canola oil

Canola Oil Glossary |Health Benefits, Nutritional Information + Recipes with Canola Oil | Tarladalal.com Viewed 9364 times

Description
The name Canola was derived from "Canadian Oil, Low Acid", in 1978. Canola oil is basically rapeseed oil with lower levels of erucic acid, which is known to pose health hazards. The low erucic acid rapeseed for making Canola oil is derived by cross-breeding multiple lines of Brassica juncea and is considered safe for consumption.

Canola has a very different fatty acid composition and flavour than rapeseed. It has been hybridized from rapeseed to yield good all-purpose cooking oil with a high monounsaturated fat content similar to olive oil, low saturated fat content, very low level of erucic acid for neutral flavour, and good shelf stability that delays rancidity. Canola oil is one of the healthiest and most versatile cooking oils available for home cooks and professional chefs alike. It is light, clear and mild, making it ideal for cooking, fondues, stir-frying, baking, salads and marinades.

How to select
• Choose organic Canola Oil when you need neutral flavoured cooking oil for use up to medium high heat (375°F).
• For higher heat up to 450°F, select High Heat Canola for its extra high monounsaturated content and super high heat tolerance.
• Read the labels well.

Culinary uses
• Canola oil can be used as a shortening to give pastries a crumbly texture.
• It has a high flash point/smoking point and hence is suitable for high temperature cooking like frying, deep frying and baking.
• Canola oil doesn't separate from other salad dressing ingredients and also helps to blend ingredients in salad dressings together.
• Canola oil can also be used to grease cake pans and cookie sheets.

How to store
• Store canola oil bottles in a dark place, away from heat.

Health benefits
• Canola oil is supposed to promote good health due to its very low saturated fat and high monounsaturated fat content, and beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile.
• High monounsaturated oils such as Canola are a good all-purpose choice because they can generally take higher heat than polyunsaturated oils like safflower, sunflower and soybean.