Pairing weed strains with edibles and beverages

Cooking with cannabis is a hot new trend that has taken the internet by storm with thousands of pairing options to choose from. Whether you are making a batch of your favorite brownies, an ice-cold cocktail, or a meaty and delicious full on three course meal. The kind of weed strains you choose to ass will make a significant impact on the overall flavor of your marijuana edibles. The most important thing to remember is that no pairing is perfect and that tastes are very much a personal preference. What one person might enjoy, you might find bland or overpowering. The best way to find out is to experiment by thinking about flavors that you normally enjoy combining in other ways.

Terpenes

Terpenes are responsible for both the taste and aroma of all different weed strains. Some will be stronger and more recognizable like orange, pine, fruity, or citrus. While others like earthly, coffee, caramel, or chocolate may be lighter and more difficult to distinguish. There are well over 100 terpenes that are produced by cannabis plants, so there are plenty of options to choose from when creating marijuana edibles. Here are just a few of the most common terpenes found in weed plants alongside some of the spices that each one mimics the flavoring of which can help you to determine which weed strains may pair better with your marijuana edibles recipes.

Mycenae

Taste: Fruity, earthy and musky.

Mimicking Spices: Lemongrass, thyme, basil, and hops.

Pinene

Taste: Pine or mint.

Mimicking Spices: Parsley, basil and pine needles.

Limonene

Taste: Citrus, lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit, and mandarin.

Mimicking Spices: Though this terpene is not foundin typical cooking spices it is present in most fruits especially in the peels and cleaning detergents.

Humulene

Taste: Earthy and hops.

Mimicking Spices: Basil, cloves, hops and coriander.

Terpinolene

Taste: Woody and smoke.

Mimicking Spices: Rosemary or sage.

Linalool

Taste: Spicy and flowers.

Mimicking Spices: Coriander and lavender.

Caryophyllene

Taste: Spicy and pepper.

Mimicking Spices: Pepper, cinnamon, basil and Thai.

Tips for pairing weed strains with edibles

Much like adding flavor in the way of ingredients and spices in any recipe, to come out with a tasty concoction, you have to understand terpenes and how different taste blend well together. Sweeter edibles would benefit more from a sweet, salty, or citrus addition, where more hearty meals go best with a more natural earthy aroma. Here are just a few popular marijuana edibles food groups alongside a few of the best weed strains to go with them.

Sweet baked goods

Candyland, Lemon Skunk, Bubblegum, Banana Kush, Jillybean, Cinderella, Mango Kush, Tangie, Berry White, Purple Haze, White Rhino, Sherbert, G-13, Hindu Kush, Blueberry, Blackberry, Agent Orange, Chocolope, Grape Ape, Lemon Haze and Blue Cheese.

Salty baked goods

Ultra Sour, Night Train, Alien Reunion, Bluniverse, Sin City Kush, Night Train, Alien Abduction, Wreckage, Garlic Bud, Butterscotch, Atomical Haze, Blackberry Hashplant, Cabbage Patch, Black Label kush, White Durban, Mammoth, Chocolate Diesel, Fire Haze and Anesthesia.

Hot beverages

Ethiopian, Bubba Fresh, Chocolate Rain, CBD OX, Alf, Platinum Calyx, The Brotherhood, Truffle Butter, Pinot Green, LA Cookies, Coffee kush, Caramel Kona, Sour Chocolate, Dutch Kush, Opium, Dakini Kush, Haze Berry, Crater Lake, Caramelo, African, Manman and Head Trip.

Cold beverages

Pineapple Kush, Juicy Fruit, Gelato, Sour OG, ACDC, Chernobyl, Cannatonic, Silver Haze, Holy Grail Kush, Alien OG, Ghost Train Haze, Lemon Skunk, Cinex, Sherbert, Super Silver Haze, Acapulco Gold, Khalifa Kush, Lemon Diesel, Snowcap, Jack Frost, Orange Crush and Grapefruit.

Alcohol

Ace of Spade, Blue Champagne, Alice in Wonderland, Apollo 13, Green Crack, The White, Critical Mass, Thai Haze, Strawberry Cough, Blue Dream, Jupiter OG, Chocolate Chunk, Panama Red, Raskal OG, Panama OG, UK Cheese, Sweet Cheese, Red Dragon and Maple Leaf Indica.

Salad dressing

Chemdawg, Headband, Death Star, NYC Diesel, Durban Poison, Platinum OG, Purple Diesel, Stardawg, Grape Stomper, Jedi Kush, Blueberry Diesel, Jet Fuel, Ice, Chiesel, Bio-Diesel, JGR, Sour Tsunami, East Coast Sour Diesel, Crazy Train, Venom OG, Maui and Grapefruit Diesel.

Meat

Humdinger OG, Peanut Butter Breathe, Lodi Dodi, Querkle, Big Sky OG, Rebel God, Blue Dream, Green Crack, Northern Lights, Girl Scout Cookies, The Sauce, Citrus Snap, Gorilla Glue, Wedding Cake, Christopher Wallace, Opium, Wet Dream, Cactus Breathe and Granola Funk.