When it comes to oils from mustard seeds, they usually come from one of three types of plants: black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown mustard (Brassica juncea) or yellow mustard (Brassica hirta).
Rapeseed is also from the family Brassica, but the two main species are Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. The word rapeseed comes from the root word rapa / rapum, which means turnip in Latin. Historically, rapeseed oil was used to light lamps in Europe. It was later used as a lubricant in naval ships during World War 2.
At that time, Canada began to grow rapeseed extensively too, in an effort to meet the growing demand spurred by this new use. Once the war ended, of course, demand dropped. Companies tried to sell it as a cooking oil, but the pungent oil was not very pleasant to Canadians.
So, using selective breeding, a plant with lower levels of glucosinolates and lower erucic acid content was developed. Since the name “rapeseed” felt offensive, they began to search for a new name too. From the low erucic acid levels came Canadian Oil Low Acid, which is shortened to canola.
Canola oil is much more neutral in flavour than regular rapeseed oil. That, combined with the fact that canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats, a healthy kind of fat, made it a great success.
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