Canola Oil Substitue?

[SundayCrepes]

I read here about canola oil being a derivative plant of rape seed and that rape seed can be toxic. It seems a good idea to play it safe and stay away from canola oil. But what to use instead? I just can't see baking a cake with olive oil.

Any suggestions for a healthy, neutral oil?

TIA

[MountainMamaGC]

I love grapeseed oil. Its as good for you as olive oil, but it has a light taste so you can use it in baking. Its good in salad dressings. It has a high smoke point so its perfect for frying too.

[Jadzia]

I was going to mention grapeseed oil as well.

[blessedwithboys]

we love coconut oil in cakes and brownies

[SundayCrepes]

I'll try both of these. Does the coconut oil give a coconut taste?

[jessaroo]

Actually I have baked with olive oil and cannot tell the difference. To replace oil in baking you can use yogurt or applesause. I have just been learning the virtues of coconut oil! it is great, but expensive.

[BeanyMama]

We use grapeseed and olive. I love the idea of coconut oil in baked goods! Noted.

[somegirl99]

I have also baked with olive oil and it is fine, I just make sure it is a light oil and not a very flavorful extra-virgin oil.

[Ianthe]

sunflower oil and safflower oil is what I bake with.

canola is also usually GMO

[eepster]

There are tons and tons of different oils out there. You can pretty much substitute in any one you want for baking as far as them working. Just think a bit about the flavors your using. For cakes sunflower is a nice neutral flavored oil that isn't too expensive, or for bread sesame seed oil could be used, and so forth.

The oil selection at Whole Foods can be amazingly overwhelming.

[SundayCrepes]

Are any of these oils healthier than others?

[crunchy_mommy]

Very interested in this conversation... We only use olive oil, even in baking... we get large containers pretty cheap... I'd love to use other oils if I could find them cheaper... and also interested in whether any of the cheaper oils have any health benefits. Canola oil scares me.

[SundayCrepes]

I just googled Healthy oils for cooking. Here's something interesting I found at

http://www.healthcastle.com/cooking-oils.shtml:
the "ideal" cooking oil should contain higher amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and with minimal or no saturated fats and trans fats.

The Verdict? As long as you're using fats and oils sparingly in your cooking and preparation, it would be fine to use any one of the following "good" oils. All of the following oils are low in saturated fats and trans fats. Some have high concentration of monounsaturated fats such as olive oil. Choose corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, soy oil or canola oil if you wish to fry foods as these oils have higher smoke point. It is best not to fry with olive oil as its smoke point is only about 190C/375F.

Good Cooking Oils:
canola oil
flax seed oil
peanut oil
olive oil
non-hydrogenated soft margarine
safflower oil
sunflower oil
corn oil
The following "bad" oils contain high percentage of trans fat or saturated fats. Some, such as coconut oil, even contain more saturated fats than animal products!

Bad Cooking Oils:
Vegetable shortening
Hard margarine
Butter
Palm oil
Palm kernel oil
Coconut oil

I also found this. I'm sorry the chart doesn't line up perfectly, you can see it at:

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/choles...ookingoil.html

For better health, choose oils/fats that are low in saturated fat & high in monounsaturated fat. The following table lists various oils in decreasing order of monounsaturated fat content.

% Fat
Type of Oil/fat Temp.Smoke Saturated PolyunsaturatedMonounsaturated
Olive Oil420F / 216C 14 12 74
Almond Oil420F / 216C 8 19 73
Canola Oil475F /246C 7 35 58
Margarine, whipped 20 30 50
Peanut Oil450F / 232C 18 33 49
Rice Bran Oil490F/254C203347
Margarine, stick 20 33 47
Margarine, tub 17 37 46
Sesame Oil350F /177° 15 43 42
Palm Oil 52 10 38
Cocoa Butter 62 3 35
Butter350F /177C 66 4 30
Wheatgerm Oil 20 50 30
Butter, whipped 69 3 28
Margarine, Flora Pro-activ 25 49 26
Corn Oil320F /160C 13 59 24
Soybean oil320° F / 160C156124
Sunflower Oil 450F / 232C 11 69 20
Walnut Oil (omega 3 fatty acids)400F / 204C 14 67 19
Grape seed420F / 216C97714
Safflower Oil450F /232C 9 78 13
Coconut Oil350F / 177C 92 2 6

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes

Good Cooking Oils:
canola oil
flax seed oil
...

I thought flaxseeed oil was toxic if heated???

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I thought flaxseeed oil was toxic if heated???

I don't know about being toxic, but when I read about it the article said to add it at the end of the cooking process.

[Sayward]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I thought flaxseeed oil was toxic if heated???

It's not toxic, it just loses all of the beneficial aspects (the omega-3s), so paying for flax oil and then *heating it* is just sort of . . . wasteful?

[eepster]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I thought flaxseeed oil was toxic if heated???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil