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Ingredient Guides: Canola Oil

Canola oil is a staple in many kitchens. But do you know how to select, store, and use it?

Monika Adamczyk / Depositphotos
By Dim Nikov,
editor-in-chief of Tastyble, formally trained chef, and author of Cooking Methods & Techniques: A Crash Course on How to Cook Delicious Food at Home for Beginners.

Navigating the fats and oils aisle at the grocery store can leave you in over your head, even if you’re an experienced shopper. There are just so many oils to choose from and so many labels to decode!

There’s also a lot of poorly referenced and frankly misleading information about cooking oils on the Internet. The more common the oil, the harder it is to tell truth from fiction.

Canola oil is one of the oils that gets a particularly bad rap. But is it for good reason? After all, it is on the healthy cooking oils list of the American Heart Association. At the same time, others believe it to be toxic. We’ve written this guide to help you make up your mind.

What Is Canola Oil?

Canola oil is a cooking oil made from the crushed seeds of the canola plant. It’s affordable, suitable for all cooking methods, and carried by virtually all grocery stores. It’s also a generally heart-healthy oil due to its very low saturated fat content.

In the 1970s, Canadian scientists developed the canola plant by crossbreeding it from rapeseed. They constructed the name “canola oil” from the words “Canadian” and “ola” for oil. Some call the canola plant “edible rapeseed,” and canola oil “edible rapeseed oil.”

Compared to rapeseed oil, canola oil has significantly lower concentrations of erucic acid and glucosinolates — toxic when ingested in large amounts — making it safe for consumption.

How Canola Oil Is Made

Canola oil is made from the seeds of the canola plant, which contain roughly 35 to 45% oil by weight. The seeds are harvested from the pods, which form after the flowers die off, then cleaned from plant material and crushed into thin flakes.

The flakes are pushed through an expeller press, a machine that operates like a big screw, which squeezes out the canola oil from the solid material. This first batch of canola oil is known as “the first press,” or “the first cold press,” and because it was extracted solely with mechanical means, it retains the most nutrients from the seeds. A quarter of the canola oil yield is left in the solid material left over from the first press, labeled canola cake. It’s extracted through the use of high heat and chemical solvents.

The canola oil is washed to remove impurities, filtered from natural waxes that give it a cloudy look, then bleached and heated to lighten the color and make the oil flavorless. Lastly, the oil is bottled, labeled, and sent to wholesalers and supermarkets for distribution and retailing.

(It should be noted that the term “bleaching” does not mean that bleach was used to process the oil. Rather, the oil is passed through a clay filter, which removes pigments that burn at high heat and cause the oil to go rancid faster.)

Types of Canola Oil

Depending on how it was extracted, canola oil can be either unrefined or refined.

Oil that’s less refined is more natural, but also burns easily and goes rancid faster.

Unrefined canola oil, often marketed as “first cold pressed” or “cold-pressed canola oil,” is the first product of oil mechanically squeezed from the canola plant’s seeds. The oil is cloudier, burns more easily at high heat, and has a distinct, hazelnut-like aroma and buttery flavor.

Refined canola oil, which has been derived using high heat and chemical solvents from the canola cake after the first press of the crushed seeds, is light-colored, generally odorless, and neutral in flavor. With the pigments and impurities filtered out, refined canola oil has a higher smoke point and a longer shelf life.

Choosing the Best Canola Oil

When shopping for canola oil, look for 100% unrefined canola oil in a large container. You’ll get more value for the money, as larger containers typically cost less per liquid ounce than smaller sizes.

Sunlight can cause the canola oil to go rancid quicker. So it’s recommended to get your oils in dark-glass bottles, tin cans, or plastic containers that are translucent but not see-through, which will protect the oil from exposure to sunlight.

Look for a harvest date if you can find one. The harvest date tells you when the seeds were harvested and the oil made — a more recent date means that the canola oil is fresher. If you can’t find it, check the best-by date. As a general rule, the farther-out the best-by date, the fresher the oil inside.

The technology to create genetically modified crops did not yet exist in the 1970s when the canola plant was developed. So canola is the result of traditional crossbreeding techniques. However, these days, both GMO and non-GMO canola exist.

If it says “non-GMO” on the front or back of the label, this means that the oil doesn’t come from the seeds of genetically modified canola crops. The term “organic,” on the other hand, indicates that no pesticides were used during the plants’ growing. Since pesticides can seep into our foods, this is considered a plus.

Assess the positioning of the canola oil at the supermarket. Is it located close to a window, or near the entrance where warm air can easily come in? In that case, consider purchasing your oil from another place, as it may have been subjected to heat and already be on the way to going rancid.

Storing Canola Oil

Store your canola oil in a cool and dark place, such as in your pantry, a kitchen cabinet, or a spacious enough cupboard. Air, heat, and sunlight can cause canola oil to go rancid faster than it otherwise would.

Avoid storage spots like atop the fridge or dishwasher, near the stove or oven, and close to an A/C vent or hot water pipe. For the same reasons, you should never store your canola oil on the windowsill or next to the cooktop.

Make sure the cap is sealed tightly at all times. If you buy your canola oil in bulk and pour it out into smaller containers, use a dark-glass bottle with a tight-fitting cap or a stainless-steel oil dispenser with a sealable spout.

Canola Oil’s Shelf Life

If stored in a cool and dark place, unopened canola oil can last 1 to 2 years. If the oil was fresh when you bought it, it will have a longer shelf life.

Canola oil begins to degrade from the moment you open it. Eventually, it will go rancid, at which point it must be discarded, as it can irritate your gut. For optimal quality, consume opened canola oil within 3 to 6 months from the date of opening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where to buy canola oil?

Canola oil is one of the most popular cooking oils. It can be found in the cooking oils aisle of almost any supermarket, as well as at online retailers like Amazon, Kroger’s, and Walmart.

Why is canola oil cheaper than other oils?

Canola oil is cheaper than most other oils at the store because canola is a common crop and its seeds yield as much as 35 to 45% edible oil by weight. To put it simply, canola oil is cheaper to produce.

What’s the smoke point of canola oil?

Canola oil has a smoke point between 400 and 475 °F (204 and 246 °C). As a rule, the smoke point of unrefined canola oil is lower than that of canola oil when refined. Moreover, the more times the canola oil is reused, the lower its smoke point gets.

Is canola oil and rapeseed oil the same?

Canola is a plant originally crossbred from rapeseed through selective crossbreeding. Although it stems from rapeseed, canola contains less glucosinolates and erucic acid — toxic when ingested in large amounts — making its oil edible.

Can you mix canola oil with other oils?

Yes, you can mix canola oil with other oils, whether to reduce the cost of cooking or increase the other oil’s smoke point and make it more suitable for high-heat cooking. Any ratio will work.

Can you cook with canola oil?

Canola oil is a great oil to cook with. It’s economical and healthy when consumed in moderation. It’s also capable of withstanding high temperatures without emitting smoke or imparting a bitter taste to your food.

Can you deep-fry with canola oil?

Absolutely, you can deep-fry using canola oil. If you strain the oil from the food debris and keep it in an airtight jar in a cool and dark location, you can reuse it multiple times. Just note that the more times you reuse it, the lower its smoke point will get.

Can you sear a steak with canola oil?

Yes, you can sear a steak with canola oil. Simply apply enough canola oil to the surface of a heavy-bottomed skillet to make it glossy, then heat the pan until it’s hot enough to sear and add the steak.

Is it okay to put canola oil on burgers?

Of course, you can use canola oil on hamburger patties before grilling or frying them. Rub the oil on the burgers before placing them on the grate or skillet to prevent them from sticking to the metal.

Do you count canola oil calories when cooking?

If you’re keeping track of your calories, then yes, you do need to count canola oil’s caloric count when cooking. With 1 tablespoon of canola oil, you add roughly 124 calories to your dish.

Does canola oil lose calories when cooked?

No, canola oil does not lose calories when cooked. Heat does not alter the caloric count of oils, and canola oil is no different.

My canola oil smells weird when heated. What does this mean?

If your canola oil smells or tastes bad, it’s probably gone rancid. Throw it away and don’t cook with it; consuming rancid out can hurt your stomach.