Even if you enjoy meat and dairy products, chances are you will love this easy-peasy Vegan CBD Gummies recipe. That’s because we skip the gelatin (the ingredient that makes gummies chewy), instead using agar powder. This makes for an almost melt-in-your-mouth experience when eating these vegan CBD gummies! Even better, you avoid having to dig out the gelatin that inevitably lodges between your teeth and gums.
Gelatin? Really???
Even the most devoted carnivore may pause after learning how gelatin is made and what its ingredients are. Usually sourced from cows or pigs, gelatin is derived from collagen taken from animal body parts.
So far, that doesn’t sound too bad. That is, until we learn where that collagen is sourced. Because collagen is a protein that helps maintain healthy joints and improve skin elasticity, it is typically found in bones, cartilage, connective tissues, tendons, and skin.
That means gelatin is typically obtained by boiling down the following cow and pig body parts in water:
- Bones
- Ligaments
- Skin
- Tendons
So those icky bits of gelatin wedged between your teeth and gums is most likely a potpourri of bones, tendons, and ligaments with a dash of boiled skin to round it all off! No wonder gelatin is so chewy! (In fact, a synonym of “chewy” is “cartilaginous” meaning like cartilage.)
After digesting this information, does a vegan option now sound more palatable to you? 😉
Quick Links: Top – About Agar – Vegan CBD Gummies Recipe – Potency Estimate
Agar Powder: Ideal for Vegan CBD Gummies
Once again, plant life comes to the rescue, offering an alternate chewable ingredient. In this instance, the rescuing plant is algae from the ocean!
Derived and processed from some red algae species (ogonori and tengusa are the most popular sources), it’s known by a variety of names:
- Agar
- Agar-agar
- Agar agar
- Ceylon moss
- China glass
- China grass
- China isinglass
- Dai choy goh
- Jaffna moss
- Japanese gelatin
- Japanese kanten
As you can see from the list of names, this ingredient has been popular in Asian cultures for quite a while. For this article we will call it agar. That will save us a few keystrokes while sparing your eyes from seeing double.
Agar comes in a variety of forms, such as flakes, strands, bars, or powder. For this recipe, it’s important to use agar powder, as this form is best for creating a chewy texture. The secret is in first heating up a mixture containing agar to a gentle boil. After cooking it for a few minutes, it will cool down into a gelatin.
It is also important to be aware that the consistency of gummies made with agar powder is quite different from traditional gelatin-based gummies. Specifically, you never need to worry about bits of these gummies wedging between teeth and gums: as you eat these vegan CBD gummies, it almost feels as if they are melting in your mouth. While they are initially chewy, they quickly break down during mastication. The end result is tasty vegan CBD gummies that burst with flavor without little pieces lodging in your teeth and gums.
A Quick Look at Agar
In our Western cultures, agar may be a new and exciting vegan option but agar has been known and used for centuries in Asian cultures.
Japanese legend points to a Kyoto innkeeper in the mid-1600s as the accidental discoverer of agar. It came about when the still-warm surplus seaweed soup he discarded formed into a gel after a cold winter night. Over the years, agar grew in usage and popularity, spreading across several Southeast Asian cuisines.
The demand for agar today is global. It is highly popular among vegan consumers thanks to its plant-based properties that let it replace gelatin in food preparation. While still a staple in Southeast Asian cuisines for making jellies, custards, and puddings, it now appears in many international cuisines. For example, in Mexico it is used to make fruit-shaped candies coated with sugar. In Russia, it’s made into a soft meringue, perfect as cake filling or standalone sweets glazed with chocolate. It also substitutes for pectin when making jams and marmalades.
The Versatility of Agar
The uses for agar extend beyond culinary practices. Scientists use an agar plate (aka, Petri dish) to create a growth medium that combines agar with other nutrients. This mix allows microorganisms (such as bacteria and fungi) to be cultured and observed under a microscope. Because most organisms find agar indigestible, the growth of microbes does not impact the gel being used. This makes agar a highly stable medium, useful for observing microorganisms.
It might be that we have only scratched the surface of possible uses for agar. Here are a few other areas where agar shines:
- Ant Farms – instead of sand, agar provides greater transparency plus nutrition to ants
- Biofertilizer – often used in organic farming practices
- Dentistry – agar is ideal for impression material
- Electrochemistry – agar is used to make salt bridges and gel plugs
- Modeling Clay – a clean and natural alternative to traditional modeling clay for kids
- Packaging – a prototype packaging system called Agar Plasticity may ultimately replace oil-based plastic packaging
Just like the hemp plant, it seems that agar is highly versatile and beneficial for humankind!
But let’s now return to the culinary side of agar. Because it’s time to learn how to make vegan CBD gummies! 🙂
Quick Links: Top – About Agar – Vegan CBD Gummies Recipe – Potency Estimate
Your Easy-Peasy Vegan CBD Gummies Recipe
We do not call this recipe “easy-peasy” simply because that catchy phrase rhymes and rolls easily off the tongue. It’s easy-peasy because the ingredients are few, the directions are simple, the preparation is fast, and the results are delish!
By the way, you can also call these babies gelatinized fruit drinks because, as the ingredients show, it is mainly fruit juice. Each gummy can be likened to a nibble of fruit juice.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup fruit juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons agar powder
- 1 gram Fern Valley Farms Broad-Spectrum CBD Wax
VEGAN CBD GUMMIES: A PICTORIAL WALKTHROUGH
DIRECTIONS
- Whisk together the fruit juice of your choice with the sugar and agar powder in a medium saucepan.
- Add the CBD Wax by using a food grater; this shreds the wax so it will more easily melt into the other ingredients.
- Heat up the saucepan on the stove until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring all the while with your whisk. As it reaches the boiling point, the mixture will thicken with fat bubbles slowly rising to the surface.
- Continue stirring and cooking for five minutes (your mixture remains thick during this stage).
- Remove from the stove and pull a gummy mold out of the freezer. Using a dropper, fill the gummy mold with your gummy mixture.
- Transfer the mold to the fridge to let the gummies harden.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all molds have been filled.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Remove the gummies from the molds and enjoy!
Notes and tips for optimal results:
- You can swap out granulated sugar with the same amount of either maple or agave syrup
- If you wish to sweeten your vegan CBD gummies a bit more, roll them in sugar after they harden
- Fruit juices with stronger flavors (i.e., cherry, blueberry, grape, and orange juices) give your vegan CBD gummies a more noticeable taste
- If using a milder flavor, consider adding a flavor extract; for instance, add lemon extract if using lemonade as your fruit juice
- While preparing your recipe, throw your molds into the freezer; this helps your gummies firm up faster when added to the molds
- Store any gummies you don’t eat in an airtight container in the refrigerator; they will last a couple of weeks at the minimum
- As an alternative to molds, spread your gummy concoction thinly and evenly on a baking sheet; once they harden, cut them into squares
Gummy Molds
Any molds (even ice cube trays!) can be used for firming up these gummies. But if this becomes a regular recipe for you, we recommend you invest in a set of molds.
Start by searching for “gummy molds” on either eBay or Amazon. The results should reveal a slew of products suitable for your needs. Besides bears, fish, and other traditional gummy shapes, you may opt for molds shaped like cannabis leaves. (That leaves no doubt as to what is inside your culinary creation!) You typically also get a handy dropper when you buy a set of molds. This little tool is the most effective way to fill those molds.
The cost for gummy molds is typically nominal. A set of molds (including dropper) should cost less than $15.
Quick Links: Top – About Agar – Vegan CBD Gummies Recipe – Potency Estimate
Estimating the Potency of Your Vegan CBD Gummies
Finally, let’s get an idea of how much CBD is packed into these vegan CBD gummies. As usual, we will start with the potency of the overall recipe. Next, we’ll divvy that up by the number of vegan CBD gummies you made.
Our easy-peasy Vegan CBD Gummies recipe calls for 1 gram of our wonderful Fern Valley Farms CBD Wax. The lab report for this product indicates a CBD potency of 74.079%. This means one gram contains 740.79mg of CBD.
But there is close to another 50mg of other cannabinoids found in this CBD Wax. In all, you will find a total of 791.1mg of cannabinoids contained in each gram of wax, as follows:
- CBD – 740.79mg
- CBG – 20.61mg
- CBC – 12.84mg
- CBN – 9.31mg
- CBDV – 7.55mg
This recipe filled four gummy mold trays. Each tray contained a 5X10 grid of teddy bear molds, so each tray made 50 vegan CBD gummies. Multiply that by the four trays used and you end up with 200 gummy bears. Not bad for less than 30 minutes of time and four simple ingredients!
YOUR CANNABINOID POTENCY ESTIMATE
- The recipe contained 740.79mg of CBD (791.1mg if including all cannabinoids)
- Since there were 200 vegan CBD gummies, divide the CBD potency of 740.79 by 200
- The result is 3.7mg of CBD per gummy (3.956mg if including all cannabinoids)
More Cannabinoids for Your Easy-Peasy Vegan CBD Gummies
Adding our Broad-Spectrum CBD Wax is not the only easy-peasy method for infusing cannabinoids into your vegan CBD gummies.
These Fern Valley Farms products are also easy-peasy to add (note that we provide a rough estimate of the amount of cannabinoids that would be added to your recipe based upon our recommended allotment):
- Micronized Delta 8 – a ½ teaspoon of this powder is equivalent to about 0.6 grams; one gram of Micronized Delta 8 has a 20.3% potency (about 200mg), so a ½ teaspoon would add 120mg of Delta 8 THC to your recipe (or 0.6mg per gummy)
- Delta 8 Distillate Syringe – ½ml of our Delta 8 THC Distillate would add about 400mg of Delta 8 THC to your recipe (or 2mg per gummy)
- THC-O Distillate Syringe – ½ml of our THC-O Distillate would add about 350mg of THC-O to your recipe (or 1.75mg per gummy)
Because these gummies are small, the cannabinoid dosages per gummy are also small. But it is highly likely that you will eat more than one of these minuscule treats. With such small dosages per gummy, it is easier to gauge the effectiveness of each edible. It also means that eating one extra gummy should have a minor impact on the overall effects. This makes it more likely to pinpoint the right dose without going overboard.
Finally, for the ultimate adventurer, consider a medley of cannabinoids by adding all the above along with your CBD Wax!
Psst! Don’t forget our own line of gummies. You may even get some inspirations and ideas for making your own vegan CBD gummies!
Our edibles are not only vegan; they are fairly priced, delicious, and potent. Plus they are ALWAYS lab-tested so you know exactly what you are consuming! 🙂
Entrepreneurial Tip: If you develop a knack for making potent vegan CBD gummies, consider a side gig. Buy bulk products at our wholesale site and see how easy it is to make money doing what you love!
