World Class Chefs are Experimenting with Cannabis in New and Exciting Ways

ate night drives to Taco Bell, pot brownies and Funyuns are
usually what come to mind when we think of food and cannabis. However, according
to a new report by the New York Times,
chefs are starting to experiment with cannabis as a valid (and lucrative) ingredient.

Colorado, with their 160 edible cannabis licenses, is
leading the trend with accomplished line cooks leaving esteemed restaurants in
favor of infusing cannabis into fare and libations.

Twenty- three states have legalized medical cannabis, but
only four states– Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado – permit
recreational sales. Luckily for Washington residents, they’ll soon house a new bakery in Seattle
dedicated to, presumably, quite wealthy customers who have *ahem* some refined
taste.

Distributors of edibles often instruct people to start with
10 milligrams or less. Batter-based dishes with high fat content like cakes and
brownies are easier for controlling dosages, while savory dishes provide more
of a challenge.

Karin Lazarus, who New
York Magazine has dubbed “the Martha Stewart of weed baking,” is publishing a recipe book called “Sweet Mary Jane: 75 Delicious Cannabis-Infused High-End
Desserts”.  Due to the government
prohibiting dosed food at work, the Colorado-based baker makes the recipes
without cannabis first, later adding THC infused sugar, oil or butter.
Currently, her products are only for medicinal purposes – which allow higher
doses, but after January the new law requires that edibles only contain 100
milligrams total.

The biggest obstacle facing cannabis chefs is regulating how
high people get, and ensuring the food is actually delicious. Then again, trendy foods like Kale aren’t
naturally tasty either, but have managed to gain a foothold within the culinary
world and on the palates of patrons.

“From my very limited experience with edibles, the flavor is
pretty awful,” says Chicago-based experimental chef, Grant Achatz.

But some proponents argue that Cannabis can be tasty
depending on the strain. Melissa Parks, VP of product development for Nutritional High International, began
cooking with cannabis to help a friend with cancer: “There are dozens of
strains and some might smell like lemon grass or strawberry or sage or
wheatgrass.” Parks has created recipes
like cannabis-infused black pepper biscuits, butternut squash soup and sausage
marinara.

With the increase of cannabis legalization, it’s no
surprise that THC is making its way into mainstream culinary confections. In fact, Ken Albala, director of the food studies
program at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco believes,  “It really won’t be long until it becomes part of
haute cuisine and part of respectable culinary culture, instead of just an illegal
doobie in the backyard,”