Over the past few years, streaming services have published more and more shows about cooking using CBD. From competitions to chill culinary explorations of the ingredient, the CBD cooking trend is certainly booming. That said, is cooking using CBD all hype, or is this a bandwagon worth jumping onto? Here’s a quick rundown of what to know about the CBD oil cooking trend.
What Is CBD Oil (and What Do You Cook With It?)
Cannabidiol (CBD) is one active ingredient in cannabis and hemp plants. While CBD oil is among the most popular ingestible forms of CBD, the other available forms can also play a role in CBD cooking. People cook using CBD oil in a comparable way to any other kind of oil. From baking to sauces, CBD is an option for just about any meal. No-heat recipes are an especially popular option for cooks looking to incorporate this product into their masterpiece meals.
So, Why Are People Cooking With It?
There’s plenty of debate going on about the legitimate effects of CBD, but there’s one thing you can’t argue: it’s popular. So popular, in fact, that restaurants are using CBD less as a way to explore new flavors and more as a way to tap into a new market. As with trendy foods like the cloud egg and, yes, avocado toast, some chefs are banking on CBD’s trendiness to get new customers in the door.
In the National Restaurant Association’s 2019 What’s Hot Culinary Survey, a majority of the 650 responding professional chefs pointed to CBD food and drinks and the most up-and-coming trends in the food world. Whether CBD-infused foods will stand the test of time is up in the air, but as long as customers are paying, chefs will keep innovating!
Is CBD Oil Cooking Safe?
One important thing to know about the CBD oil cooking trend is that it requires some safety skills. As with any food ingredient, there’s a right and a wrong way to cook CBD oil. Moderation is key to avoiding any kind of unwanted effects. Always look to the recipes and tutorials of expert chefs so that your food tastes great and is safe to eat. You also want to buy exclusively from reputable sellers and check product labels for information about testing, such as pesticide levels or the presence of heavy metals.
CBD is closely monitored and still subject to new tests and regulations every day. If you decide to cook using CBD oil or other cannabidiol forms, remember to first look into your local laws and regulations.