I’m always on the hunt for the simplest way to incorporate cannabis into my meals. I like my medicated drinks and dishes to be quick and accessible. Because when you need it, you usually need it immediately. It’s one of the reasons why I usually turn to cannabis-infused drinks. Alcohol tinctures are versatile and I can add a few mL’s to any drink already in my fridge with very little prep or fanfare.
Infusing store bought condiments can be just as simple as infusing a homemade soda or one of those ready to drink bottled iced coffees.
With store-bought condiments, you can even infuse with cannaoil or infused butter, instead of an alcohol tincture, depending on the base. And it’s pretty simple to figure out.
First, you need to figure out if your condiment is fat-based or water/vinegar-based. Fat-based condiments (like creamy dressings, sour cream-based dips, hummus, etc) can handle oil or butter infusions and with greater tolerance. Water or vinegar-based condiments (think ketchup, bbq sauce, hot sauce, etc) work best with an alcohol-based tincture.
Water/vinegar-based condiments may take oil but it will be more work and will likely change the condiment a bit too much (it may become too runny or separate). The other thing to keep in mind is that with the alcohol tincture, you have to limit the amount you add because it may affect the flavor too greatly (especially if the tincture has not been evaporated). Everclear based cannabis-tinctures are meant to be used in small amounts. Infusing water and vinegar-based condiments with an alcohol tincture is meant for smaller doses. Think 10-15mg/serving. It’s my recommendation to pair 15mL’s of alcohol tincture to 8-12 ounces of condiment.
Fat-based condiments can take a slightly higher ratio, although you may make the condiment a bit too runny, without affecting the taste too much (outside of a little bit of green flavor). This means you can make slightly more powerful dose options when infusing these types of condiments.
And there’s always the option to make your condiments from scratch and infuse from the jump. You could melt distillate down into some vinegar to make your own infused ketchup with a higher dose/serving. You could make your own infused mayonnaise as a base for a creamy ranch or bleu cheese dressing. Of course, this takes away some of the ease and quickness that infusing store-bought condiments brings.
Learn more about infusing condiments on the latest episode of Pot Lunch.
