Isopulegol

Mint with a woody, herbal edge.

A drier, more herbal mint than menthol. It suits tea, melon and the lemongrass end of things rather than a chocolate pairing.

In the kitchen

Survives infusion

Infusion is kind to these — every method on this site tops out at 200 °F, below where they go. Decarb is harder on them and a 375 °F bake harder still. They hold up best in something cooked gently or not at all: a no-bake, a sauce finished off the heat, a chilled dessert.

Cook it with

mint lemongrass lime basil tea melon ginger

The same compound is in lemongrass and mint — which is the short version of why these pairings work. You are not matching a flavor to the cannabis, you are adding more of something the flower already tastes of.

Recipes that suit it

All recipes →

DrinkStandardNo smell

Masala chai

Spices simmered in water, milk added after, infused fat whisked in off the heat. Nothing in it ever boils once the dose is in.

Contains fresh ginger, loose black tea

Written for

5 mgper mug

2 mugs · 17 min

SauceLowNo cookNo smell

Thai peanut sauce

Peanut butter let down with tamari, lime and warm water until it pours off a spoon. Built cold, kept cold, and measured out a tablespoon at a time over noodles, satay or a rice bowl.

Contains fresh ginger, lime juice

Written for

2.5 mgper tablespoon

16 tablespoons · 10 min

AppetizerLowNo cookNo smell

Avocado lime guacamole

Guacamole loosened with infused olive oil instead of being mashed dry. No heat, no smell, ready in ten minutes.

Contains lime

Written for

2.5 mgper serving

6 servings · 10 min

SauceLowNo cookNo smell

Basil pesto

Made in a food processor, no heat at all. Keeps a week in the fridge and doses pasta, eggs or bread by the spoonful.

Contains basil leaves

Written for

2.5 mgper serving

8 servings · 10 min

DessertStandardNo smell

Carrot cake cupcakes

Cupcakes solve the portioning problem a layer cake creates, and putting the infusion in the cream cheese frosting solves the heat problem — frosting is never cooked, so nothing is lost on the way.

Contains ground ginger

Written for

5 mgper cupcake

12 cupcakes · 55 min

MainStandard

Creamy tomato soup

Canned tomatoes cooked down with onion and garlic, blended smooth, then finished with cream and a slug of olive oil once the pot is off the burner. Ladling measured bowls is what keeps the servings honest.

Contains basil leaves

Written for

5 mgper bowl

6 bowls · 55 min

Flower that carries it

From StrainTrackr. Each of these breeders named isopulegol on their own product page — a claim about their cultivar, not a lab result. Most strains have no terpenes published at all, so this is a sample of what is documented rather than a ranking of what is strongest.