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This may not be true for all stoners, but I love the taste of cannabis.
While other users may cringe at the sour, skunky or bitter notes of a dank nug, others salivate. Cannabis is an acquired taste, and for those who’ve acquired it, a nuanced terpene profile can be as gastronomically attractive as a Fred Meyer bakery counter, which is to say, very.
However, cannabis enthusiasts of all sorts should find something that pleases their palate in Laurie + MaryJane’s newest line: Herb + Spice—six seasoning blends with 240 milligrams of decarboxylated hemp CBD. The addition of the jars of flavoring to the Portland company’s already robust lineup of edibles marks a kind of turning point, not just for Laurie + MaryJane but for the industry as a whole. Users are spoiled for choice when it comes to cannabis-infused candy, snacks and even beverages, but a product that encourages culinary creativity and puts users in control of every aspect of their edible experience is a rare commodity.
Since stoned kitchen sports is one of my favorite pastimes, I was eager to try the blends. After buying and experimenting with three, here are the results:
Ranch Seasoning
For ranch dressing enthusiasts, this blend hit all the notes that a packet of Lawry’s or Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning would feature, with barely a hint of grassy cannabis essence. It’s also as easy to use as a grocery store flavoring blend. When shaken straight from the bottle into a small bowl of sour cream or plain yogurt, the resulting dip is a perfect accompaniment to a veggie tray, charcuterie board, or french fries. I’m not much of a ranch diva, but I would enthusiastically dunk several baby carrots into this spread.
Spiced Sugar Seasoning
Being a stoner with a sweet tooth, this blend was the one I was most excited to audition. When making sweet edibles, dosing can be tricky because of the way carrier oils do or do not disseminate into a batter. Short of infused butter, incorporating weed into the dough pre-bake can lead to grasslike or bitter flavors in the finished product. The Laurie + MaryJane Spiced Sugar blend conceals cannabis’s funky notes with a potpourri of ultrafine sugar, cinnamon, milk powder, vanilla bean, nutmeg, molasses and clove. It would be a superb finish to a cookie, loaf or muffin, but feeling too lazy to bake, I just sprinkled it on a heavily buttered slice of white toast scattered with rainbow jimmies. I simultaneously experienced a sugar rush and a CBD-induced state of relaxation. Highly recommended.
Italian Seasoning
A basic Italian blend is a spice rack essential that comes in handy when you need to add flavor to basic jarred sauce or simply kick your garlic bread up a notch. Laurie + MaryJane’s version delivers, even with its addition of dank cannabis flower. The seasoning’s expertly balanced blend of garlic, basil, chile flakes, oregano, parsley and thyme amped up my otherwise semi-bland pesto pasta and added an ephemeral layer of weedy complexity that, as a true cannaisseur, excited my palate. Post-pesto pasta, I added a dash to frozen pizza, a baked potato, and savory gravy. As a CBD supplement, it’s effectively soothing; as a spice, it’d be proudly stocked on my shelf. High praise, indeed.
BUY: Laurie + MaryJane, 7958 SE Foster Road, 503-765-8061, laurieandmaryjane.com.