The wild mustards that canola was bred from have a toxic component in the oil, but there's very little of it in the cultivated variety, so I don't worry about that. Many many food plants have low concentrations of one toxin or another, and I suspect the hoopla about canola is driven by market competition. It's a relatively new product, and it opened up Canada for oil production (hence the name "can(ada)ola") b/c it doesn't require a long growing season. I do avoid conventional canola, tho, b/c most of it is GMO and likely to have high concentrations of herbicide residue.
All of the oils I've looked at have both good and bad qualities, so I tend to rotate thru different kinds instead of using the same one for everything. Since there are more (and more flavorful) options for low heat foods like granola, I reserve organic canola (and safflower) for high-heat frying. - Marty At 01:48 PM 8/8/14 +0000, you wrote: > There seems to be quite a lot of contradictory information on the web about > canola oil, mostly saying its bad: GM, so bad ecologically, and contains > some compounds that are harmful to your health (more than other oils). But > some say that if you can get organic, its quite a good oil for high > temperature cooking. Does anyone have an specialist knowledge? We use olive > oil mainly, but have been using canola for adding to bread and granola and > some frying. If canola really is a no-no, what would be the best oil to use > instead, and presuming that would be quite pricey, what would be a > reasonably priced alternative. > > > > Our next batch of granola is on hold! > > > > Thanks > > Liz For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ If you have questions about this list please contact the list manager, Tom Shelley, at [email protected].
