Canola Oil
Purchasing
Canola oil can be purchased in 250 ml, 500ml, 1 litre and 4 litre containers.
When looking for a cooking or vegetable oil at the grocery store, look for canola oil. There are many different brand names that contain 100% canola oil
Storing, Preserving and Food Safety
Canola oil must meet strict quality standards. Consumers can associate quality with canola and rely on continued excellence in their canola oil.
Canola oil’s shelf life when stored at room temperature is one year.
Cooking tips/techniques:
Q: When Can I Use Canola Oil?
A: Basically you can use canola oil to replace any type of oil in any recipe. Here’s why…
With the lowest amount of saturated fat of any leading oil in your supermarket it also contains a good amount of heart healthy monounsaturated fat and omega-3 fatty acid it is an excellent choice for a healthy kitchen.
For the Heat of it!
Boasting a high smoke point of 242C (468F) it is an excellent choice when doing any high heat frying or deep frying.
Canola oil acts as a heat transfer medium in frying, creating crisp textures and intense flavours when browning, moistens and tenderizes food, aids in leavening, creates emulsions and gives the mouth a feel we all enjoy.
For the Taste of it!
Generally speaking canola oil has a very mild or neutral flavour making it an excellent carrier for other ingredients in your dish. It allows for seasonings to shine and for key ingredients to be showcased. However, if you are looking for an oil to pack a punch you should try out a cold pressed canola oil. Cold pressed canola oil packs flavour and is excellent for bread dips, salad dressings or a quick drizzle to finish a dish for great presentation.
Yes, even to replace a solid fat!
Did you know you can make some of your favourite recipes even healthier by replacing solid fats with canola oil? Not only do you make the type of fat in the recipe healthier you also decrease the caloric content of the recipe because you will decrease the amount of fat needed. Basically anytime a recipe calls for a solid fat to be melted you can replace with canola oil. Follow the chart below for exact measurements.
Canola Oil Change Chart
| Solid Fat (melted) | Canola Oil |
|---|---|
| 1 cup (250 mL) | 3/4 cup (175 mL) |
| 3/4 cup (175 mL) | 2/3 cup (150 mL) |
| 1/2 cup (125 mL) | 1/3 cup (75 mL) |
| 1/4 cup (50 mL) | 3 Tbsp (45 mL) |
Experiment, have fun. Many of your favourite recipes that don’t ask for the solid fat to be melted can be partially replaced by canola oil. Next time you are making those muffins, cookies or squares grab that bottle of canola oil and give it a try. Your heart will thank you for it!
Nutrition
Canola oil is a good fat
Your body needs fat – to keep you warm, provide energy and help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins and caroteniods. But some fats are healthier for you that others. Canola oil provides more of the good fats than any other popular vegetable oil.
Essential good fats – canola oil is high
Fats are made up of smaller units called fatty acids. Two fatty acids are essential in your diet because your body can’t make them. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid and linoleic acid (LA) is an essential omega-6 fatty acid. Both of these good fatty acids are polyunsaturated. Canola oil is a good source of the ALA omega-3 fatty acid and its ratio of 2:1 of omega-6 to omega-3 is nutritionally ideal. Omega-3 fatty acids protect against heart attacks and strokes by helping to lower bad cholesterol. Omega-6 fatty acid is important for the brain and essential for the growth and development of infants. Canola oil contains very high levels of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids too. Monounsaturated fat lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and helps control blood glucose.
Bad fats – canola oil is low
Saturated and trans fats are “bad”. Saturated fats raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body and have been linked to coronary heart disease. Canola oil has the lowest saturated fat level of all vegetable oils. Olive oil contains twice as much saturated fat as canola oil.
Trans fats raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol (HDL). While all processed oils contain very small levels of trans fatty acids, North American government regulatory authorities define canola oil as zero trans fat. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils to make them more solid also increases trans fats.
Be wise: choose canola oil and non-hydrogenated soft margarines instead of solid fats such as partially hydrogenated margarine, shortening, lard and butter.
Canola oil contains no cholesterol
Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance present in all parts of your body. There are two sources: a) cholesterol made by your liver; and b) cholesterol that you eat in animal products such as eggs, meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, butter and lard. Canola oil is cholesterol-free.
Canola oil is a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E
One serving of canola oil each day will deliver about a quarter of all the vitamin E you need to protect your body’s fats and proteins from free radical damage. Vitamin E may also help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and memory loss. Canola oil provides the best nutritional balance of all popular cooking oils.
Production
Canola is a cool season crop. It grows particularly well on the prairies, where cool night temperatures allow it to recover. In 2010, Manitoba seeded 3.3 million acres of canola, the highest ever acreage. On the farm, canola plants grow to a height of one to two metres. The yellow flower produces seed pods that are about five centimetres in length. Each pod contains 20 to 30 round seeds. From germination to seed production, the life cycle of a canola plant takes about 31/2 months, depending on temperature, moisture, sunlight and soil fertility.
The processing methods used to extract the oil from the seed for further processing have been developed over the years. Once the seed has been removed from the ground and pods by a swather and combine, the seed is delivered to a grain elevator where the operators determine the canola’s quality and purchase the farmers canola. The canola is graded according to a strict grading standard for canola established by the Canadian Grain Commission. The payment is based on grade.
Once the canola seeds are transported to a crushing plant, the first step is to roll or flake the seed, which ruptures cells and makes the oil easier to extract. The rolled or flaked seeds are cooked and subjected to a mild pressing process which removes some of the oil and compresses seeds into large chunks called “cake fragments”. The cake fragments undergo further processing to remove most of the remaining oil. The oil is then subjected to a process according to the end product requirements. Canola oil is then bottled and labelled in an automated packaging plant.