Cannabis Terpene Food Pairings Guide

Munchies – It’s a cannabis effect that anyone who has consumed cannabis will know about. It makes you hungry… Suddenly everything smells a lot better, and you become a walking, talking, food zombie. It’s awesome.

Now – Meet terpenes. They are what give certain cannabis strains their unique smell and vapor taste. Terpenes are found throughout nature and make citrus fruits or pine needles smell the way they do. Cannabis terpenes makeup to 2-4% in the bud and can hugely affect the overall experience. This is why you’ll find some strains are named after Oranges or Blueberry; it’s the terpene profile!

Once you learn more about a particular strain’s terpene profile, the better you can incorporate it for its unique health benefits. But also, for food pairing! We’ve done the research so you don’t have to about terpenes and their best food pairings and we’ve also included some wine pairings for the whole deluxe experience!

Munchies and Terpenes

THC can change how our mind interprets appetite, and different strains and methods of vaporization can influence our THC food choices. Also known as Tetrahydrocannabinol, it can bind to the bodies’ type 1 receptor (CB1) and promote eating and appetite. This effect can have a hugely positive effect on medicinal patients – but also on the munchies effect!

If we’re being honest, the easiest thing to do after a good session is to reach for the nearest salt and vinegar chip bag and mow down. We now know the best food pairings based on scientific research in modern times.  In other words, specific cannabis strains and food pairings are now a legitimate theory! As terpenes naturally occur in cannabis, you’ll be able to boost the flavors of certain foods that you’ll be eating. As a rule of thumb, the more potent the THC strain, the more rich food you will want to pair it with, just like how red wine goes well with a good steak.

Terpenes and Flavor Profiles

Like alcohol, different strains will have other effects on the body and the meal you’re having. For example, you wouldn’t have onion rings with red wine; you’d have a beer. The same goes for terpene pairing. There are certain things to keep in mind when mixing and matching cannabis with your food.

For example, you wouldn’t want to pair a strong drink like vodka with a body-heavy indica unless you wanted to be napping for two days straight. The other element to consider is the specific flavor theme that your strain may have. For example, something like limonene will pair well with fish or chicken due to its acidic and fruit traits, while something like pinene will pair well with a steak due to its earth or spicy characteristics.

In other words, pairing is a fine art that you will want to balance the taste and effect of a particular food with to get the best result. You don’t want to mask the flavor of the food or the strain, but you also want the effects of the THC to work well with the ingredients in your food!

What is the entourage effect?

The entourage effect, in short, is how certain cannabis products produce the best high through a combination of three things: cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Your body is full of cannabinoid receptors that interact with the chemicals found in weed when you get high and give cannabis medicinal effects.

Some terpene profiles in cannabis are more robust than others and may offer more health benefits than other strains. The top 3 most common therapeutic terpenes in THC are:

• Limonene
• Myrcene
• β- caryophyllene

As each cannabinoid has a unique effect on the body, it’s interesting to learn how they individually play a role in our mood and general perception of the high. For example, CBD is widely known to be more of a body high due to its high binding reception to bodily cannabinoid receptors. Strains that are high in terpenes often have a relaxing effect. When specific blends hit a combination of cannabinoids and terpenes, you can have a boosting effect called the entourage effect. This means that cannabis strains that contain CBD, Cannabinoids, and Terpenes have a better effect on the high than THC-only strains. In other words, a combination strain can be two to four times effective on the body.

So what does all of this mean? Let’s get into some cannabis food pairings!

Best Limonene Food Pairings

As the name implies, Limonene is a chemical compound most often found in lemons and other similar citrus fruits. As much as 97% of an orange peel’s essential oils are pure limonene – neat! In nature, this essential oil is used to protect plants from predators. Limonene has been proven to have several health benefits to humans, including anti-inflammation and antioxidizing.

If you’ve ever peeled an orange, you know how lovely Limonene smells! And for that reason, many cleaning products use Limonene extracts to boost their scent. In cooking, though, Limonene adds tangy flavors to the blandest of dishes and makes them exciting. For this reason, it can often be found to enhance proteins like chicken or fish and goes very well with white wine. Salads are also an incredible blank slate that works well with Limonene in orange slices or other citrus fruit! It is slightly acidic and can be boosted even more with a bit of cracked black pepper.

Our Choice: Shrimp Tacos and white wine

The citrus of the limonene strain will boost the flavor profile of the shrimp, and its pepper finish, making it slightly more robust.  As a mid-level strain, the high will work well with the lightness of the tacos. Wash that down with a slightly acidic but light white wine, and you’ve got yourself a charming experience!

Best dry herb vaporizer choice: Zeus Arc GTS / Zeus Arc GT 

• This will allow for excellent airflow, and on the lower heat end of 380F, you will have a lovely flavor profile and rockability!

Zeus Arc GT and Shrimp Tacos

Best Myrcene Food Pairings

Myrcene, found in thyme and mangoes, is responsible for the musky, earthy and herbal aromas of certain cannabis strains. Because of its herbal notes, myrcene goes well with savoury recipes. Try it with salmon, quiche or a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.

Myrcene is the most widely distributed terpene in cannabis strains on the market. It gives marijuana its earthy smell and is known to be an anti-carcinogen, antibacterial, and antibiotically. It has a calming effect after inhalation and is what will put people to sleep on couches around the world! A charcuterie board with a wide range of proteins and fatty cheese in terms of food pairing. The earthiness and mild spiciness of Myrcene strains will boost the taste of these foods and work well with the relaxation tendencies of the bodily receptors.

Our Pick: Salmon and cranberry brie crackers

This is the ultimate relaxation combination that will rest your body and mind. The sharpness and tanginess will blend well in the vapor and the food and work off one another to get your mouth truly watering as you prepare your food!

Best dry herb vaporizer choice:

• Utillian 620: This middle ground vaporizer hits very well with a boro-silicate mouthpiece stem. If you’re a casual smoker or a lightweight, this will be the option for you.
• G-Pen Elite: Featuring a .75g bowl and a friendly user interface, this will be an excellent budget friendly choice for Myrcene users with a high tolerance or a session with friends while you whip up snacks.
• Boundless Tera: A solid choice that will offer your precise temperature control, fast heat-up times, and an isolated air path with cooling straw-style mouthpiece

Utillian 620 with salmon crackers

Best Caryophyllene Food Pairings

Caryophyllene is found in hops, cloves and black pepper. It has a spicy, woody aroma that experienced consumers will recognize as one of the most prevalent scents of cannabis. It complements egg dishes nicely and can add a peppery kick to steak, jerk chicken or chilli con Carne.

Caryophyllene is generally a spicy terpene naturally found in black pepper or herbs like basil and oregano. Hops also work with a similar chemical compound, which makes a dark beer a good drink pairing. This spiciness kick means it can add a flair to already bold dishes like steaks, mushrooms, and red wines. With a small tangy sauce or caramelization during the cooking of your paired foods, and the stress and anxiety-reducing of caryophyllene strains will be boosted into overdrive. As these strains are typically muscular in terpenes, THC, and cannabinoids, the entourage effect will be generally strong. That’s why pairing with a rich dark beer’s depressant qualities will be one of the best highs you’ve ever had. You can pair the spicy tanginess with vegan tomato pasta or grilled fruit if meat isn’t your thing. Your taste buds will be thanking us!

Our Pick: Eggs Benedict with a Flying Monkey Chocolate Manifesto

This combination will perfectly match the earthy, bold flavors in Carophyllene strains, and the strong cannabinoid profile, which has a relaxing effect, will synergize well with the intense chocolate stout bitterness.

Best Cannabis Vaporizer Picks:

• Mighty Plus: This Storz & Bickel is the best in class for dry herb portable vapes and will behave the best clouds and flavour along with ease of use and taste – If you’re going to be optimizing for steaks and eggs benny, we recommend to match that class with the Mighty+ or Crafty+
• Arizer Extreme Q / Arizer XQ2: These desktop vapes will allow you to have fantastic vapor quality and cloud production for extended sessions. Fill in the bag accessories for added fun. Boom – A lovely session experience before your perfect food match!
• Arizer Solo 2 with 14mm bubbler bong and Arizer Water Pipe Adapter: If you want to up your cannabis vape game, then this is the setup to match your food pairing’s energy with!

Arizer Solo 2 with glass stem bubbler and four piece grinder

Conclusion

The best method for pairing cannabis and food is to use a Dry Herb Vaporizer. Boiling points are something to keep in mind, as combustion and smoke will destroy much of the health benefits that terpenes offer and any flavor to be paired food too. You can learn about these boiling points more in our Vaping Terpenes Guide! As you start to get the hang of making use of the primary terpenes in your cannabis strains, pairing food begins to get a lot more fun. You can even experiment with taking Microdosing THC to get the full effects of your food bite by bite.

We hope you enjoyed this cannabis pairing guide and hope you can try experimenting with your food combinations soon!
Let us know how it goes, or leave any feedback in the comments section!