FSR June 2023

Hannah Vittengl, beverage director at Devils Head Ski Resort in Wisconsin, pairs the products with fruity recipes, adding the cannabinoid spirits to moji tos and blending them with pomegran ate juice or grapefruit juice. “I nd that people are really curious about it,” she says. “Once they see it and we tell them about it, they get pretty excited to try it out. It’s a great option for people that don’t drink, and with the growing fad for mocktails and the decline in drinking, it’s de nitely tell ing us that this is the future.” Peabody says education is a key com ponent, especially when it comes to CBD o erings. ough the compound doesn’t produce the same psychoactive e ects as THC, it can help users feel more relaxed. “ ere’s de nitely a big education hur dle to let people know they’re not going to get stoned from this, and CBD isn’t going to make them fail a drug test,” he says. “Another piece of that is going into restaurants and letting them know that it’s acceptable for them to serve, and that a lot of places are already doing it.” The regulatory landscape for res taurants serving CBD is somewhat of a gray area, but for the most part, Pea body says restaurants and bars are able to openly sell CBD infusions. e com pound is derived from both hemp and cannabis, and the origin can play a role in its legality. “Being involved with restaurants and bars is a really big part of what we do, and that’s why we decided to go the hemp route rather than the cannabis route,” he says. “With cannabis, you might only be able to sell a product at dispensaries, depending on where you are, but for us, a big part of the reason we made Flora was to give people in social settings an alternative to consume,” Peabody adds. Hemp-derived CBD is legal at the federal level under the 2018 Farm Bill, but regulations still vary state-by-state. Some states may have their own rules that limit the availability or use of CBD products. Others might have specific labeling and testing standards. Flora uses a water-soluble hemp

DEVILS HEAD SKI RESORT IN WISCONSIN ADDS CANNABINOID SPIRITS TO MOJITOS AND BLENDS THEM WITH POMEGRANATE OR GRAPEFRUIT JUICE.

FLORA HEMP SPIRITS

derived CBD isolate. Other options include full-spectrum CBD, which con tains all of the other cannabinoids and compounds found in the plant, includ ing trace amounts of THC. ere’s also broad-spectrum CBD, which contains all of the plant’s original compounds except for THC. Different types of CBD work bet ter for di erent menu items, says Bill Stewart, product design consultant at Portland-based Half Baked Labs. He works with chefs, consumer packaged goods brands, and cannabis companies to develop a wide variety of CBD infu sions, from beverages and baked goods to hors d’oeuvres and entrées. “If you’re doing something sweet, I rec ommend going with an isolate, because there’s very little avor,” he says. “Water soluble CBD isolates are an easy choice for drinks, because you just put a couple pumps into the beverage, stir it up, and you’re done.” Broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD have the added bene t of an “entou rage e ect,” where multiple compounds interact to produce a greater sense of relaxation. But those extra compounds

also create a stronger avor and aroma. “ ere’s a number of di erent ways to deal with that. One way is to beat it down with stronger avors, like choco late or salt,” Stewart says. “Salt is a nice addition to a dish containing full-spec trum CBD because it turns o the bit ter taste buds.” Another strategy is to enhance those earthy and bitter notes with complimen tary avors. Pepper, citrus, and pungent spices like ginger work well with CBD infusions. In savory dishes, the canna binoids can be treated as another herbal note, blending right in with rosemary, oregano, and other similar avor pro les. CBD can easily be added to olive oil, butter, or other kitchen staples to cre ate any number of functional menu items. Stewart says salad dressings, dips, spreads, icing, dessert toppings and other low-heat recipes o er an easy point of entry for chefs looking to hop on the CBD trend. “If I had one summary for restaurants, it’s that it’s not as crazy or as scary as you might think,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to incorporate CBD into your menu than most people anticipate.”

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

JUNE 2023