Rapeseed oil, also known as canola oil, is one of the most widely used vegetable oils worldwide. Unfortunately, in Italy we are still inclined to think that it is an unhealthy product and therefore I will try to explain to you why instead the guilt oil that we use now is safe and also has excellent properties.
How is rapeseed oil produced?
Rapeseed oil is produced from rapeseed, a plant of the Brassicaceae family, which also includes broccoli and cabbage. Rapeseed oil used in the food industry has a pleasant taste and is safe for consumption in high concentrations. For the production of rapeseed oil for human consumption, three different rapeseed crops are used: Brassica napus, Brassica rapa or Brassica juncea.
Rapeseed oil is light in color with a relatively neutral flavor and is suitable for both frying and baking due to its high monounsaturated fatty acid content and high smoke point.
The composition of rapeseed oil
The lipid composition of rapeseed oil is as follows: about 62% oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid); 19% linoleic acid ; 9% alpha-linolenic acid; 7% saturated fatty acids. 100 g of rapeseed oil contains about 18 mg of vitamin E and 71 mg of vitamin K.
Canola oil and canola oil
In North America, rapeseed oil suitable for food use is called "canola oil" while in the UK, "rapeseed oil" and "canola oil" are used interchangeably, but the designation " rapeseed oil".
Canola oil was created in the 1970s in Canada using conventional plant breeding techniques. The result was a culture low in erucic acid and glucosinolates, both potentially toxic at high concentrations, and with higher levels of monounsaturated oleic acid. Canola is a commercial name born from the contraction of "Canadian-" (Canadian) and "-ola", which means oil.
For a canola oil to be called "canola oil," it must contain less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates and less than 2 percent erucic acid per gram of dry, deoiled solid component.
The confusion regarding the erucic acid content in edible rapeseed oil has created some of the myths that have led to negative consideration of rapeseed oil. Canola oil naturally contains 30-60% erucic acid, a compound associated with heart problems as well as other negative health effects.
Canola oils for human consumption generally contain less than 0.5% erucic acid, and the Canadian Grain Commission reported an average erucic acid content of 0.01% in canola and canola oil samples analyzed from 2012 to 2018.
The benefits of rapeseed oil
Canola oil is high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats that have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease when consumed as a replacement for saturated fat. Furthermore, rapeseed oil has an excellent omega-6:omega-3 ratio of 2:1 and for this reason more and more products that fall into the category of heathy food and healthy and vegan nutrition use this type of oil.
