Drying and curing cannabis is time consuming and rife with risks of contamination and quality degradation. So, it’s no wonder cultivators and processors have long sought ways to speed things up. Some of these producers try freeze dryers, a long-theorized drying and curing method. Unfortunately, they learn the hard way that freeze dryers simply don’t work for cannabis, losing precious time and material along the way.
That doesn’t mean freeze drying is ineffective. In fact, the opposite is true. But it does mean that freeze-drying has to be fine-tuned for the plant’s sensitivities. That’s where standard freeze dryers can’t keep up — and where machines specifically designed for cannabis shine.
The Drawbacks of Freeze Drying Cannabis
When cultivators and processors rely on conventional freeze drying, they’re likely to encounter the following issues:
- Dry, brittle flower: Zero moisture is the enemy of quality smokable cannabis. Conventional freeze dryers remove all or most moisture content, resulting in brittle bud that crumbles easily, smokes harshly, burns fast and makes for an overall unpleasant consumption experience.
- Diminished terpene content: Typical freeze dryers diminish terpene content by burning off valuable and fragile terpenes, diminishing flavor and aroma.
- Burdensome adaptations: When working with conventional freeze dryers, you’ll have to modify equipment that wasn’t designed for cannabis flower. Cannabis is a complex and unique plant, so using freeze dryers to pull off a proper dry and cure is unlikely to produce results that meet consumer expectations.
Balancing Time, Temperature, and Pressure: How Freeze Drying Works for Cannabis
Freeze-drying technology can indeed be useful for cultivators and manufacturers, but it requires calibration specifically designed for cannabis. That means dialing in the precise time, temperature, and pressure to exactly the right amount of moisture — not all moisture, as freeze dryers are designed to do.
Instead of opting for the same freeze dryers used for meats and vegetables, look for equipment that is designed for cannabis with the specific settings and SOPs included. These two forces together result in flower with an ideal moisture content. This stabilizes cannabinoids and fragile terpenes (including rare monoterpenes) without leaving the flower bone dry and preserving its structural integrity.
The work doesn’t stop there. Opt for freeze dryers programmed with settings specifically for cannabis. Some units will have patented “recipes” programmed for smokable flower, which will allow you to customize settings for your own cultivars and desired moisture content. This includes an optional setting to remove all or most moisture from the flower, which is beneficial for select high-yield extraction applications.
Freeze Dry Cannabis with Care
Whether for smoking or extraction, “fresh from the farm” cannabis flower is possible with freeze drying, but only when traditional freeze drying’s pitfalls are acknowledged and addressed. This means skipping the trip to Home Depot and canceling calls with freeze drying companies better known for wedding bouquets, vegetables and meats. Instead, skip straight to a freeze drying technology and machinery designed to dial in the right balance of moisture instead of eliminating it altogether.
