Marijuana has been used as medicine since at least 2700 BC. In China, it was prescribed for headaches and stomach aches. People would also smoke it for recreation or even just to improve their mood. Early forms of maryjane edibles included smoking dried flower buds, eating them like potato chips, and drinking tea made from the flowers.
Legend says that early forms of edibles first came to light during the tenth century. The earliest known recipe for marijuana cookies dates back to 1271. The recipe called for cannabis leaves and seeds mixed with honey and sesame oil, then baked into flat cakes.
This is a look into the history of cooking with marijuana, and how we got to where we are today.
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Ancient Greece
Combining pot with food is far from a new invention. Some of the earliest examples of this can be seen in Ancient Greece. Thermopolia was highly popular around 79 A.D. The herb was combined with baked cheeses, wine, honey, and lentil dishes in a stone counter arrangement with multiple stone bowls built into them.
Cannabis was mainly used as an infusion rather than the modern form of cannabutter which we know today, but the use in food seemed to work for them.
Renaissance
During the renaissance, cannabis continued to be used in cooking. With the emergence of restaurants, they became an important part of the development of edibles. Across Europe, people were getting more adventurous in the kitchen and beginning to try out new and exciting combinations.
People continued to enjoy food and cannabis through the centuries, but it wasn’t until around the 1400s that further developments took place. An iconic cookbook featuring some of the best recipes for edibles throughout history and the Renaissance period was published in 1465 by Jean Baptiste Platina.
The Role of Restaurants
Restaurants played an important role in the awareness and interesting combinations which used marijuana for its medicinal properties in their food. During the 1800s, restaurants started selling dishes made with cannabis, such as hash brown potatoes, pancakes, and ice cream. By the 1900s, chefs had figured out ways to use cannabis to create new flavors and textures. Cannabis-infused foods became popular among artists and musicians.
Alice B. Toklas became a revolutionary to many, who were blown away by her ability to bake and cook. She used pot in so many unique forms and modernized the use in many foods. Her recipe for hash brownies became well-known around the world, and it is still used today.
It was this recipe that inspired the movie ‘I Love You, Alice B. Toklas’ and shared her brownie recipe with the world. However, something that many people forget to mention is the no-bake element. Toklas introduced cannabis recipes that didn’t even need to be baked.
Mary Jane Herself
Have you ever wondered why it’s nicknamed Mary Jane? It’s actually after someone who baked thousands of cannabis brownies in the 1980s for cancer and AIDS patients. Mary Jane Rathbun was a volunteer at San Francisco general hospital, and gave out brownies as a way of easing patient’s suffering.
Despite a great deal of political uproar, Mary Jane played an important role in California being the first state to legalize weed in 1996.
The Move To Savory Recipes
The twentieth century saw a great deal of development when it came to baking and creating sweet treats that would get you high. Recent developments have, however, shown an increased interest in savory foods that combine THC or cannabutter. You can now find pizza dough, cocktails, pumpernickel weed croutons, pot pesto, and many more. Nowadays, there are a good deal of cannabis recipe books out there that show how incredibly versatile it really is.
There have even been festivals which are entirely dedicated to cooking with marijuana. Judges will compare gourmet recipes and see how the taste, texture, and potency compares.
The courses start with savory before moving on to more sweet desserts. Even these have come a long way since the days of hash brownies. From hemp seed crumbles to infused vanilla tulle, people are getting more ambitious in the kitchen for sure.
Summary
Combining food and cannabis has been done throughout the ages, and it isn’t a recent development. It has long been used for its pain relieving properties, although some events played a role in creating new and exciting recipes.
The fifteenth century was widely considered to have a huge impact on the world of marijuana. There was a great deal of political uproar during the twentieth century, but there are a huge range of marijuana recipes out there in both savory and sweet.
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