Autumn is a time for cozying up to a fire, admiring the leaves as they change color, and also a time for switching it up in the kitchen. Light summer fare gives way to hearty and festive fall meals each year as the days shorten and grow colder. From hearty stews packed with root vegetables to pumpkin spice and everything nice, fall has a flavor profile all its own.
If you are a cannabis lover and live in an area that is currently experiencing the lovely change in seasons, you might wonder how you can maximize your fall experience by using cannabis as a tool. Sure, you can get high on a lovely foliage walk, but it’s the tastes and smells of fall that really warm the soul.
While cannabis works with nearly all of fall’s flavors, these five foods stick out as fall foods that pair perfectly with pot. Some improve the flavor, while some can even work to enhance and balance your high.
Apples
Apples and cannabis go hand in hand, literally. Nearly every pot smoker has resorted to turning an apple into a cannabis pipe in a desperate moment, finding that it isn’t such a bad idea. Apart from this makeshift smoking device, apples have even more in common with cannabis than you might think.
The sweet yet tart flavor from fresh apples brings out some of cannabis’s more nuanced flavor. In fact, some strains of weed have even started to taste like apples. According to healthcare technology company Verilife, “In many instances, cannabis cultivators discover new flavors, or try to create new flavors, with selective breeding between strains. This process is what gives us the wide array of apple-flavored cannabis that’s available on the market today.”
So pairing an apple-flavored weed with an apple baked good feels like a no brainer. Not to mention, cooking apple-flavored anything will transform your home into a cozy fall wonderland.
Pumpkin Spice
Thanks to a certain coffee chain, fall just isn’t fall without pumpkin spice. There is pumpkin spice everything, from coffee to candles to soap to candy. While there is so much of this flavor in October that it can be a bit off-putting, consider adding some of that pumpkin spice to your marijuana.
Pumpkin and the spices associated with it, like nutmeg, allspice and ginger, all possess strong flavor. If nothing more, this helps mask some of the less desirable tastes found in marijuana. In addition to the strong flavor, pumpkin and marijuana, as it turns out, have a bit of a symbiotic relationship. According to the medical marijuana doctor site DOCMJ, “When consumed alongside cannabis, pumpkin can stimulate the mind and energize the body while helping your body relax.”
Why not give this combination a try? Who knows, maybe once you add some weed, pumpkin spice really does live up to the hype.
Chocolate
Chocolate really starts to find its place in the home as the weather cools off. From Halloween candy to hot cocoa, chocolate is a mainstay during the colder months. Not only is chocolate delicious, but it is frequently combined with marijuana, and not just because its fat content and flavor lends itself perfectly to edibles.
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There is some scientific evidence that chocolate can enhance your normal cannabis high, due to the fact that it causes stimulation to some of the same receptors and marijuana.
Anandamide, the “bliss” molecule that our bodies produce, is one of the compounds found in small quantities in cacao. More significantly, as we’ve reported before, “cacao features two others chemicals in higher concentrations that inhibit the breakdown of anandamide, as well as phytocannabinoids in cannabis including THC and CBD, potentially intensifying their effects. On top of this is theobromine, which also amplifies the effects of anandamide.” Talk about a match made in heaven!
Additionally, according to Veriheal, marijuana combined with chocolate can also fight off anxiety and even have anti-nausea effects. Sounds like a win-win.
Sweet Potatoes
It’s just not Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes. From cold sweet potato salad to sweet potato casserole, and of course sweet potato pie, this orange vegetable is a mainstay in fall cookery. Its earthy notes (especially when the skin is left on) lend it to being a great food to combine with weed. Not only does cannabis taste nice with sweet potatoes (think a browned buttered sweet potato with that lemon minty terpene flavor), but there are some health and wellness benefits to this combination.
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According to MMJ Health, “The vitamins in sweet potatoes enable your brain to produce serotonin, which can eventually help you stabilize your feelings and enjoy a relaxing psychoactive experience.”
Root Vegetables
Carrots and beets and turnips, oh my! These hearty and colorful root vegetables begin to appear on menus at nearly every seasonal eatery as the leaves change colors and begin to fall. This is because root vegetables are in their prime in the Autumn, and are often some of the last foods to be harvested.
Best of all, these earthy and sometimes sweet edible roots can pair nicely with cannabis. There are several cannabis-infused root vegetables recipes out there. This route is a great one to take if you are vegan or health conscious. It allows you a high and tasty side dish without loads of butter and carbs. Just infuse the marijuana with oil instead of butter and add your usual spices. Earthy spices like rosemary, sage and tarragon help to further compliment this pairing.
