The Ultimate Lecithin Guide: What Every Edible Maker Should Know

You may have noticed that we've just added Sunflower Liquid Lecithin to the LĒVO product roster, but what is it and how can it help power up your infusions? Let's dive in! 

 

Key Takeaways

1. Lecithin as an Effective Mixer: Lecithin helps mix fats and water-based ingredients together evenly in recipes, ensuring consistent texture and flavor throughout your edibles. Its addition to recipes like those involving decarboxylated plant botanicals can prevent uneven potency in your edibles, enhancing both the flavor and effects. By including lecithin, particularly Sunflower Liquid Lecithin now available from LĒVO, you can achieve a more stable and durable baked good with extended shelf life and improved nutrient absorption.

2. Decarboxylation Made Simple with LĒVO: Utilizing the LĒVO II or LĒVO Lux machines simplifies the decarbing process, which is essential for activating the psychoactive and therapeutic effects of cannabinoids in your edibles. These machines integrate decarbing and infusing into one step, reducing mess and smell, and ensuring that your infusions are potent and uniformly mixed, thanks to the precision control over time and temperature settings.

3. Health Benefits Beyond Edibles: Lecithin is not only beneficial for creating more effective edibles but also offers several health advantages, such as improving liver function, lowering cholesterol levels, and aiding digestion. This makes it a valuable addition to various dishes beyond just edibles, catering to those with dietary conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis.

 

Lecithin is a common food additive that attracts and can bind both fatty ingredients and water-based ingredients- acting as an emulsifier. However, it has a wide range of other applications in home and commercial kitchens and bakeries.

It is commonly produced from egg yolk, soybeans, and sunflower oil. 

Adding lecithin to a baked good can result in a finished product that is durable — meaning, it doesn’t fall apart while being eaten. Interestingly, it can also give baked goods longer shelf life. The importance of adding lecithin to an edible baked good is straightforward. Recipes for baked goods all have some water-based ingredients in them, like sugars, cocoa, dairy products like milk or cream, and of course, water itself. 

Lecithin is also a source of choline, an important nutrient that can improve liver function and lower cholesterol.

However, Lecithin can also be a part of an ‘infused solution.’ Commonly this is made by infusing coconut oil, butter, or another oil with a plant botanical that has gone through the process of decarboxylation (decarbing). 

This process is critical to making any kind of edible that will have the desired effect, and hold its form well- for you and your friends to enjoy. 

Don’t Forget to Decarb

Ever wonder why you usually can’t feel the effects of eating raw flower? You have to heat it up gently in order to activate it. This is why you can smoke or vape flowers: because the act of smoking/vaping ‘activates’ the flower with heat, which releases the active ingredients. 

Often, edible recipes require adding an infusion of oil and hemp in order to be created and enjoyed. 

Luckily for LĒVO II and LĒVO Lux owners, we’ve brought the ‘decarbing’ process into the machine. This not only greatly helps to reduce the smell associated with decarbing, but it also supports the ease of cleanliness, and overall accuracy of the process.

How to Decarb Using LĒVO II 

1. Our recommended default setting for your LĒVO II’s Activate (decarb) cycle is 240ºF/116ºC for 30 minutes.   

2. We also recommend keeping your herbs safe with use of the our Power Pods and pod protectors. This will help to keep your flowers safe from the direct heat of the reservoir.

3. Should you want to increase the efficiency (and potency) by decarbing more flower at once, take a look at doubling you capacity with a second Power Pod. You can also find an extra Power Pod in our spare parts kit for LĒVO II, which is great to have for non-flower infusions or when your other parts are in the dishwasher. 

Now that we have a basic understanding of how lecithin is used, let’s dive deeper. 

Lecithin’s emulsifying properties help bind the water-based ingredients to the infused oil. Lecithin promotes an even distribution of the infusion with water-based ingredients (which can also include honey). 

One of the problems with the older, traditional method of decarbing and creating stove-top infusions was; many cooks found their edible was really potent in some places and had no effect at all in others. That was because the oil(s) and water-based ingredients are chemically resistant to mixing evenly. With lecithin, the decarbed flower botanicals can be distributed more evenly in the edible, provided you mix them thoroughly at every stage of the recipie. 

Bonus: Lecithin can also help your body absorb the infusion more fully, which can enhance the effects of your edible.

FYI: Lecithin has a few other health benefits that may make you want to add it to other dishes. It can aid in digestion, which means it can help people with irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis. It can also help lower cholesterol levels and improve liver function. 

Soy and sunflower-based lecithin are both readily available, but for many cooks, sunflower may be preferable because some people are allergic to soy and that can be dangerous. You can easily find lecithin in powder and liquid varieties. 

How to Use Lecithin in an Edibles Recipe

Note: Lecithin is commonly used as a dough conditioner when baking bread and it’s also used in gummy recipes. If you’d like to know more about making your own gummies, we’ve got this great gummy recipe for you to try. We also have our own liquid sunflower lecithin to help simplify your shopping and get you back to creating.

Of course, if you’d like to just jump into a tasty, four-flavor gummy mix set, ours already has the lecithin in it.

A general rule of thumb is to add lecithin to a recipe is to add a teaspoon of lecithin to a cup of liquid in the recipe. 

You might want to consider that if you add lecithin directly into the oil-based infusion, that could change the amount of liquid required when baking the edible. So adjust as necessary. 

Another way to measure lecithin into a baked recipe is to add a teaspoon and a half of lecithin for every egg used.

Add the flavorings and other binder ingredients, and be sure to mix the batter or dough thoroughly. It’s better to mix too much than not enough.

Of course, you should sample all your edibles to be sure you didn’t add too much lecithin. If the taste of lecithin is too strong, cut down the amount next time you bake. It’s great that you’re servicing your baked goods with lecithin, just don’t use too much. 

One way to make the best use of not only your lecithin, but of your time, effort, and ingredients is to use an infusions machine to simplify and co-join your decarbing and infusing into one creative, yet controlled step. 

The LĒVO II is easy to use and excellent for obtaining the precise, yet adjustable specifications you desire for your infusions.

Not only that, cleanup is super simple. All of the LĒVO II parts can go straight into the dishwasher as you wait for your infused brownies to cool down.

Are you ready to expand your palate of culinary skills into the world of home infusions? LĒVO II has a library of recipes, educational content, calculators, photos, MORE available on our website, or visit us on YouTube to see videos of recipes and our products in action!. Not sure where to start? Take the LĒVO II Quiz to see which machine is right for you!” #LĒVOMade

 

FAQ

What is lecithin, and how does it benefit my edible creations?

Lecithin is a versatile food additive known for its emulsifying properties, which means it helps blend oil-based and water-based ingredients together seamlessly. It's essential for ensuring even distribution of flavors and effects in edibles, preventing the ingredients from separating. Additionally, lecithin can improve the texture and shelf life of baked goods, making your edibles more enjoyable and durable.

Why is decarboxylation important when making edibles, and how does LĒVO simplify this process?

Decarboxylation is crucial as it activates the psychoactive components of cannabis, which are not effective in their raw form. LĒVO machines, such as LĒVO II and LĒVO Lux, incorporate an automated 'Activate' cycle that accurately controls the decarbing process, ensuring your infusions are potent and consistently effective, all while minimizing the odor and mess traditionally associated with decarboxylation.

Can I use lecithin in non-cannabis recipes, and are there health benefits?

Absolutely! Lecithin is not only beneficial in cannabis-infused recipes but can also enhance non-cannabis baked goods by improving their texture and moisture retention. Health-wise, lecithin is a source of choline, which supports liver function and can help lower cholesterol. It's also helpful for digestion, making it a great addition to diets for those with digestive issues.

How should I measure and incorporate lecithin into my recipes?

For most recipes, a general rule of thumb is to add one teaspoon of lecithin per cup of liquid used in your recipe. This ratio ensures that lecithin effectively binds the ingredients without overpowering the dish. If using lecithin in baking, consider adding about one and a half teaspoons for every egg required by the recipe. Remember to mix thoroughly to ensure the lecithin is fully integrated and the mixture is smooth.