can we talk about canola oil?

[DancingWithElves]

thank you for reminding me!

ok, so i know that rain forests are destroyed in a number of countries, for the sake of starting farms that grow oil palms. context in which i last heard of it, mentioned they were largely used for industrial stuff, but also for food. no idea exactly the kind of oil it is, or if it varies from place to place (my guess is that it does)

well, get this: in countries that trade carbon credits, they are actually getting paid for this b/c you see, they are planting trees

politics and food

[righteous mama]

What do you use for higher temp frying? We occasionally fry donuts or something (think Hanukkah). What do you use?

[Annainprogress]

Originally Posted by mummy2boys

Hang on and I will see if I can find the link again

Here it is http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/palm_oil.html

There was a big campaign here in Australia not that long ago urging people not to use it.

Thanks it was rainforests I was thinking of when I mentioned environmental issues earlier but I wasn't completely sure I'd remembered correctly

[TuneMyHeart]

Originally Posted by julbug

What type of oil does everyone use in baking? Olive oil is for lower temps, right? So that one's out and coconut oil would alter the taste. Is there a healthy oil, good for baking light delicate cakes, that won't alter the taste?

I use sunflower or safflower for cakes.

[cobluegirl]

Originally Posted by righteous mama

What do you use for higher temp frying? We occasionally fry donuts or something (think Hanukkah). What do you use?

I use coconut oil. I think you can use peanut oil too but not sure.

[ArmsOfLove]

Originally Posted by mummy2boys

Hang on and I will see if I can find the link again

Here it is http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/palm_oil.html

There was a big campaign here in Australia not that long ago urging people not to use it.

I appreciate that and did some limited looking around. It seems to be from 2007 and I know a ton has been done environmentally to change things in the last almost 4 years. It's also from the environmental group and I truly believe they exaggerate things and are intentionally vague I'm wondering if there is a way to find out which companies doing Palm Fruit Oil *are* being conscientious and not destructive

[teamommy]

Originally Posted by righteous mama

What do you use for higher temp frying? We occasionally fry donuts or something (think Hanukkah). What do you use?

I use safflower oil for this. Expensive but since it is only once or twice a year, it works out.

Coconut would work for doughnuts but it tastes too coconutty for me for, say, frying tempeh or onion rings.

Back to the idea of mayonnaise and what to use. I have a recipe that uses avocado oil in a Christina Perillo cookbook. She uses a lot of avocado oil in her baked goods recipes, too. She says it has that neutral flavor similar to canola. It's so expensive and I've only ever used it for salad dressing. But maybe it would work for the little bit you would need for mayo.

[Serafine]

I thought I would post some other stuff to keep in mind about oils:

There are 3 methods of extracting oils (expeller, extracted, solvent - the first 2 are similar):

• Expeller-Pressed: These oils are obtained by squeezing the seed, grain, or fruit at pressures up to 15 tons per square inch. The higher the pressure, the more heat is generated. At extremely high pressures, the temperature can exceed 300°F.Most oils are extracted by expeller pressing and don't qualify as cold-pressed because friction heats them above 120°F. Still, unrefined expeller-pressed oils retain most of their flavor, aroma, color and nutrients.
  Cold-Pressed: The term cold pressed theoretically means that an oil is expeller-pressed at low temperatures. However the term has no legal definition and is absolutely meaningless when used as an indication of quality. Olive oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil are really the only kinds that can be truly cold-pressed on any sort of large commercial scale. Olive oil is still extracted by the centuries-old process of stone-pressing, though these days it's usually done with hydraulic presses. Both techniques generate little heat, hence the term cold-pressed. They are the only substances that will easily yield their oil by simple, low-intensity pressure, which does not generate a great deal of heat. .True cold-pressed oils are prized. They contain minerals, phosphatides, and vitamin E and are high in trace nutrients.
  Extracted: Extracted oils are invariably subjected to some sort of applied heat during processing.
  Chemical or Solvent Extraction: The cheaper brands of oil (most regular commercial brands) generally use chemical solvents to extract the oil. A description of how the majority of oils are processed, or refined, is sobering. The oil is separated from its food source with hexane or other petroleum solvents and then boiled to drive off the toxic solvents. The oil is next refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating it to over 400°F. The oil extracted this way still contains some undesirable solvent residues, while the amounts of many key nutrients (especially vitamin E) are significantly reduced. Antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) or BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are then frequently added. The resulting product lacks flavor, aroma, pigments, and nutrients. All that can be said for such an oil is that it has an extended shelf life, a clear, uniform color, and an oily texture.
  
  
  COld-pressed is tricky in the US, b/c there are no regulations. In the EU, cold-pressed means that they are expeller pressed, and the temperature never rises above around 80F...but if the oil is made in the US...it can reach any temperature (even up to 300F and still be considered cold-pressed...there is some truth in labeling, huh. )
  
  
  THEN...most oils are refined and deodorized. Basically, if your oil is light in color and bland in flavor/taste...it has most likely been refined (and probably deodorized).
  
  
  The refining process is pretty nasty, IMO...involves SOLVENT extraction.
  
  
  You can (if you look very carefully) find coconut oil, EVOO, and peanut oil that have not been refined.
  
  
  FOR US...we have the following criteria for our cooking fats:
  
  
  a) high saturated/monounsaturated - LOW polyunsaturated (that cuts out canola, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, etc.)
  b) ONLY expeller pressed; ideally TRULY cold-pressed (I will have my own expeller this coming year )
  
  
  So, our oils/fats that we use most (in no particular order)- assume these are all organic, cold-pressed:
  
  
  a) coconut (raw, cold expeller pressed)
  
  b) butter (raw, from our local farm...I make it myself from the milk)
  
  c) EVOO (imported only...b/c I don't trust the ones made in the US...except perhaps bariani olive oil...last I checked they were true to ancient methods of pressing oil)
  
  d) peanut (I get this from our friend who has an expeller. )

---------- Post added at 02:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:27 PM ----------

This link has a fun diagram of expeller + solvent extraction (the most common way it is done for the stuff you find in the grocery store).

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Cooking-Oil.html

[Llee]

Originally Posted by texmama

We are canola oil free. Rapeseed is a member of the brassica family and contraindicted for people with thyroid disorders. It is in sooo much food. I have gone to using real butter instead of vegan fake butter because I could not find one w/o. I also think it causes weight gain (just a personal hypothesis).

I use butter or hemp seed oil.

Um, does anyone have any links on this? I found a few, but nnot quite sure that it's supporting this. :

[ShangriLewis]

I try to not use oil. I am getting better at baked goods. I often do banana bread for cake. We eat lots of nuts and avocado. I love coconut oil for frying which I don't do often. If we have falafel I fry that in olive oil and it is usually EVOO because I have no reason to buy anything else. That is the only reason I use olive oil. I am not bothered by the coconut oil flavor. But, maybe it takes awhile to get used to it? I think it is the most stable. For creamy dressing I would use white beans, avocado, or soaked cashews.

I might look into sunflower oil though. Has anyone found anything bad about it? I have been using butter again for cookies, toast etc. I think I am ok eating that. But, I am eating a lot of stuff I didn't before. If I don't I get horrible blood sugar issues and I am really sick when pregnant. I don't think the butter gives me congestion and I think it is probably better for me than Earth Balance. Plus, it fits in my budget right now.

[Soliloquy]

We use:

Organic grass-fed butter (excellent source of CLA!)
evoo for salad
ev raw coconut oil
And we use palm oil rarely, maybe twice a year.

I make mayo with evoo, coconut oil, and sesame oil. If I'm in a pinch I buy safflower mayo. I've seen light olive oil (meaning blander) and thought it would be good for mayo but it wasn't organic so I didn't buy it. Mayo made with all evoo is too strong for us.

I thought avocado oil wasn't supposed to be heated.

I don't touch canola oil and we avoid all soy for reasons already stated. Having avoided canola for years I can spot it at the first bite and .

AFA whether we should use oil, God commanded oil as part of the food offerings therefore oil is fit food for God's people.

[AngelaVA]

Originally Posted by belaruska

any oil is a processed food. but things like olive oil, butter, coconut oil are easy to extract, it has been done for thousands of years.

any time a food requires a team of engineers and chemists to "manufacture it" (like regular canola oil, or HFCS), that's my sign

I agree. I used to be a big canola oil user but I have phased it out in the last year and gone entirely to coconut and palm oil for things coconut doesn't really work for, with olive oil for dressings and marinades. IME I find that when I eat things with coconut oil in the morning I have a very stable positive mood and energy level thoughout the day.

[Lady TS]

Originally Posted by LisaM

We use:

Organic grass-fed butter (excellent source of CLA!)
evoo for salad
ev raw coconut oil
And we use palm oil rarely, maybe twice a year.

I make mayo with evoo, coconut oil, and sesame oil. If I'm in a pinch I buy safflower mayo. I've seen light olive oil (meaning blander) and thought it would be good for mayo but it wasn't organic so I didn't buy it. Mayo made with all evoo is too strong for us.

I thought avocado oil wasn't supposed to be heated.

I don't touch canola oil and we avoid all soy for reasons already stated. Having avoided canola for years I can spot it at the first bite and .

AFA whether we should use oil, God commanded oil as part of the food offerings therefore oil is fit food for God's people.

That's funny what you said about being able to taste canola in food.

When I was avoiding so many things, and fried with my EVOO, it would actually make my teeth HURT on contact. I have NO idea why it did this, and I tested it a couple times, making the food w/other oils(sunflower) and it didn't cause the pain and then making the same thing with EVOO again and my teeth hurting.

I did fine with it as a salad dressing, but figured the teeth hurting thing was telling me cooking with EVOO at higher temps(pan frying and roasting) was not a good thing.

[ArmsOfLove]

Serafine, what expellor are you getting???

[Serafine]

For now...this is the one on my list.

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen...30340100?Args=