Page 1 of 1

What is a Canola? Salad Lesson

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 3:11 am
by Lightning Rod
my comrade was making me a salad
he is very kind that way
and a piece of sourdough bread with canola spread

this started a conversation between us
I asked him, 'what is a canola?'
is it a nut? a grain? a root?
what does a canola look like?

neither of us knew so I went to google
who knew? canola is a made-up commercial name
an acronym for "Canadian oil, low acid."
it's a seed

the reason for the commercial name is because
the plant it comes from is called 'rapeseed'
a product called rapeseed oil
probably wouldn't fly off the shelf in a grocery store
(maybe in a sex shop)
so they changed the name to canola

you learn something every day
even with your salad

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 11:23 am
by stilltrucking
Last night a bottle of salad dressing fell off the shelf and hit me in the head.

I am superstitious as hell

I took it as a sign
********

an
instructive and interesting

Poem

thanks

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 11:48 am
by mtmynd
I use canola oil and have wondered about the same things you mentioned. However I did a google search and found quite the opposite of what you found -

Healthy Fats

One way to reshape your diet is by choosing heart-healthy oils. Canola oil, which is made from the crushed seeds of the canola plant, is among the healthiest of cooking oils. It has the lowest saturated fat content of any oil commonly consumed in the U.S., at just 7%. By comparison, sunflower oil has 12% saturated fat, corn oil has 13%, and olive oil has 15%.

the full article: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/canola-oil

The canola plants are the same plants that provide canola oil - (see images link) -

http://images.google.com/images?q=canol ... =en&tab=wi

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 11:58 am
by Lightning Rod
Canola was developed through conventional plant breeding from rapeseed, an oilseed plant already used in ancient civilization. The word "rape" in rapeseed comes from the Latin word "rapum," meaning turnip. Turnip, rutabaga, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mustard and many other vegetables are related to the two canola varieties commonly grown, which are cultivars of Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. The negative associations due to the homonym "rape" resulted in creation of the more marketing-friendly name "Canola". The change in name also serves to distinguish it from regular rapeseed oil, which has much higher erucic acid content. --wiki

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:12 pm
by mtmynd
The change in name also serves to distinguish it from regular rapeseed oil, which has much higher erucic acid content. --wiki
Indicates there are (2) different plants, one more beneficial (canola plant) than the other (rapeseed), wouldn't it?

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:29 pm
by Lightning Rod
it's a selectively bred plant, not a hybrid which is a cross between two different plants, like a nectarine. They selected for lower acid content.

It's like the diff between two varieties of tomatoes

Where did all of this come from? I was just trying to put dressing on my salad.

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:29 pm
by stilltrucking
This thread is getting more interestinger every post.

Just as a point of worder

a word to the wise about wiki

I stumbled on a little java thingy called WICKI SCAN which will give you the web address of who is editing a wiki.

Interesting to see edits traced one corporations or government agencies.

Where is Jack Webb when we need him?
"Just the facts, maam."

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:30 pm
by stilltrucking
I don't want a motorcycle
or a pickle
I just wanna wiki
and eat my salad in peace

cha cha

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:42 pm
by mtmynd
Where did all of this come from? I was just trying to put dressing on my salad.
Either from your search or from your poem..?

I'm only commenting to your write. ;)

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 12:47 pm
by Lightning Rod
that'll teach me not to open a can of rapeseed :lol:

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 1:04 pm
by mtmynd
more like spilled a can of rapeseed oil... :lol:

btw: i 'make' my own butter spread - 2 parts unsalted butter and 1 part canola oil blended together then refrigerated until hard. i had an interest in this canola oil controversy and was appeased by WEBMD... sounded good to me and my coronary artery disease. :)

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 1:33 pm
by stilltrucking
soup and salad sounds delicious
I am cooking up a pot of primordial soup right now.

Bread baking the scent of paradise.

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 1:53 pm
by mtmynd
I baked a great loaf of cinnamon raisin bread yesterday. Sure is good.

Nothing like fresh bread, is there?

Posted: March 13th, 2009, 2:15 pm
by stilltrucking
"Let them eat bread"
spread with a little peanut butter paranoia


me and salmonella Sal
oi vey