What Exactly Is Hemp Trim Good For?

There are many different parts to a hemp plant. And a lot of these parts are trimmed away to produce dense, cannabinoid-rich dry herb. But what happens to the rest of the hemp plant matter that is trimmed away? Does it just go to waste? Or can you use every last part of the hemp plant?

There is good news -- when it comes to trim, consumers and manufacturers have discovered many ways to use this hemp byproduct. That means that almost all of the parts of the hemp plant that are trimmed away can be used to create another cannabinoid-rich product. It’s all just a manner of knowing what you are working with and what you can use it for.

What Is Trim?

When determining what part of the hemp plant you can use to make other products, you should know what you are looking at. “Trim” is a byproduct of the trimming process for hemp plants. During the trimming process, growers snip away the fan leaves, sugar leaves, and stems to leave just the dense bud. Trim, however, is a loose term that can encompass all the parts of the hemp plant that are trimmed away. However, in a dispensary, it commonly refers to sugar leaves, which are ground up and sold for cheap.

Can You Smoke Trim?

If you’re considering buying trim the next time you are at the dispensary, then you should first consider what you are going to do with it. Trim can be very harsh to smoke and tastes more like grass than terpenes. Trim does not have as high of a trichome density as A-bud or B-bud, but it does contain cannabinoids, nonetheless.

There are few different methods for utilizing every drop of cannabinoids left in trim. All the methods usually include transforming the trim into another product, which has extracted cannabinoids in it. This eliminates the harsh plant taste of trim and allows you to use all of the cannabinoids still.

Three Ways to Use Trim

If you don’t want any part of your home-grown hemp harvest to go to waste, then there are a few different things you can do with leftover trim. These methods are also used by manufacturers who do not want to allow any part of the hemp plant to go to waste. Here are the top three ways that trim is used by consumers and manufacturers, depending on the materials available.

1. Cook With Trim

The most common way to use trim is to cook or bake with it. Trim is the ideal plant material for cooking edibles because it is already ground up and easy to add to oil or butter for infusing. Trim should still be decarboxylated though, before being mixed in with butter or oil, to activate the cannabinoids present.

The possibilities are seemingly endless when cooking with trim. You can infuse butter, cooking oil, coconut oil, or any other fat-based substance with the cannabinoids from the trim.  You can choose to make a stash of cannabinoid-infused butter to bake with or eat with snacks or toss a bit of the trim into a sauté pan with butter for sautéing. Once you have your infused base of choice though, you can get creative about what you mix it into.

2. Use Trim to Make Tinctures

Another option for using hemp trim is to create a concentrated tincture. Tinctures are surprisingly easy to make at home, and many manufacturers will also use trim to make tinctures for dispensaries as well. The process for making a tincture at home involves decarboxylating the trim and adding it to either a food-grade, high-proof alcohol, or oil base. Then you just must wait. Over time, the cannabinoids will become infused with alcohol or oil, and the remaining plant matter can be strained out.

Manufacturers also use trim to create tinctures, however, the manufacturing process is on a much larger scale. It still takes time for a tincture to cure when made in a factory, but specialized machines can help accelerate the process. No matter what method is used though, hemp trim can create some potent CBD tinctures.

3. Turn Trim into Wax Or Oil

The final way to use trim is to turn it into a concentrated oil or wax, however, this process is best left to the professionals. Extracting cannabinoids from trim and turning them into concentrated products like wax, oil, or RSO can involve some heavy machinery. If this process is taken on at home, it can be potentially dangerous. But when you are browsing the wax or oil shelves at a dispensary, know that the more affordable options may have been made from trim.

What Is the Best Way to Use Trim?

No matter what you do with your trim, you can rest with the peace of mind that every precious part of your hemp plant is being put to good use. It is a shame to throw cannabinoids away and can be well worth taking on a bit of DIY to make use of leftover plant matter. If you are considering picking up some trim the next time you are in a dispensary though, think about what you want to do with it before making the purchase.

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