Freezing Edibles 101: Keep Delicious Infused Foods Fresh

Marge (00:00:07) - Hi, friends. Another week, another episode, and this week we're talking about freezing edibles. Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles where I help you take control of your life. I'm your host and Certified Ganjier, Marge, and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here. And thank you for joining me today. Welcome back, friends. Thank you for being here. I hope is you're listening to this. You are in a good place. You've got some great edibles either in your belly or in your fridge or freezer. We're going to be talking about freezing those edibles today. If this is the first time you're joining me, thank you for being here. I hope you enjoy the show. I'd like to keep them short and sweet so you can slide them in between your other favorite podcasts, long form podcasts, which I also enjoy as well. And if you've been listening for a long time, thank you so much for being a supporter of the show.

Marge (00:00:58) - Now let's get to it before we get into the tips and tricks for freezing your edibles so you can maximize their taste, flavor and longevity, I just want to read out a beautiful review that I got recently. And the review says it's entitled Welcoming host. And it was five stars. I really enjoy the Bite Me podcast. Marj is such a welcoming host that makes all of the conversations flow so smoothly. She always asks the right questions, has the right tone rate of speech. The infused recipes Marj introduces are very interesting. I even tried the roasted red pepper pasta from one of her episodes. My favorite episode was when Marge interviewed a chef that is now an auto flower cultivator. Bite Me podcast by Marge has inspired me to start my own podcast. And that was from The Smoking Chef out of the United States. And his new podcast that he started was your High Tolerance podcast. Thank you so much for that really kind review. Smoking a Chef and congratulations on starting your own podcast. It makes me feel really good to hear that I inspired you to do something like that.

Marge (00:02:13) - And if anyone ever has any questions about starting their own podcast, I can probably help. And I'm actually putting something up over on my website for people who might have a few more detailed questions about starting a podcast or troubleshooting their edibles or anything like that you can find over on the website. But once again, thank you. Reviews like this really help make a show more discoverable by more people. And it's always nice to hear that your work is appreciated. So also as another note, the interview that I did with the chef was with Clay of Braai Genetics. And if you haven't checked out that episode, I highly encourage you to do so because he was a chef that has worked all over the world, so he knows a thing or two about making edibles as well. And then he became an auto flower cultivator. And I love the work that he's doing out there in the world. So check out that episode. So you know what the smoky chef is talking about.

Marge (00:03:12) - All right, let's get into the meat of this episode so that you can go about making the most out of your edibles.

Marge (00:03:20) - Because as we all know, when you make edibles, you often can't consume them all at once. If you've made a batch of something, depending on how many people you're sharing them with, of course, how many people you're living with. But if you make a batch of cookies, for instance, or brownies or something and it makes a large quantity of them, you want to make sure that you can eat them in a timely manner before they start to go bad. You can only give so many away. Well, freezing is often a wonderful way to preserve your edibles for longer. Now you can also freeze can of butter can of oil as well. And sometimes there's this idea that freezing edibles might hurt your infusions or the baked or cooked goods that you've created. And I think it's important to mention that that is actually not true. And I'm sure that doesn't come as any surprise to you. You can freeze all kinds of things to extend their shelf life. That is why we do freeze things. That's why I prefer my frozen avocado to fresh avocado because I like to put avocado in my smoothies.

Marge (00:04:22) - And whenever I buy fresh, as I'm sure you have found, if you've ever bought avocados, that they are rock hard, rock, hard rock, hard, super ripe all at the same time. And then they're bad. And I have had to throw my fair share of avocados, which really breaks my heart. And so I just buy them frozen now and I throw some frozen avocado in my smoothie and everything's wonderful. And if I want fresh, I just make sure when I go out and buy fresh avocado for when I need it for something specific. And so obviously freezing helps to extend the shelf life and it does not affect the quality of the products when they're thought if you do it properly. Here's what we're going to be covering in today's episode. How does freezing edibles affect the potency? How to best freeze your infusions, how to best freeze your edibles and how to prevent freezer burn. And those are obviously the main things that you'll be considering when you're looking to freeze just about anything. This can also apply to other foods as well that aren't infused except for perhaps that first item on the list, which is does it affect the potency? That obviously doesn't qualify, but all of these things will apply to any foods.

Marge (00:05:27) - So freezing, does it affect the potency? So sometimes I've seen things floating around on the internet not recently, but you'll see things that might suggest that freezing will kill the THC and it could affect the potency. And I am here to tell you, as someone who has frozen many edibles, that that is definitely not the case. That is untrue. Freezing your edibles or your oils and butters will not kill the THC by any means. If that were the case, you wouldn't have people using fresh frozen flour to make hashish. And that's when they take fresh flour and they freeze it immediately to preserve all the trichomes heads and all that kind of thing. And they use it later to make hashish, which is a concentrated form of cannabis. And if it wasn't, if the freezing process killed the THC, obviously they would want to skip that step because they're trying to maximize the potency of the hash that they're making along with the flavor on the rest of those items, the rest of those things they're trying to maximize.

Marge (00:06:26) - So you don't have to worry that that it's going to affect the potency of the edibles that you're making. Generally speaking, freezing temperatures are going to slow chemical degradation and allow them to last longer. And cannabis is no different than any other food or product that you put in the fridge when it comes to this. So when it comes to infusions and edibles, freezing and refrigeration, because sometimes you can also do that to extend the shelf life of your products, It's not going to harm the cannabinoids in those products, but keeping them cold will help you avoid having to throw them away because they've become spoiled or moldy. And that has happened to me. It may have happened to you if you put them in the fridge, that will keep them for a certain length of time and freezing them will also keep them for even longer. Now there has been the suggestion sometimes that it may increase the potency of your cannabis if you freeze it. And while that sounds wonderful, it is also 100% not true. That is not going to affect the THC levels of your infusions can of butter, flour, whatever the case.

Marge (00:07:37) - Because if that was the case, everybody would be freezing everything all the time. And I don't know where that myth came from, but it's inaccurate. So don't worry, it's not going to increase the potency, but it's also not going to kill it. Freeze your edibles if you make too much. Now, if you want to freeze your cannabis infusions is pretty simple. You're going to make your infusion. And because you've taken the time to do that, a lot of the times I like to make infusions if I can, depending on what I'm doing in larger batches for some of those things, in particular coconut oil, because coconut oil and olive oil are two of. Infusions that I use often and regularly, and I tend to make them in larger batches because I'm using them more than say, honey or something more. I don't use butter as much either. I also find butter tends to go bad faster if you don't refrigerate it. I actually had to throw something out recently which really pained me and I did pull it out of the fridge too.

Marge (00:08:29) - I should have frozen it. I should have frozen it. I'm not even taking my own advice here. But I pulled it out of the fridge and I had a spot of mold on it and I cried a little. And then I had to throw it out because after that it just gave me this. It gave me the ick. And I was just like, I was questioning, well, I could maybe scrape it off. And then I was just like, Oh, should I do that? And I was like, Damn, this is a moment where I wish I could call my mom and be like, What would you do? And of course, my mom passed away several years ago, so I'm not able to do that anymore. But I just thought, you know what? Be on the safe side and just pitch it all. This is where freezing can come in because I make butter, because some recipes are better with butter, but or lend themselves better to butter. But I don't use it.

Marge (00:09:10) - That's not my go to. It's not what I'm using most things for. Mostly I'm doing coconut oil in larger volume and oil, olive oil in particular, because I use it in higher volumes and sometimes you can't use it all if you make a big batch, because that's what I like to do. If I know I'm going to be using coconut oil, I can make a really big batch in my magical butter machine, for instance, because it has a big capacity. You know, if you're not sure that you're going to use it quickly, then freezing it is going to make sense. Also, of course, fats can go rancid at warmer temperature. And this has happened. It really depends on some of the fats. Some are far more likely to go rancid faster than others, olive oil being one of those. So it's obviously going to happen at a slower rate. And if you're freezing, infuse fats, you can think 3 to 6 months, maybe more, depending on the type of oil.

Marge (00:09:58) - Something like coconut oil can last for a year or more in your freezer. So it's very handy to do that. So what I would suggest is you're going to use some kind of mold, obviously, because you don't want a big rock of coconut oil pulling it to pull out when you're trying to make some edible. That only calls for, say, a third of a cup because that just doesn't make sense. And if you find some molds, you can put them in them and have them at pre-portioned rates. So you know what? You have to pull pop out. The silicone molds are great because they're so flexible. I love silicone molds, but ice cube trays will also do the trick. Just have a sense of how much goes into the ice cube tray so you have an idea of how much each portion is and then you can figure out potency from there. And then if you need to pop out one cube, two cube, three cubes, depending on what you're doing, then great, you can do that.

Marge (00:10:49) - So you're going to freeze your infusions in the mold until they're solid. You could also remove them from the mold half the time I don't do that. But then also means that the mold are in use when I could be using them for something else. But you can pop them out of the molds and place them in a freezer bag or a storage bag. Double wrap them if you can and make sure you label and date. So, you know, when you go back to the freezer, I'll pull it out, you know? Okay. This has been sitting here for a month. They're good to use. And then you can just take out what you need. And of course, as I've said a million times on this show, a million times, I'm sure label date and put the potency on them. Because if you don't, you will forget. I guarantee you, you will forget. It's one of the reasons why I created the journal that I have over on Amazon. If you haven't checked that out, the Bite Me Edibles Journal.

Marge (00:11:37) - I've used other journals. I've used my phone. Anything. Jot it down what you're doing, what you're making. Because you will forget. Then I pulled something out of my fridge the other day actually, that I had labeled, but I forgot to put the potency on it. And I'm looking at it like, Well, fuck, I don't know. I don't like it just now. It used to be like it was one of those fuck around and find out moments where you would just try it out anyway and see what happens. But I'm long past that now. I've overdosed myself enough times to know that I really don't want to do that because it's uncomfortable and unnecessary and we're all smart people here and we don't need to be doing that shit. Label date. Figure out the potency. Whether you're using an online calculator like the one on my website or any of the number of ones out there on the Internet, or whether you have something like a T check, you know, just figure it out so you have a decent idea of how potent your stuff is.

Marge (00:12:30) - And if you do the double wrapping, it's going to present prevent the freezer burn as well because that just is no fun. Now, if you're freezing edibles, it's pretty much the same way as you would be doing anything else. Any other food you've ever frozen. Most foods can be frozen pretty successfully without compromising quality or texture when rethought and the hardier the food, the easier it will freeze or the better it will freeze. So essentially you can freeze most baked goods like breads, brownies, cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, scones. I've frozen many of those items myself. Soups and stews. I've frozen lots of those ones that were not infused casseroles, sauces, salsas, all kinds of things. Like pretty much anything you can think of. I'm trying. Trying to think if there's something that wouldn't freeze, maybe that's more of the question. What? Can't you freeze it? I'm drawing a blank. But most of the stuff you can freeze, and it's great because then when you want them, you can pull them out of the freezer when you're ready to consume them.

Marge (00:13:39) - And I've done that so many times with things like I've even frozen gummies that I've made muffins, brownies, cake more recently that again, I've mentioned it quite a few times. I made that quite a while ago now, man. Almost a year ago, the chocolate coffee cake and I'm still talking about it. I think I need to make that one again. And I froze that into little bite sized pieces. Now, in a lot of cases, you might want to package these a little bit differently depending on how long you think they might be in there for. But you want to make sure they're well wrapped so you can prevent freezer burn but also access them. A lot of the times I would put some of the stuff depending on how much I had it just in a glass dish because I knew I'd be going into it pretty much every single night. But it's sometimes depends on how many edibles I do have in the freezer. But the chocolate coffee cake, when I made it and cut up into pieces and put it in the freezer, it was, you know, I was pulling out a piece or two every night, so I knew it wasn't going to be in there for a month.

Marge (00:14:38) - It was going to be in there for, you know, maybe a couple of weeks or something like that longer, longer than the fridge would keep it fresh. So that was my rationale. Now, if you want to prevent freezer burn on any of these items and we've all seen freezer burn a lot of the times you'll eat that shit anyway, depending on how old it seems to be. But it really depends. And it's one of those ice crystals form on the food during the freezing process while it's in your freezer. And it's not harmful, but it's also going to affect the flavors and the temperatures of the food that you've taken the time and energy to create. And you've used your precious infusions, your precious cannabis to go into these foods. So it could look like a dry patch or a bunch of ice crystals, but you ideally want to avoid it in the first place. And what you want to do, first of all, is to allow the food to cool completely in the refrigerator before you're wrapping it and putting it in the freezer and putting it hot or even warm is going to create a perfect environment to allow a drastic temperature change that will create the formation of a lot of large ice crystals.

Marge (00:15:44) - Ice crystals. You want to also keep your freezer temperature consistent. Dips and raises in the fridge or freezer are not ideal. That can cause freezer burn as well, although for the most part I find typically, unless you're letting your freezer hang open for a long time, most people probably don't mess with the temperature of their freezer too often, so this shouldn't really be an issue if you've taken care to put the food in the freezer and let it cooled before beforehand, you should be okay. And finally, you want to wrap the food? Well, for the freezer and this makes sense. Double wrapping as suggested earlier when it comes to freezing your your infusions is smart. It's also a good idea when it comes to your edibles. So you can wrap each portion individually and then it makes it easy to thaw and then you only consume the number that you need at any one time. There are drawbacks to this sometimes, though, because depending on how you're wrapping them, a lot of the times they see that as a lot of plastic wrap and so maybe not ideal.

Marge (00:16:42) - Another way to do that as I do like vacuum seal. And I do have a vacuum sealer and that can work really well for things that you might pull out that aren't bite size or single serving items like your soups and stews and and sauces and that kind of thing, because you're going to take out the whole thing and and use it all up all at once. So I do love vacuum sealing and it's super effective at preventing freezer burn because it's removing all the oxygen and it's not allowing anything to get into the the packaging that would allow ice crystals to form as long as you made sure that it was at the proper temperature before you put it into the freezer. So that is one way to do it. But if you don't have one, just try to wrap tightly, try and get all that air out. Now, if you have individual portions, I mean, a lot of the times I'll just put something in a glass dish, but you have to consider how long it might take you to eat some of those things.

Marge (00:17:32) - So it was going to be a while. Maybe you can wrap a few things at a time because when you decide to take some muffins out, you might want 3 or 4 because you might have some over a course of a few days or something like that. So there's definitely workarounds, but making sure it's properly wrapped in order to keep the oxygen out and allow it to prevent freezer burn. That's what you want. So, I mean, that's what you're going to have to figure out. I'm going to have to leave that one to you. So there you have it. That is it. It's pretty simple. Probably something that we maybe needed a little reminder that, yes, you can freeze your edibles and your infusions and you should and it won't affect the potency. It's a great way to preserve something when you've made a large batch. And if you find yourself cooking up things all the time, it's really wonderful because you can pull them out later if you maybe or somebody that likes to do a lot of baking and Christmas is coming.

Marge (00:18:26) - I said the big C word, I'm really sorry, but at the time of this recording, it's mid-October and I'm surprised. I have seen Christmas decorations out in some of the stores already. Thank you, Costco, for reminding me of the impending holiday that is coming up. That means snow in Canada. Snow and cold and winter. And I'm really trying not to think about it, but alas, I do like to do a lot of baking around Christmas time because there are many people in my life that will end up receiving some of the tasty edibles that I'm creating and maybe you like to do the same and you can get a head start and put things in the freezer. And so you're not feeling so stressed at that particular time. So there you have it. That's another pro tip from one edible edible maker to another.

Marge (00:19:14) - So I hope you enjoyed that episode.

Marge (00:19:15) - My friends, If you'd like to see more of those types of episodes, I'd be more than happy to indulge or to oblige. Just hit me up and let me know.

Marge (00:19:22) - You can always talk to me by email or the podcast hotline. I love hearing your voices. You, if you're feeling so inclined, share the episode with someone that you think might enjoy it or learn something from it. I appreciate that. And they will too. You can stay up to date with news events, giveaways and the rest of it, and that helps to keep the episodes timeless. And do you know what won't give you freezer burn? The products and services on the market, recommends Paige And that also helps you to support the show. I'm your host, Marge. And until next time, stay high.