seconds to get a good emulsion. Put the rso in a separate container that is big enough to handle a hand mixer. I use a large beaker. Pour the hot gum and syrup mix in with the rso and give it a good mix. You want even distribution and suspension. Make sure the mixer has a good coating of the gums and syrup before pouring it into the rso. Helps keep most of the rso from sticking to the mixer.
Pics would help a lot here but it’s not an option.
In my opinion it is not always necessary to get a bigger sonicator, it just takes a little longer to process. For example It takes between 7min and 15min depending on the setting to produce 100ml of emulsion. If thats to much manual work i think there are better options than buying a bigger device. Its possible to build or buy a setup where the water phase gets pumped around while the oil phase is injected under the ultrasonic probe. Its easier and faster to produce small amounts at a time than a huge batch.
Being able to process more would be beneficial but I have no way of knowing what size I need. The requests grow daily and are outpacing our processing ability. We will be trying known recipes to gauge effectiveness and a lot of them are 400ml or more. Time is a major issue so breaking down batches of base syrup would be cumbersome, messy and time consuming. Your thought process makes sense but there are only a few of us handling everything. Trying to find a happy middle ground.
Full disclosure, this is all new to me. Been researching for a couple of years and feel comfortable taking a chance. Final hurdle is the right tool for the job. Thanks for the input, it helps a lot.
Edit: I should explain that we travel to patients and teach them how to make their own medicine. Their ingredients and our guidance, we cover any shortfalls.
