At maturity, the seeds are threshed from the pod by a combine. Seeds are crushed to extract the oil (canola seed contains 35-45% oil), followed by several more processing steps to be ready for the consumer market as bottled canola oil. The byproduct after crushing canola seed is used as a high-quality livestock feed.
Where did canola come from?
Canola was bred from rapeseed cultivars of B. napus and B. rapa at the University of Manitoba, Canada, by Keith Downey and Baldur R. Stefansson in the early 1970s, having then a different nutritional profile than present-day oil in addition to much less erucic acid.
When was canola oil first made?
Canola oil was first produced in Canada in 1974. Genetic modifications of rapeseed oil led to a reduction in the concentration of erucic acid and glucosinolate. The currently rapeseeds in use have erucic acid and glucosinolates less than 0.1% and 8.5 ¦ÌM g ? 1, respectively.
What is canola oil?
Canola oil is defined as the oil derived from canola seed that contains low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates. Nutritionally it is unique because of its fatty acid profile, having low levels of saturated fatty acids, high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids, and a significant level of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids.