CBG or CBD jam: cranberry-orange recipe at 2 mg

CBD and CBG are not controlled drugs, provided the starting product contains no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. A jam falls under a different body of law, food law. On 20 May 2026, the French Ministry of Agriculture restated that foods containing CBD are not authorised and must be withdrawn from the market, including food supplements and online sales. In June 2025, the French agencies Anses and ANSM had already pointed out that CBD foods, whether oils, capsules, sweets or cooked preparations, are not authorised for sale in the European Union.

CBG follows the same rules once swallowed: it is a hemp extract with no novel food authorisation. Our page on CBG describes the molecule, and our overview of CBD regulation in 2026 sets out the framework.

So no CBD or CBG jam may be sold, or served in a restaurant or guest house. A jar made at home, for yourself, is not a sale, but you make it on your own responsibility. Read your oil's label too: an oil sold as a cosmetic is not meant to be swallowed.

The main reason is the dose. Stirred into the jar, CBD spreads through all the jam, and each spoonful carries a share proportional to its weight. The previous version of this recipe added 4 mL of a 5% oil, or 200 mg of CBD. For a jar of about 450 g, a slice of toast spread with 20 g then gets 8.9 mg, and 17.8 mg with a 10% oil. Oil placed on the toast gives 2 mg, no more and no less.

Heat matters too, but less than people say. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Chemistry heated pure CBD in a sealed vial at 220 °C: the content had barely moved after 2 minutes, but more than 80% had gone after 60 minutes, partly turned into Δ⁹-THC and CBN. A jam simmers at around 100 °C for a quarter of an hour, far below those conditions, but nobody has measured the loss in a saucepan. Adding the oil after cooking avoids the question. Our guide to cooking with CBD oil compares other preparations.

Finally, a jar gets shared. Dosed on the toast, the CBD only reaches the adult who chose it, not the children or guests dipping into the same jar.

On 9 February 2026, EFSA set a provisional safe level of 0.0275 mg of CBD per kilo of body weight per day, about 2 mg for a 70 kg adult. The reference applies to CBD at least 98% pure, in food supplements. The European authority states that it cannot establish the safety of CBD for people under 25, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people taking medication. This recipe is not for them.

The calculation starts from the total CBD stated for the bottle: 1,000 mg in 10 mL makes 100 mg per millilitre. Divide the dose you want by that concentration.

These volumes are too small for a dropper: a 1 mL oral syringe graduated in hundredths, sold in pharmacies, can draw them. If the batch analysis gives a different content from the label, the analysis is what counts. Our laboratory page explains how to read it, and our article on how much CBD per day details EFSA's reference.

For CBG, the table does not apply as it stands: no authority has published a reference. The only controlled trial in humans, published in 2024, used a single 20 mg dose in 34 adults; it sets no safe dose for repeated use. If you choose a CBG oil, do not go beyond the volumes given for CBD.

Ingredients:

• 340 g of fresh or frozen cranberries;
• 50 g of brown sugar;
• 60 mL of maple syrup, or mild honey;
• the juice of one orange, about 80 mL, and its finely grated zest.

1. Put the cranberries in a heavy-based pan, without thawing them if they are frozen.
2. Add the sugar, maple syrup, juice and zest. Bring gently to a simmer.
3. Let the berries burst for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring.
4. Lower the heat and reduce for 8 to 10 minutes, until the jam coats the spoon. It thickens further as it cools.
5. Pour into a clean jar, close it, let it cool, then store it in the fridge. The yield depends on the reduction, around 450 g.
6. When serving, spread the jam on the toast, draw the oil into the syringe and place it on the jam. Eat the whole slice: the dose is calculated for it.

With 50 g of sugar and a little syrup for 340 g of fruit, this jam is much less sweet than a classic jam: keep it in the fridge and eat it quickly once opened. For a winter note, add a pinch of cinnamon and a star anise while it cooks; for a softer texture, replace half the cranberries with 200 g of diced ripe pears.

Keep the oil out of children's reach: Anses and ANSM report that accidental swallowing of CBD products can have serious effects in children. Never offer a CBD slice without telling the person who is going to eat it. CBD changes the activity of liver enzymes that break down many medicines, as our article on the grapefruit effect explains: if you take medication, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

A full-spectrum oil may contain up to 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. In France, driving after drug use is an offence as soon as a test detects THC, whatever the dose: our article on CBD and driving sets out the penalties. During pregnancy, see also Anses's proposal to classify CBD as toxic for reproduction. CBD is not a medicine; the only authorised cannabidiol medicine is Epidyolex.