How To Store Your Cannabis Oil, Edibles, And Other Products

So let’s say you have ordered your first bottle of CBD oil from Zambeza or you’re planning on ordering from the web store and you want to know how to store your CBD oil or how long it will last before it has passed its expiration date? Or maybe you might not need it all at once or want to order more bottles at once to save on shipping costs?

There are two different factors to take into account when looking at the shelf life of your edibles; the cannabinoids themselves are susceptible to degradation over time if not stored properly and the ingredients you have used in combination with the oil, butter or tincture has a shelf life of itself and might go bad long before the cannabinoids themselves will.

Oxygen, heat and light have the most effect on the final expiration date of your extracts or edibles. Keeping your edibles or extracts in a refrigerator or freezer can minimize the amount of exposure to light and heat. To make sure the amount of exposure to oxygen is minimized, store your infusions in an airtight container or plastic wrap. For the longest shelf life try to use glass containers instead of plastic ones as the plastic wrap, bags or containers may degrade the quality of your infusions.

Always check the packaging of your store-bought cannabis infused extracts or edibles for "best before" dates and ask your supplier for other information on storage and shelf life of the product. If you plan on making your own extracts or cooking your own edibles, check the individual ingredients used for expiration dates and label your final product.

STORING CANNABIS EXTRACTS

As the ingredients used to make the cannabis infusion might have a shorter lifespan, the more pure the cannabis infusion is, meaning only cannabinoids and oil, butter or alcohol, the longer its shelf life will be. Not all extracts are equally pure and the ingredients that did not get separated in the extraction process will almost certainly influence the expiration date of it.

CANNABUTTER

Having the cannabinoids attach themselves to the animal fats in the butter is how cannabutter is made. The butter will become infused with THC and it can then be used in normal recipes for baking cookies, brownies, cakes or even bread. If stored in its pure form, cannabutter will have the longest shelf life when placed in an airtight container or in plastic wrap. Store the airtight container or plastic wrapped cannabutter in a freezer or refrigerator to ensure it will have the longest shelf life possible.

CANNABIS TINCTURE

A tincture is an extract based on alcohol; the cannabinoids are infused with the alcohol to form a fluid, that can be administered as a medicine or can be used recreationally. Tinctures can also be incorporated into all sorts of meals and drinks after cooking; cannabis tinctures are even lower in calories than other cannabis infusions, by comparison, it is about 7 calories per ml of cannabis tincture. For your reference, a cannabis-infused brownie can easily contain about 112 calories, but probably contains even more.

The best way to store your cannabis tinctures is in blue or amber dripper bottles, which are in turn placed in a freezer or refrigerator. If stored properly, a high quality cannabis tincture should have a shelf life of years or even decades if left undisturbed. Keep in mind, that pure alcohol extracts degrade much slower than tinctures in which glycerin has also been used.

CANNABIS OILS

Cannabis oils, like the CBD oil sold at Zambeza, are cannabis-infused extracts made with cooking oils like olive oil or coconut oil. The higher in fat the oil is, the more cannabinoids it can hold, but taste can play a huge factor as well. Canola oil is another commonly used oil to make cannabis oil. Cannabis oils can be stored in a glass bottle in the refrigerator or in ice cube trays in an airtight container in the freezer. If you put some herbs in with the cannabis-infused oils, they will even acquire new flavors. Keep in mind though, that the cannabis-infused oils should not be microwaved and low heat should be used when cooking with cannabis oils.

STORING CANNABIS-INFUSED EDIBLES

The expiration date of your cannabis-infused edibles is probably going to be determined by the fastest expiring ingredient. For instance if you have made cannabis-infused cookies, they will spoil a lot quicker than let’s say cannabis-infused chocolate or cannabis-infused hard candy. The cannabutter might last a lot longer on it’s own, but when mixed with other ingredients the expiration date is shortened, to the expiration date of the ingredient, that will perish the quickest, so it might be better to check for a "best before" date, if it is an edible product, that you have purchased or ask the vendor about the ways the product should be stored.

Almost all cannabis-infused edibles can be stored in the freezer for longer times. The freezing cold might not be good for all kinds of edible products, but if it does not affect the taste, it might be your best chance in storing these products in the long term. Keeping them sealed in an airtight container or bag and away from light will help you in maintaining the products for the longest amount of time possible. Keep in mind, that cannabis-infused edibles are not meant to last for eternity, so they should be consumed before their expiration date.