Name: Canola oil, pressed from the seeds of canola plants — cultivars of rapeseed (Brassica napus or Brassica rapa) specifically bred to be low in erucic acid. The name “canola” is derived from “Canadian oil, low acid.” See the separate rapeseed oil page for how the two names relate.
Description
Rapeseed was introduced to Canadian Prairie farming during the Second World War as an alternative source of vegetable oil, but the oil's high erucic acid content was a nutritional concern. Canadian plant breeders Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson spent the 1960s and 70s breeding low-erucic-acid, low-glucosinolate varieties, releasing the first in 1968 and 1971 and completing the conversion of Canadian rapeseed production to these new low-acid types by 1973.
This bred-down crop was renamed canola to distinguish it from traditional high-erucic-acid rapeseed, which remains grown for industrial rather than food use. Canola is now one of the world's major edible oil crops, grown widely across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.
Main nutrition value
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Like all pure oils, canola oil is essentially 100% fat and around 884 kcal per 100g. It has one of the lowest saturated fat contents of any common cooking oil, with a favourable mix of monounsaturated fat and the essential polyunsaturated fats linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). It has a high smoke point, well suited to most everyday cooking methods.
How best to be consumed
Canola oil's neutral flavour and high smoke point make it one of the most versatile everyday cooking oils.
- Use for everyday sautéing, roasting and baking, where its neutral flavour won't compete with other ingredients.
- Use in baked goods as a liquid fat substitute for butter or shortening, in recipes designed for it.
- Choose cold-pressed or expeller-pressed canola oil if avoiding chemically extracted oils is a priority.
- Store away from heat and light to slow oxidation, as with any oil.
Overconsumption could cause…
As with any oil, the main concern at high intake is simply excess calories rather than a specific health risk unique to canola.
- Excess calorie intake if used generously, since a tablespoon carries well over 100 kcal.
- Modern canola's low erucic acid content means the historical health concern tied to traditional rapeseed oil does not apply to it.
Wikipedia — Canola, used for breeding history and erucic acid background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola
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