Maceration – extraction into a liquid medium
In short
Maceration is the drawing of constituents out of plant material into a liquid medium, without pressure and without mechanical disruption. Diffusion along a concentration gradient does the work. With cannabis the medium is usually an edible fat, which makes maceration the step that moves the compound out of the flower and into the oil.
Influencing factors
Four quantities decide the outcome: temperature, contact time, particle size, and the ratio of plant to solvent. None substitutes for another. Finer material offers more surface, a wider ratio sustains the gradient longer, and both only work as long as the time is right.
Distinction from decarboxylation
Both happen in the same pot at similar temperatures, yet they are different things. Decarboxylation changes the molecule; maceration only moves it. A preparation can fail at either step, and the symptom looks identical: it works weakly. Working out which step failed is therefore more useful than adjusting the temperature first.
State of measurement
Protocols for olive oil run one to two hours at around 98 °C, and among the solvents compared the oil performed best at taking up terpenes, particularly at the longer heating time. A robust yield curve over time under kitchen conditions is missing, however. The percentage figures circulating online cannot be traced to any primary source.
Relevance to cannabis
The term rarely appears in recipes, but it is the standard name for the procedure in the pharmaceutical literature on cannabis oils. Knowing it shortens the path to solid figures: where a kitchen text says steeping or simmering, that literature says maceration.