What to know about Freezing Drying Cannabis

When you provide your cannabis plants with the right amount of light, humidity and nutrients, in other words, by providing proper care, your plants may reward you with lots and lots of resinous and delicious flowers that you’ll have to store anywhere to keep them fresh and prevent a loss of effectiveness. Here is where freezing drying cannabis comes into play as one of the best preservation methods.

Why freezing dry cannabis

It is commonly known that every organic matter ends up decomposing or decaying due to its nature. Thus, all sorts of fruits, vegetables and meat get bad as time goes by, and even though the invention of the fridge can curb this problem, it will occur anyway. That’s why freeze drying is an excellent choice for preserving the food that you don’t want to throw away; and similarly, cannabis can also be preserved using this technique.

Advantages of freezing dried cannabis

As we’ve already mentioned, this preservation method prevents the oxidation of your plant materials, requires less space, but it also helps to keep cannabinoids and terpenes better than other methods. That means that all the good properties of your product will remain intact ‘as the first day’: THC, CBG, CBD…

On the other hand, by freezing your dry cannabis you won’t only maintain the high-quality of your flowers, but you’ll also ensure the mitigation of any contamination between your herbs and unnecessary exposures, so it makes it a much more hygienic and ‘clean’ method.

How to freeze drying cannabis

For freezing dried cannabis, you’ll need a freeze dryer machine in which you’ll introduce the buds of your choice in order to go through the three phases: the deep freeze, the sublimation and the final dry.

The freezing phase will quickly freeze your materials below -40ºF (-40ºC) temperatures to eliminate the formation of large ice crystals that may deteriorate your product; then, during the drying phase, the heat is applied to remove the remaining water through the sublimation process.

However, not many people can afford buying a freeze-dryer machine and, despite being less effective and slower than using that system, we are going to explain how to perform your ‘low-cost’ freeze-dry cannabis at home:

1. Place the herbs on a tray and place it in the freezer at the lowest possible temperature.
2. Wait a couple of weeks and remove the tray from the freezer.
3. Use a vacuum sealing machine like the Vacumax Vacuum Sealer to properly store your cannabis in sealed bags.
4. Please note that this process must be done immediately after removing your freeze buds from the freezer. You must be fast!
5. Once your product is perfectly sealed, store the bags in the freezer until you want to consume them.

How long does freeze-dried cannabis last

Unlike in other perishable preservation methods, if stored properly, your freeze-dried weed can certainly last for several years. This will depend on the temperature of your fridge, the storage container (plastic bags or cans), and the maintenance of the cold chain.

Please note that if you are sharing your freezer with other food, you may break the cold chain and your stored cannabis may go bad earlier than expected. Still, this is definitely the most effective preservation technique to always enjoy a fresh weed, as if it was recently harvested.

Other preservation methods

Although the freezing drying cannabis technique is the most effective one to maintain the natural and therapeutic properties of this plant intact, there are some other less effective ways that you must know to prevent your flowers from getting bud before even enjoying them.

Use an opaque (if possible) glass or ceramic jar to store your fresh herbs inside and keep your container in a dark, cool place. Other materials such plastic may hasten the aging process. If it is not possible to find a dark, cool place; you can use vacuum bags and place them in the fridge.

By providing proper care, your plants may reward you with lots and lots of resinous and delicious flowers that you’ll have to store anywhere to keep them fresh and prevent a loss of effectiveness. Here is where freeze drying is extremely useful. We hope you’ve found this article useful to know why freezing drying cannabis is the most perfect preservation method.