Easy Infused Cannabis Milk or Cream

Features

• An easy step-by-step guide
• Options for infusing milk or cream
• Tips and tricks so you get it right the first time
• Vegan, vegetarian, plant-based alternative available

Why You Will Love This Recipe

I've had many members in my Well With Cannabis Community ask about infusing milk or cream.

After trying it myself, I am pleasantly surprised at how awesome and versatile this recipe is.

It can definitely be added to your repertoire as a staple recipe used as the base to make many other infused creations like ice cream, coffee creamer, and more.

With simple instructions, this guide also includes helpful tips and tricks to help you make the best cannamilk possible, along with some delicious recipes to use it in.

Ingredient Notes

• Milk or Cream: Remember, the higher the fat content, the better. Full-fat milk or heavy cream is best. Do not try to infuse fat-free milk. For a vegan alternative, full-fat coconut milk works.
• Cannabis Flowers - You will need your desired amount of cannabis flowers, ranging from 3.5 grams up to 1 ounce. Choose THC, CBD, or CBG dominant flowers. You can purchase them from my online shop here.
  

Note: a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions is located in the recipe card below.

The Step-by-Step Process

• Step 1: Choose how strong you want your cannabis milk based on the recommendations below. Combine the decarbed cannabis and milk or cream in a saucepan. Place over low heat.
• Step 2: Heat to 165°F, very slowly over time. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Step 3: Strain the infused milk through a coffee filter or other strainer.
• Step 4: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Note: a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions is located in the recipe card below.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

• Digital Thermometer
• 2-Quart Saucepan
• Silicone Spatula
• Mason Jars
• Small Funnel
• Coffee Filters

Milk or Cream?

This process for infusion will work for both full-fat milk and cream.

It is up to you to determine what one you want to use based on your final desired use or use in a recipe.

If you're planning on making drinks like my cozy cannabis chai latte or cannabis pumpkin spice latte, simple full-fat milk will do.

If you plan on infusing richer recipes, like coffee creamer or ice cream, a cream option like heavy cream will be better.

Both of these options will require you to think about how strong you want your final dosage, as this will impact how much cannabis flower you add to the recipe.

We will discuss how much cannabis you should use in the section below.

DO NOT USE FAT-FREE MILK

I recommend full-fat milk or heavy cream for this recipe. I do not recommend using fat-free milk, or other fat-free plant-based milk like almond milk.

This means that using full-fat milk will make this recipe up to 2.5-3 times more potent than choosing a fat-free milk alternative.

For those looking for the intoxicating benefits of THC, the more fat in the milk or cream, the better.

Coconut Milk For A Dairy-Free Alternative

If traditional dairy products like milk and cream aren't for you, my recommended alternative would be full-fat coconut milk.

Full-fat coconut milk contains a lot of the type of fat we want to bond to our cannabinoids.

I do not recommend using any other dairy-free milk alternative such as almond milk or soy milk because they do not contain enough fat, or may contain other unwanted ingredients.

Start With Decarbed Cannabis

If you're a seasoned cannabis consumer, you may already know this, but you're going to want to start with decarbed cannabis for this recipe.

Without decarboxylation, you will not experience the full range of activated cannabinoids such as THC or CBD.

If you've never gone through the process before, have no fear, decarbing really is simple.

Should You Grind First?

I do not recommend grinding the decarbed cannabis before adding it to the milk to infuse for a few reasons.

The first reason is that when you grind the cannabis in a grinder, you will be leaving behind many of the trichomes (the part that contains the CBD or THC) in the grinder itself, thus limiting your potency.

The second reason is that grinding breaks down the plant matter into smaller pieces.

This is not desirable as it allows for more chlorophyll, or green plant matter and taste, to seep into your infusion.

For the best, most mild-tasting cannabis milk, do not grind the flower before adding to the saucepan.

Instead of grinding, gently break up to buds with your hands into small, popcorn-sized pieces, and use those to simmer with the milk or cream.

How to Heat Milk Without Curdling

Milk and cream are made of three things: butterfat, proteins, and water.

When milk is boiled or reaches past 212°F, the three components of the emulsion break apart in a very unappetizing way.

The milk proteins coagulate and separate from the water, producing what is commonly known as curdled milk.

We want to avoid curdled milk at all costs when making our homemade cannabis milk.

The best way to prevent milk from curdling is to use a digital instant-read thermometer to ensure your milk temperature never gets to 212°F.

It's important to note that milk can also curdle if it reaches too high of a temperature too quickly, even if it doesn't reach 212°F.

That is why it is very important to follow the directions below to heat the milk up slowly over time.

Excessive heat or heating too fast can also result in a scorched flavor or a film of protein on the top of the milk. Your patience will be rewarded here.

Cream Won't Curdle Like Milk

Because cream, like heavy cream, has a higher fat content than milk, it is not as likely to curdle.

What About Scalded Milk

Scalding milk is a bit different than curdling milk. Milk scalds at 170°F.

At this temperature, bacteria are killed, enzymes in the milk are destroyed, and many of the proteins are denatured.

Older recipes used to call for purposely scalded milk to kill bacteria and an enzyme that prevented thickening in recipes.

Today, most milk is pasteurized, so the bacteria and enzymes are already gone. 

While this won't alter the consistency of the milk, we will still be keeping our cooking temperature below 170°F to prevent both scalding and curdling.

How Much Cannabis Should I Use in This Recipe?

Perhaps the most important part of making this recipe is understanding how to dose it properly.

While I typically recommend consumers choose how much cannabis to use based on their own personal tolerances, it's important to note that with this recipe, less is more.

If you plan to drink a full cup of cannabis milk, you're going to be consuming a large volume of 8 fluid ounces.

In contrast, if you plan to drink a teaspoon in your morning coffee, you're only consuming a very tiny amount.

First, decide how you intend to consume this cannabis milk, and then follow the dosing recommendations below.

For Those Who Plan To Drink a Full Cup in One Serving

Emily - why are you starting with such a small amount of cannabis in this recipe at 0.5 grams?

Many of my Well With Cannabis Community members are used to making heavy, more potent batches of oil and butter with up to an ounce (28 grams) of cannabis flower.

This makes a strong butter or oil, but typically you're only using, on average, a teaspoon at a time.

If you plan on drinking one full cup of this milk, the volume used is going to be very different than oil.

For reference, there are 48 teaspoons in one cup.

To prevent consuming too much CBD or THC in one sitting, you're going to want to microdose the amount of cannabis used in the recipe.

So, for example, if you used the 0.5 grams as called for in this recipe, and if it were an average of 20% THC, you would get 25mg per cup of milk.

0.5 grams of 20% THC cannabis in 4 cups of milk = 100mg.

This recipe serves 4, so divided by 4 cups of milk = 25mg per 1 cup serving.

Please note, these numbers will vary based on the potency of your starting flower; 20% is just an average number used here for examples.

You can use our edible dosage calculator here to get more precise numbers if you know the percent THC of your flower.

For Those Who Plan To Use a Teaspoon As One Serving

If you used the same ratio above but only used a single teaspoon of milk or cream in a cup of coffee or tea, you would only get 0.52mg THC per serving.

For many people, that's not enough.

To get closer to 10-15mg or even 25mg of THC per teaspoon, you're going to want to increase the amount of cannabis flower used, or decrease the amount of milk or cream used - or both.

So, for example, if you used 10 grams of flower in this recipe, and if it were an average of 20% THC, you would get 10.42mg per teaspoon of milk.

10 grams of 20% THC cannabis in 4 cups of milk = 2,000mg.

This recipe serves 4, so divided by 4 cups of milk = 500mg per 1 cup serving (too much for some people!)

500mg per 1 cup serving divided by 48 teaspoons in a cup = 10.42mg per teaspoon.

Please note, these numbers will vary based on the potency of your starting flower; 20% is just an average number used here for examples.

You can use our edible dosage calculator here to get more precise numbers if you know the percent THC of your flower.

How to Determine The Dosing

Want to get a more accurate guesstimate of the potency of your cannabis infusions and extractions? Try our popular edibles calculator!

Not sure what your perfect dose is? Learn more here.

How to Strain The Milk

After the infusion process has taken place, the next step is to strain the plant matter from the milk itself.

This process can be a bit tricky because of the hot nature of the milk.

To strain, we simply poured the infused milk through a coffee filter nestled inside a small funnel over a mason jar.

Depending on the size of your mason jar, you may need two to hold the entire 4 cups.

Other helpful straining methods include using a French press to separate the plant matter from the milk.

Save The Leftover Pulp

I do think the pulp would be worth saving in this recipe because of the shorter cook time.

Shorter infusion times mean more opportunity for cannabinoids to remain bonded to the leftover plant material.

You can check out this list of 15 ways to repurpose your leftover cannabis pulp for some great ideas on how to use it up.

My Edibles Made Easy Online Cooking Course will teach you how to easily make cannabis edibles and topical recipes at home. This step-by-step video course will teach you how to infuse, extract, and create edibles with many different product types - all from the comfort of your own home.

Learn more and enroll today →