Time to wave goodbye to Olive Oil? - littleseed Oil
We’re always looking for the best options when shopping and there’s always a decision to make when browsing the supermarket shelves for oil – one of them being should I opt for the usual olive oil or give rapeseed oil a try?
For us it has to be extra virgin, cold pressed rapeseed oil every time – let us share with you why you should be making the change too. We think informed choice is the way forward so we’ve done some pretty extensive research, but rather than blind you with science we’ll give you the facts you need plain and simple (just like our oil!)
Firstly, here’s what we are all about. Our oil is cold pressed and extra virgin. This means the seeds are effectively crushed and pressed to release the oil. This process retains the majority of the minerals, vitamins, enzymes and trace elements that makes our oil nutritionally important. Our oil is unrefined. We don’t bleach, filter, chemically alter, add to or subtract from our oil. The extra virgin bit means we only sell the oil that comes from a first pressing. In fact, there only ever is one pressing. We should also add that ALL rapeseed grown in the UK is GM free.
Rapeseed oil has a higher burning point than olive oil. The burn point of olive oil is 190C, with rapeseed at 220C - 230C. This means you can heat our oil to a higher temperature which is sometimes needed when frying or roasting. Heating oil past its smoke (burn) point breaks down the fat causing it to release free radicals and a substance called acrolein; this is the chemical that gives food its burnt flavour and smell. Cooking with an oil that has a high burning point means you aren’t ingesting harmful free radicals and you won’t impair the flavour of your food. So being able to stir-fry, roast, bake (and drizzle too!) with our oil make this the versatile and perfect family friendly choice.
There’s always lots of publicity about ‘healthy’ fats and ‘not so healthy’ fats, and we’re pretty sure we all know that the key to healthy eating is making sure you eat everything in moderation, but this may help you. Rapeseed is a monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fats promote healthy cholesterol. Furthermore, it contains less than 1% trans fats. Trans fats are referred to as ‘bad fats’ because of their propensity to raise blood pressure, cholesterol levels and increase the risk of a heart attack. It has the lowest saturated fat of any oil and half the saturated fat of olive oil. Making it the ideal choice for anyone looking to lower their cholesterol levels.
Our oil has all the nutritional goodies! Rapeseed has 10 times more Omega 3 than olive oil! Yes, 10 times! Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that cannot be made in the body. It assists in regulating the heart rhythm, important for normal growth in children and helps prevent blood from clotting. It’s also high in Vitamin E, helping protect our DNA against oxidative damage and promoting a healthy immune system.
Just so you know, our oils are suitable for vegan, gluten free, kosher and halal diets. So we’ve got that covered too.
One last thing to consider when choosing rapeseed over olive oil is that you’ll be ticking the box of your produce covering less food miles if you opt for homegrown rapeseed over the imported Mediterranean olive. That environmental impact is certainly something to think about.
Will you be making the switch? Find our versatile, super-duper family friendly, healthy oil on our website and soon coming to a supermarket shelf near you. Click here to shop for all you need to get started.
