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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

cold-pressed rapeseed oil

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… it was with a sense of smug delight when I read in the new Nigella book ‘Kitchen’ that she would recommend using British grown cold-pressed rapeseed oil almost exclusively instead of extra-virgin olive oil… smug, because the stuff grows outside our front door for most of the summer… and delighted because, as she says in her book, it’s about time we, the Brits, could be proud and feel culinarily superior about something so simple as oil…

… it has a wonderfully nutty and mustardy flavour and as you can see a glorious yellow gold colour… still quite rare to find in the shops but AMAZINGLY our local co-operative stocks it as part of their ‘grown locally’ range… so I’m doubly smug!..

… I would personally recommend the Heart of Gold brand as it’s produced in Lincolnshire and really is a superior oil… but I’m sure rapeseed oil is produced all over the UK… we just have to get out there and start using it, asking for it at the supermarket and talking about it…

… and now, at the end of the summer, when the rapeseed plants are emitting their rotten, cabbage-like perfume, I can lift my head and proudly say… ‘that is the smell of glorious gold oil my dear friends… just ask Nigella!’

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Comments

  1. My Farmhouse Kitchen says

    … never heard of it…but love the idea of it. i need to check out her new cookbook…i love her.

    she is a great cook….fun to watch on t.v.

    sending Happy New Year Wishes to you, my friend.

    kary and teddy
    xxx

  2. Chele says

    I am in total agreement with both you and Nigella! I haven't purchased a bottle of olive oil in about a year and a half, opting instead for a locally produced rapeseed oil with a lovely hazelnut tang to it. Won't be going back to olive oil any time soon ;0)

  5. http://thespicegarden.blogspot.com says

    I remember wondering what those vast fields of gold were when I toured Somerset several years ago … such a beautiful plant! Good to see it becomes something healthy and worthy of Nigella's adoration!

  7. Victoria says

    if i were you i would totally be smug too!! I use rapeseed when i can get it, and prefer it…something about the taste…and the fact that i think it is like canola oil…which is what we canadians use…here in the UK I am happy to get it when i can!!! smug smug smug!

  9. Josie says

    hhhmmm I've never heard of it?? I wonder if I could even find it in the states lol? I may have to google it! I love Nigella : )

  11. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    Isn't it great to find new products? Be warned though as Nigella says if you google it they will tell you it's US equivalent is canola oil but she says that this is an inferior product and shouldn't be substituted for the cold pressed rapeseed oil. V interesting x

  12. Charlene says

    I like using rapseed oil too. Sainsbury's stock one kind, but it isn't extra virgin. I try and pick mine up from delis and farm shops.

  16. Sarah, Maison Cupcake says

    I bought some rapeseed oil (Cotswold Gold) at Taste Christmas after being seriously impressed with the taste. It's different to olive oil but got just an interesting flavour. Not opened mine yet, I must.

  17. Jo Giles says

    Hello – I work for Farrington Oils. We produce MELLOW YELLOW (Nigella's personal choice!) – I am thrilled that there is such excitement over the discovery of the lovely taste, fabulous versatility and numerous health benefits of cold-pressed rapeseed oil. We are Britain's original “seed to bottle” producer and are unique in being a LEAF marque producer. (Linking the Environment And Farming) Sales pitch aside – I just wanted to clarify the comment about some brands not being “extra virgin”. Please don't be misled! We could call our oil 'virgin' in that it is producer from a first cold pressing, unlike commodity oils which are highly processed at high temperatures, often with the use of chemicals and then bleached. “Extra Virgin” in a term that should really only be applied to olive oil given that the oil has to fufill a number of criteria, one of which is a taste test. None of these producers can justify anything in their oil production to make it “extra” virgin. We celebrate the difference between our oil and EVOs because it is great in it's own right – it contains half the saturated fat for starters. We made the decision to be straightforward in our labelling and the most important term to look out for is “cold-pressed”.