Cooking with hemp oil is a great way to actively promote better health and wellness. If you learn how to cook with CBD oil, you’re finding a way to incorporate the benefits of CBD and hemp into your everyday life. Whether you’re choosing CBD to promote your overall health or your independent research has led you to add it to a treatment regimen, there’s no tastier way to get your daily dose of CBD.
Cooking With Hemp Oil Vs. CBD Oil
Some people think that CBD oil and hemp oil are the same, which isn’t the case. While both are derived from industrial hemp, there are significant differences. Hemp oil comes from either the whole plant or only the seeds of the plant (when it is sometimes referred to as hempseed oil). This yields more oil, but it includes parts of the plant that are not rich in CBD. CBD oil comes only from the stems, leaves, and flowers, the parts of the plant highest in CBD. CBD oil is then standardized to provide a consistent concentration of CBD by adding another oil to it, often MCT, or coconut oil.
Using Hemp Oil With Your Cooking
While in some ways hemp oil is much like making a dish with any oil, in others it differs. Here is some general information to keep in mind.
Make Sure To Use Quality Oil – You already know that the food you get at the grocery store comes in a wide range of conditions and qualities. Even if you don’t buy all-organic, you might prefer some brands over others. They taste better, offer a better texture, or maybe you just feel like the maker is more reputable. Take the same care when choosing the hemp oil you’ll be cooking with. Look for a company you can trust who makes all-natural hemp or CBD oil. It gives you the best product possible with less risk of chemical tastes or low quality to throw off your recipes.
Oil Is A Fat – This seems intuitive, but many would-be cannabis epicures struggle to figure out where to start when they learn to cook with hemp or CBD oil. The easiest way to begin is to substitute for an equal amount of olive, coconut, or vegetable oil. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, just exchange a bit here for a bit there.
Keep It Low – Hemp oil breaks down at a lower temperature than many other foods, so you’ll need to insert it in dishes that are either lower heat or use indirect heat for cooking. If you get above 200℉, terpenes, which are part of the active components in hemp and CBD oils, begin to break down, eroding the benefits you can expect. As you approach its smoke point, which is around 330℉, hemp oil can turn bitter and acrid. This means you might skip using it directly on the grill when cooking steak with hemp oil, but adding it to a nice pasta dish should work out great.
Keep It Slow – Since it’s an oil, CBD is carried best by other fats. Often times, the richest tasting meals are cooked slower to allow the fats time to blend and flavor the dish. Slow cooker favorites like pot roast and baked items like brownies readily accept CBD oil and infuse the entire dish as they cook. Slower cooking also helps avoid the risk of breakdown due to higher heat, as it’s often characterized by lower temperatures.
Blend It In – When you’re cooking with hemp oil, you want to try for as thorough a dispersal as possible. Cooking isn’t about a stack of flavors, but a blending of them. Put in the time to help those flavors combine and you’re in for a treat.
Test Recipes First In A Small Batch – Even the best ideas sometimes fall short on execution. Start with smaller amounts of food to find the right balance of ingredients. Your new version of grandma’s lasagna with all hemp oil may be fabulous, but if it’s not, you want to find out for yourself before having the family over for dinner. Starting small also helps you become more comfortable with how to cook with CBD oil without the pressure of a big meal or bust.
Don’t Over Do It – Whether you’re cooking with hemp oil or CBD oil, respect your ingredients. Especially with CBD oil’s higher concentration of CBD and terpenes, you don’t want to inadvertently take too high of a dose. Decide how much CBD you want to have in a serving, multiply it by the number of servings you expect to get from your meal, then add exactly that amount of CBD oil. If you’re having guests, make sure to inform them beforehand so they can consent to enjoying the benefits of CBD.
Don’t Fake It – Alright, we’re cooking with hemp oil, not drowning food with it. You wouldn’t drench a steak in olive oil after it’s done cooking, so don’t expect great results if you do the same with CBD oil. Remember we’re blending the flavors and infusing the food by cooking it with hemp. There are times to use uncooked hemp oil for food preparation, such as in smoothies or dressing salads, but beyond that, add it to the recipe.
Make Food That Promotes Your Wellness
Knowing how to cook with hemp and CBD oil is a great skill for anyone interested in a happier, healthier lifestyle. Cooking with hemp oil is fun, easy to get the hang of, and you get to eat your delicious experiments. Order your high-quality CBD products online from Core CBD today.
