This recipe has been approved worldwide by stoners, hippies, trippin' rednecks, city slicker hipsters, and airport security personnel!
Finally! Here is my new and improved honey recipe I've been talking about! Let me say right away that making this stuff is a lot easier than it looks in this thread; I just added every relevant detail I could think of to explain it as clearly as possible. I also give directions for those of you with precise scales OR regular kitchen measuring cups/spoons, and metric measurements. It's much more efficient if you make a bunch of 'em at once, by the way. Read it all before starting, of course!
So What the Hell is This?
Mushrooms preserved and potentiated in a precise amount of honey so as to standardize the dosage, prolong shelf life, trip harder, and not arouse suspicion if traveling with them (more on these points later).
Ingredients and Materials (for a single batch):
• 1 ounce (28 grams) cracker-dry fungi
• 3.0 grams of Gingko biloba leaf powder [1.5 teaspoons or approx. 7.5 mL]
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon [2.5 mL]
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger [2.5 mL]
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg [1.23 mL]
• 1/2 cup honey [~120 mL]
• coffee grinder
• stiff spatula
• knife (for stirring, doesn't need to be sharp)
• Glass measuring cups, both at least 1-cup size (get a larger one if doing more than one ounce at a time)
• 2 small pots to boil water in
• "Gladware" mini-tupperware tubs (or any suitable container; wash before using!)
• Optional- thermometer, scale w/ capacity of at least 600 grams, dust mask!
[Note: Below, when I write "cup" I mean a glass measuring cup, and "tub" means the mini tupperware/Gladware/jar or whatever you put the finished product into}
This is all the stuff gathered up and ready to go:
Pictured below are just the ingredients. I prefer the lightest-color honey I can find (also the cheapest) because stronger flavored honeys, while great by themselves, taste unpleasant mixed with the fungi IMO. The Gingko powder is available in health food/herb stores (good ones). It usually costs about a dollar an ounce:
How To Make It:
First, put the measuring cups in the pots and add water (to the pot) until almost to the top. Remove measuring cups, cover pots and bring water to a full boil.
While the water comes to a boil, gather everything else together, measure out the Gingko and spices, and pre-crush the ounce of fungi w/ your hands so you can fit it all in the grinder at once. Sometimes you need two grinding sessions, no big deal.
When the pots of water are at a full boil,
turn off the heat and set the measuring cups in the water. Put the honey (120 mL if making just one batch) into one of the cups, leave the other empty (just warm it up). The honey will warm up, and I like to keep the temp under 120 degrees F (~50 degrees C), so I use a thermometer, but with the heat off it won't get too hot. Warming is only to facilitate mixing and pouring.
Now put the crushed fungi into the grinder as shown so it all fits, then dump the spices on top, like so:
Note: This is where you should either wear a dust mask or turn on a filter. Fungi and spice dust are hell on your sinuses; if you can smell spices after grinding, you need better ventilation! If it does get to you, the sneezing and snot production should stop in a few hours.
Grind for about 15 seconds. I also swirl or shake it while grinding to distribute the pieces quickly. You can hear when the big chunks are gone and it's all powdered. I open it upside-down so the powder is all in the grinder's cup.
Safety Warning: Unplug the grinder after grinding!! You'll often need to use your finger to scoop some of the powder that sticks to the walls of the grinder out from around the blades . Please don't cut your fingers off! Unplug it!
You're now just about ready to mix. Pour some of the warm honey into the other cup, no more than about 50 mL.
Now
carefully pour the powder from the grinder into the cup with the 50 mL of honey. The powder tends to blast out all at once as you tilt it, beware!
Before mixing:
Use the knife to mix it, carefully, so that you don't scatter powder everywhere. Watch out for the dust. About 55 strokes will transform it into a homogenous blob.
Next, add the remaining honey.
If you are using a scale, bring the total weight of the mix to 185.0 grams (I hope you recorded the Tare weight of the measuring cup first!) Gross weight of my cup + honey is 586.3 grams, which is why I suggest a high-capacity scale).
Or, if not using a scale, just add the remaining 70 mL of honey. Mix it vigorously until the entire mix has the same sheen, or patina, so you are sure there are no super-potent globs alongside super-weak globs. You'll see what I mean.
At this point you have a choice, either put the entire mix into a single container (a 1-cup size "Gladware" plastic container or a 1/2 pint mason jar are the right size) OR split it into two containers. I prefer using two, since I don't have to carry my whole stash around at once. The 4-ounce size Gladware mini tubs work great for splitting the batch.
It's
much easier to just use the spatula and put it all into one container, or you can eyeball it as you split it into two, but I like to precisely split them, using a scale, so I know each one holds exactly a half-ounce of dried fungi. The pictures below show splitting w/ a scale. A small scale is OK for this part; no big glass cup involved...
Pouring this stuff is like herding cats, it has a viscosity similar to molten glass, and is very sticky! I put the empty tub on the scale, tare it, then use the knife to gently persuade the mix to pour slowly into it while watching the scale, stopping when I've poured half of it. Practice make perfect.
The other half requires that stiff spatula to scrape the sides of the measuring cup, and is where you are most likely to start making a mess. Use the spatula to scrape the cup, the knife to scrape the spatula, and the spatula to scrape the knife. Eventually most all of it gets into the tub, but don't drive yourself crazy going after every molecule! And lick the knife and spatula when you're done! Wheeee....
Almost done! Now you set the lids on the tubs (don't seal, just set them loosely!) and put them in the freezer. After an hour you can seal the tubs. I've cracked a lot of lids by sealing them before freezing, don't know why that happens...
They are now ready to eat! Be sure to take 'em out of the freezer about 30 minutes before dosing or it'll be a rock-hard solid chunk.
Disposable spoons, like the one pictured above, are my favorite way to distribute doses. I buy a box of 'em, scoop
level spoonfuls, and hand them out at friendly gatherings. I've even been chomping on one while talking to a cop, which was interesting, but the scene got friendlier right after that so no worries.
But wait there's more! I added some more relevant information and dosage recommendations in the next post...