Canola Oil

A name made up by marketing

Original rapeseed oil was historically used as an industrial lubricant — its high erucic acid content (50%+) made it harmful as food. In 1974, Canadian agricultural researchers at the University of Manitoba bred a low-erucic-acid variety, intended for the food market.

To distinguish the new edible product from industrial rapeseed (and avoid the unfortunate “rape” in the name), Canadian breeders coined “canola” — short for Canadian Oil, Low Acid. The name was trademarked, then released for general use after the variety became widespread.

Today, “canola oil” specifically means oil from the low-erucic-acid varieties; “rapeseed oil” still refers to the older industrial-grade product in some regions, though the labels are increasingly used interchangeably.

A workhorse oil

Canola is one of the most widely-used cooking oils because of:

• High smoke point — about 204 °C (refined), suitable for frying.
• Neutral flavor — doesn’t compete with seasoning.
• Low saturated fat — ~7%, lower than olive oil’s ~14%.
• Low cost — competitive with soy and corn oil.
• Reasonable shelf life — 1–2 years sealed.

It’s the standard oil for industrial food processing, restaurant deep frying, and most home baking and sautéing.

GMO question

Most commercial canola in North America is genetically modified (mostly Roundup Ready, herbicide-tolerant). Non-GMO and organic canola exist as separate market segments. Whether GMO status matters is contested; the oil itself is chemically identical.