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December 16, 2005
trivia 2
Today I was once again searching for excuses not to study for my exams and I remembered a question I'd asked myself long ago. It went something like, "Self, where does canola oil come from?" Good question self."
Since you asked, it's made of rapeseed. (That picture is of Katie standing in a big field of rapeseed near Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic) But here's the deal, the seed of rapeseed plant is teriffic for producing oil. But there are two problems, rapeseed oil is full of erucic acid, which is mildly toxic in large doses, and the name poses a *bit* if a marketing challenge. Well, some clever Canadians solved both problems when they bred a new variant and named it "Canadian oil, low acid" - Canola.
Now we know.
Clever Canadians.
Incidentally 13% of farmed land in India is devoted to growing rapeseed.
Posted by neal on December 16, 2005 12:56 AM
Comments
My life is over. I have dedicated my life to discovering the origin of Canola oil....and you've gone and ruined it with one post. Sigh, back to extracting gold from maple syrup.
Wingnut
Posted by: Wingnut on December 16, 2005 09:14 AM
I like extracting gold from Goldschlager, personally. Much more satisfying.
Posted by: Mike on December 16, 2005 03:27 PM
Ooooh!! what a great memory that is! I feel pretty cool now that I have my photo on your website. Since you're pretty cool , and all...
Posted by: Katie on January 9, 2006 11:36 AM
Fun Fact: Canola is among the 4 most widespread genetically modified crops in the USA, along with corn, cotton, and soy? Thanks Monsanto! www.thefutureoffood.com
Don't worry, I think it's still safe in the Czech Republic.
Posted by: Patrick McAndrew on February 2, 2006 01:39 AM