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Tuesday 17 September 2013

Perks of Canola Oil

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Talking about food is always fun. But then eating the right food is equally important, or is it the right kind of oil which goes into the preparation? Several questions spark through our mind and they leave us in a muddle. What to follow, who to follow and most importantly which to follow? And then in all this messed-up state of mind I get a mail from BlogAdda stating this new meet. A healthy one at that.

This is what happened at Four Seasons Mumbai. Where several people were invited to discuss food, its healthy and nutrition aspect and also the various new upcoming culinary trends. Sounds interesting isn't it? It certainly was.

The council that was present included, Ex- Master Chef judge, Chef Ajay Chopra along with Naini Setalvad, nutritionist and Dr. Ashish Contractor HOD: Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation, Asian Heart Institute. Also present for the interaction were Bruce Jowett, Vice-President - Market Development, Canola Council of Canada.

The question looming in your mind might be, What is Canola Oil? To be frank truly, when I entered the conference room my mind too was filled with various such questions but I left with several positive answers.

Canola Oil, is the healthiest, most versatile and cost-effective cooking oil. Ok not really cost-effective in the Indian markets currently with the market prices rising but a little cost should not deter with the other health benefits. This oil as test and experts say, has the least saturated fat of any culinary oil and is free of trans fat and cholesterol. Thereby, reducing the risk of heart diseases; Good news isn't it?  Also it has omega 3-fat and is a good source of Vitamin E.

Now with all these factual facts there are facts which we can taste and see ourselves too. The oil has a neutral taste and so it can be used right from cooking to baking. Also it has a light texture and is high heat tolerant. And since it is neutral the best thing is we can prepare flavored oil ourselves directly. Cost effective finally!

No, I'm saying all this because I attended the meeting or just for the sake. I have tasted the oil myself and seen the high heat test from my very eyes. All this was courtesy Chef Ajay Chopra who prepared three delicious mouth watering delicacies with the use of this very oil. And also three types of flavored oil; Thai Basil, Rosemary and Kashmiri Red Chilly. What was best about these oils was there was no other dominant flavor over powering them and the aroma was really wonderful. I loved Rosemary and Kashmiri Chilli the most followed by Thai Basil.

You know it's not about dieting or skipping food or controlling your appetite to reduce weight or being healthy. It is how one cooks food and in what oil we cook food. People say one should avoid fats, that is completely untrue. Fats are essential for the proper functioning of our body. Remember, not all fats are created equally. The type of fat matters as much as the amount.

For me this was a really a good session and more of an eye-opener. For more info on Canola Oil you can visit the website: www.canolainfo.org

P.S: Sorry readers about the lack of photographs(hopefully once all is settled I will upload the pics too) and no update since ages, my laptop has broken down and I'm unable to update. This post was specially written from my old rickety computer because I loved the meet and really wanted to share my experience.