Rapeseed Oil, the new Olive Oil?

Back in October when we first started talking about the ‘Britain in our Kitchen’ project, we quickly realised that Olive Oil would not be part of our diet. We actually left it at that until January came and our first shopping trip made us realise what the project actually meant (we spent 2 hours and a half food shopping for two people – we had to read all the labels). But the solution presented itself very quickly – olive oil could be easily replaced by Rapeseed Oil – and apparently it was even healthier for us!

The “Mellow Yellow“ from Farrington Oils Ltd  is the first “Seed to Bottle” cold pressed rapeseed oil in the UK (we bought ours in Sainsbury’s, but we saw it at Tesco and Waitrose). All the rapeseed is grown on Bottom Farm and then pressed and bottled on site by a local team. All Farrington Oils are made from the highest grade rapeseed which is GM free.

The how facts?

Cold pressing is the traditional and natural way to produce oil. Oil is simply gently squeezed out of the seed at temperatures below 40°C which ensures that the full essence and character of the oil is preserved. This careful process means that all the natural goodness within the seeds is preserved. Once the oil has settled, it is filtered to guarantee its purity, and then bottled. The whole process is natural which means that slight variations in character and appearance in the oil can be seen from season to season.

The taste test

We are basically using Rapeseed Oil instead of  Olive Oil for everyday cooking. The taste is not as strong as Olive Oil, but stronger than an average vegetable oil. We use much less of it in our cooking, and it seems to work (maybe we were using too much Olive Oil?). The website refers to a ‘subtle nutty taste’ – maybe. We have not tried it in mayonnaise yet, but it may be a very good addition – depending on the proportions.  It is brilliant for our salad dressing (with mustard and English apple Cider Vinegar).

This was a great find as far as our cooking is concerned. We were quite concerned about oil – and did not want to have to cook everything with butter.

Weight Watchers Note: Unfortunately Rapeseed Oil whilst being healthier is not in fact better than Olive Oil in terms of points – but on the positive side, it is not worse either.