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. o O (Canola oil is now bad? I give up... Sigh.)

I was always told Canola is no good, Vegetable oil is better, and olive oil. But olive oil is only good for you up to a certain temperature (so basically its better for you if you're drizzling it on.) We use safflower oil for high heat things at home.

FYI...here's the article:

http://food.yahoo.com/blog/edlevineeats/24831/the-best-oil-for-your-cooking

I am interested to know more about Mr Levine's comments about Canola oil. In fact, I demand to know his sources. The internet is rife with misrepresentation about canola based on a deliberate obfuscation of the facts, and supprorted by no scientific evidence, while pointing to a worldwide conspiracy to poison the food chain. Meanwhile, credible governement and scientific bodies univerally praise canola's health benefits. You cannot contradict a mountain of established fact and not give a source, or a reason, or even a shred of anecdotal evidence. So how about it Mr Levine? What are your goddamn sources?!

I guess its probably because its high in omega 6 oil and low in omega 3?

Here is the nutritional data for canola oil, along with the data for olive oil, grapeseed oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, and soybean oil. Canola oil would appear to be higher in omega 6 than some other oils (but not the highest). However, it's also higher in omega 3 than some other oils as well.

I'm going to go eat a stick of cultured butter now. :)

Regardless of any bogus health claims, I really don't care for canola for most cooking applications. In deep-frying, it has relatively low smoking point and takes on a fishy taste after only one use. In stir frying, it leaves a gummy coating in my wok. I will not use it for mayonnaise either as it sometimes comes out of the bottle smelling of fish.

As a neutral all-purpose oil I much prefer sunflower. For stir-frying I always use peanut oil (the kind that actually smells like peanut). And for deep-frying I use a combination of sunflower/lard/tallow.

I don't like canola (rapeseed) oil. To me it has a funny taste. Corn oil has an off-putting taste for me as well, but I can live with it. For low temp cooking it is hard to beat olive oil. For deep frying, something you should not do very often, I find that peanut oil performs the best. Lard is great if you like an old fashioned flavor, but I never use it. Sesame oil has no flavor whatsoever unless it is pressed from seeds that were toasted beforehand and the maker did not go crazy with the filtration. Grape seed and walnut oils are great if your income is high enough, but not really a mainstay if you are in the working class. Butter is another great low-temp cooking oil, but for health reasons, it should be an indulgence, not a mainstay.