Any cooking oil experts out there???

[chocccie]

I have a lovely cookery book from the USA and lots of the recipes call for canola oil.  Which I can't get here. 

What I can get is colza oil.  Both of them are turnipy in origin ... does anyone know if I could substitute canola for colza. 

I'm loath to just jump in and test it as most of the recipes are long winded and contain expensive ingredients ... but they do look scrummy!

[Clair]

They're the same.

[Pierre ZFP]

Hmmmmmmm....turnipy oil ... YUM!

If it's a savoury dish, why not use some nice olive oil?

[David]

See if you can find Rapeseed Oil. Although  I don't remember any Fields sown with Rapeseed in France.

Much better for you, better than Olive Oil in fact.

They have just started cold pressing Rapeseed here in the UK.

David

[Pierre ZFP]

[quote user="David"]  I don't remember any Fields sown with Rapeseed in France.

[/quote]

Well, just go to Pas-de-Calais and from any road/train/plane you will see masses and masses of the stuff.  It's used for animal feed and margarine isn't it?

Personally I don't think it has much flavour at all, much prefer the time-honoured olive.

In what way is it better for you?

 

[JayJay]

[quote user="David"]See if you can find Rapeseed Oil. Although  I don't remember any Fields sown with Rapeseed in France.

David
[/quote]

Erm..........................PARDON?????[blink] Colza is rapeseed & France is full of it!!!

[Clair]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Personally I don't think it has much flavour at all, much prefer the time-honoured olive.

In what way is it better for you?[/quote]

I don't think it's better, but it seems to be just as good!

I agree re the taste, but sometimes, olive oil just isn't the thing (Chinese cooking)

[quote user="Wikipedia"]Canola oil (or rapeseed oil) contains both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in a ratio of 2:1 and is only second to flax oil in omega-3 fatty acid. It is one of the most heart-healthy oils and has been reported to reduce cholesterol levels, lower serum tryglyceride levels, and keep platelets from sticking together. Some UK farmers (such as Farrington Oils[1]) have started to produce cold-pressed rapeseed oil as a versatile cooking oil and dressing, similar in use to olive oil.

... L'huile de colza contient plus de 2% d'oméga 3, par conséquent, elle

doit être utilisée en assaisonnement ou que très légèrement chauffée.

En la faisant trop chauffer ou frire, elle devient toxique... contient de l'acide oléique (60 %), de l'acide linoléique (22 %), et de l'acide linolénique (ce qui en fait une importante source naturelle d'acides gras oméga-3.). C'est en Europe l'huile végétale la plus consommée, devant l'huile de tournesol et celle de soja, mais elle n'est pas recommandée pour la friture.

L'huile de colza entre dans la composition de la margarine.

La consommation d'huile de colza

ou de margarine de colza, pourrait réduire de 70 % le risque de

maladies coronariennes. Elle préviendrait le cancer et certaines

pathologies de la peau et du cerveau.

Les feuilles de colza aussi sont comestibles, à l'instar de celles du chou vert frisé (qui appartient au même genre Brassica).

Certaines variétés sont vendues comme légumes verts, principalement

dans les épiceries asiatiques. On les prépare aussi dans la cuisine

espagnole et portugaise. On peut en trouver en hiver sur les marchés du

sud-ouest de la France, sous le nom de "broutte".[/quote]

[Pierre ZFP]

Ah, very true re Chinese (and Indian) cooking but then I would go for Sunflower oil.

I thought there was some doubt now whether omega-6 and 3 made any difference?  or was that last week's food fad?

[Clair]

Pierre, if you were a woman, you'd know of their benefits!

[chocccie]

thanks Claire - I suspected they may be the same, or very closely related.  I can get creating now!

Olive oil is very distinctive - great for simple and hearty food but often not suitable for dishes with much more delicate flavours, as itl can often take over in a dish.

Thanks again Claire.

[Clarkkent]

Strictly speaking, Canola is a trademarked genetically-modified version of rapeseed. It contains lower levels of erucic acid than unmodified rapeseed. Erucic acid is thought to be carcinogenic.

I have no idea whether or not the almost endless crops of rape seen all over France in Spring are GM or not. A growing use is for biodiesel.

[David]

When I last went through France via Calais and into Belgium I did'nt see any Rapeseed but then it may have been the wrong time of year.

As I understand it, rapeseed Oil contains more of the Omega 3 and 6 and the better cholesterol type fats than Olive Oil. At least that's what they said on the TV.

[tenniswitch]

Peanut oil is best for Chinese (stands up best to high temps for stir-frying).  Peanut, canola/colza/rape oil, and olive oil are all monounsaturates and equally good from a medical standpoint.

Personally, I prefer the taste of peanut oil for Asian food, canola for Indian and olive oil (occasionally with a smidgeon of butter added for the flavor) for everything else.  (Well, actually I prefer ghee- clarified butter- for Indian, but I'm trying to be good.) 

[Suze01]

I recently bought some Colza oil in stead of my usual tournesol because I went on a sauce making 'soiree' and it was recommended to use to make mayonnaise type sauces.

I did notice on the bottle though that it should not be heated ie: used only for dressings etc.  I don't know whether this is just to protect the omega 3/6 content though.