Canada Canola Oil Country

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Canada can be dubbed canola oil country because of acres and acres of canola fields in the province where I’m currently squatting. I first saw them one spring when friends took me for a drive.

“What are those yellow flowers?”

“That’s canola. They make cooking oil.”

Pretty sight, but I completely forgot about it because I was into olive oil. I belonged. Yes, I belonged to the healthy tribe that was into extra virgin olive oil and kale. No, delete kale. A friend tried to initiate me into those dark green leaves and I said no, thanks very much. I'll pass. Grass is tastier than kale. What is the point of eating, if I concoct my face while chewing kale? Anyway, I stayed in the extra virgin olive oil tribe because I could afford it. The price kept going up I swear, and I’m good at comparing prices. Then I stumbled into canola oil, which was sitting next to the olive oil shelf. I remembered that drive through canola fields.

And the savings? A liter of olive oil is $17 these days, but I forked out $8 for a 946ml bottle recently. Of course I’m a well-known Scrooge, but what I like the most about canola oil, is no smell. What do you mean? There’s no after taste. Olive oil had an after taste, not a bad one mind you. It was just proof that I cooked with oil. Not with canola oil. As a born-again-canola-oil cook, I should know.

Well! Canola is grown around here, so why not kill two birds with one stone, use a low-cost cooking oil, and support Canada agriculture in the process? It’s hypocrisy how we purport to love our country and don’t want ‘those people’ coming here, but there is no patriotism at the supermarket. We don’t know what our province/state produces, let alone Canada and U.S. We prefer clothes and cooking oil from Europe. Italian is good, Canadian is mediocre. Do you have any idea about poverty in Italy? The ‘Italian’ label is for export, for people like me who prefer oil pressed from olives in Italy, instead of oil from canola, I saw swaying in the breeze one spring.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

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