MSU Denver’s Cooking with Cannabis course offers a unique a culinary experience.
MSU Denver’s affiliate professor, Shannon Donelley, self-named “the professor of cannabis” for the School of Hospitality, invited The Metropolitan for a look inside her Cannabis in the Kitchen class.
Although the cannabis industry is not new to Colorado, the business is still finding ways to bloom.
“This is just going to become a larger and larger industry, and it’s a way for students who have never ever been able to have a… ‘out of the green closet’ conversation about cannabis to truly think about the plant differently,” Donelley said.
Industry growth is in the numbers: Since Colorado retail cannabis sales began in 2014, total cannabis revenue grew from $23.8 million in 2014 to $72.6 million in 2021, which is the highest annual total cannabis revenue earned yet, according to the 2023 City and County of Denver report.
While Donnelly never uses the psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant – THC — and uses only the non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant — CBD— in her classroom, she has encountered skeptics who assumed the intention behind cooking with cannabis is “to get high,” which is not the case in her Cannabis in the Kitchen course.
Donnelly noted people may consume cannabidiol (CBD) to relieve pain, anxiety and stress.
“If you’re stressed out, a CBD mocktail at the end of the night instead of drinking a glass of wine (will) do similar things by lowering your nervous system … but the CBD mocktail will give back to your body and interact with the endocannabinoid system,” she said.
All mammals have an endocannabinoid system, which is a natural regulatory system in the body that helps maintain balance, or homeostasis, within the body. It plays a crucial role in controlling bodily functions such as pain control, mood, appetite stimulation, sleep and immune responses.
Some animals, such as dogs, benefit from CBD to treat their arthritis pain, atopic dermatitis and seizures.
The cannabis professor began her Oct. 3 lecture with a showing of her CBD Lavender Lemonade recipe YouTube video. Then the students got cooking.
Tasked with making a CBD simple syrup for a mocktail, students began measuring one gram of CBD isolate that looked similar to bleached flour. The isolate is a 100% active pure form of CBD that contains no other parts of the cannabis plant in it.
In a saucepan, each student combined the isolate, one cup of water and one cup of granulated sugar over a low burner. Donnelly stressed that the simple syrup mixture should not exceed 300 degrees as certain cannabinoids will degrade above that temperature.
After the sugar and isolate dissolved and cooled, students transferred their simple syrup to a labeled container for storage, which has a shelf life of 30 days.
Each student made their own mocktails, consisting of one teaspoon of the CBD simple syrup (which is approximately 35 milligrams of CBD), a couple drops of terpenes (which are molecules that give plants their distinctive smells and tastes) and a variety of juices and seltzers.
The terpenes that were available to be added to the mocktails were all food-grade terpenes: Linalool, a lavender terpene; Nerolidol, typically found in ginger, tea tree and more; Eucalyptol, found in eucalyptus and cannabis; D-Limonene, also found in cannabis and citrus fruits; Cymene, a cannabis, cumin, oregano, thyme, anise and coriander terpene; and Terpinolene, a terpene in cannabis, lilac, nutmeg, cumin, tea tree oil and apples.
Cannabis in the Kitchen student, Alexis Fedner, made a mock-margarita with a rosesalt-lined rim, CBD simple syrup, Nerolidol and lime juice.
Fender is an anthropology student, taking the course as an elective as any MSU Denver student can take Cannabis in the Kitchen.
“The recipes we learn can be made at home. (The students) don’t have a background in CBD. We’re not using really advanced stuff, (and) we’re not using super advanced methodology (in this class),” she said.
Fender also said the class previously made a CBD oil to take home, which she used to create a CBD jalapeno aioli to dip fries into.
Donnelly has been in the cannabis industry for 16 years, beginning with making edibles at a Wheat Ridge dispensary to running a cannabis consulting company and a company that hosted at-home cannabis parties for women. Before teaching at MSU Denver, Donelley worked at the City and County of Denver as the first-ever female cannabis process navigator where she helped the city and applicants understand cannabis regulations in order to obtain cannabis licenses.
She began teaching Introduction to Cannabis 101 in the Spring 2022 semester and the Cannabis in the Kitchen course in the Fall 2022 semester.
“The cool thing that’s happening in Colorado right now, as we now have hospitality licenses that are opening up, which means that’s a place where you can consume cannabis,” Donnelly said. “I just love that we’re starting to do these cooking classes right when there’s this new boom in the cannabis industry here in Denver specifically.So, how do we get more students into this brand new industry and also get more cannabis companies excited about working with students from MSU Denver too?”
Source: Isabel Guzman – mymetmedia.com
