Hempseed requires preparing before use. There are many ways of doing this - one being to buy it ready cooked in a tin! If you are in a hurry the tinned stuff is good, and it is well worth keeping a tin or two in stock for emergencies or short notice sessions. However, preparing your own hempseed will save you a lot of money in the long term.

If you are good at forward planning then soaking the seeds for 24 hours will reduce the cooking time. If you are less organised you will just have to cook your hemp from dry for a little longer. Simply place the seeds in a pan, cover with water, and heat until the water boils then simmer until all the seeds have split and the white shoot is showing. Ensure that the seeds are covered with water during the cooking process. If you have a pressure cooker that you can dedicate to hemp preparation that can be used to cook the seeds more quickly than an open pan. Once cooked decant the seeds and the now oily water into a plastic bucket with a tight fitting lid. Don't let the cooked seeds dry out.

Cooled, cooked hemp can be bagged in its liquid and frozen for later use.

More hempseed preparation tips to follow...