I've just had a funny turn in the local branch of Morrisons supermarket. I was loitering around the cooking oils section (as I sometimes do when things are quiet on the mag) checking to see whether they were stocking British cold-pressed rapeseed oil.
We wrote about this sector in the mag about a month ago. It's significant because at least half a dozen British farmers are producing their own oil and beginning to carve out a good market. It's a premium market, with most oils selling for £4 or £5 for 500ml. So these farmers are doing what the government wants us all to do, which is stop selling commodity products for peanuts and add some value to our crops and livestock.
Anyway, back to Morrisons. There didn't seem to be any British cold-pressed rapeseed oil on the shelves, though lots of exotic oils extracted from everything from lemon pips to bats' gonads.
But there were some attractive bottles called Golden Fields, too, with a quintessentially British scene of rolling hills and tall-spired church on the label and plenty of stuff about the health benefits. However the price was 89p a litre, which seemed suspiciously cheap.
A quick check on the back of the label showed it was actually standard hot-pressed (ie processed) rape oil from Belgium. OK it could still be UK oil being processed by wily Belgians in which case I'll probably be getting a stern letter from the manufacturer's solicitors.
Also, there were lot of bottles of hot-pressed - but British - rape oil further down the shelves, so I can't accuse Morrisons of being anti-British. Anyway, it may well be that there aren't any British suppliers who can provide the quantities they want.
There were a couple of other customers looking at the cooking oils and one of them made the fatal mistake of commenting on the cheapness of the rapeseed oil. Raising myself to my full height and trying vainly to keep my emotions under check, I addressed her in my best Churchillian manner, explaining in great detail the difference between hot pressing and cold-pressing and why she should be buying British rather than Belgian.
She seemed quite interested and grateful to start with but then an anxious look crept into her eyes that suggested she thought I was a madman or a pervert, or both.
Why am I telling you all this? I felt a bit annoyed to see no British cold-pressed rapeseed oil
yet here was a foreign one that was cheekily getting in on the act. But perhaps it's early days, and there will be a British invasion of the top shelf of the cooking oil section in your local supermarket.
In the meantime, I'm going to boycott Belgian chocolates for at least two hours. That'll show 'em. Meanwhile get out there and buy British cold-pressed rapeseed oil - it'll put a smile on some rape growers' face.
Comments (7)
I think you've answered your own concern in your blog.
You talk happily about selling cooking oils: "It's a premium market, with most oils selling for £4 or £5 for 500ml." Well, there is a specialist market at these prices; but what most of us cook with day in and day out has to be at a much lower price than that.
Rapeseed oil's strength is that it is very mild in taste, healthy, and suitable for high-temperature cooking. Who do you think wants to pay £10 a litre for an everyday oil? The 'speciality' oils at those prices sell because they usually have a high flavour (e.g. for dressings) or are for a more occasional use. That's a description of just what rapeseed oil is NOT.
I will take great pleasure in buying a British rapeseed oil, marketed as British. But at £0.80 to £1.40 per litre - not at £10. For that money I can get a specialist olive oil or a nut oil; neither of which will have come from a British farm.
Mike of Sheffield.
Comment left on April 9, 2007 1:52 PM
Posted on April 9, 2007 13:52
We had problems tracking down the cold-pressed variety, until we found it stocked by a butcher in Suffolk. (KW Clarke of Bramfield, if anyone's interested)
Comment left on April 10, 2007 10:34 AM
Posted on April 10, 2007 10:34
Just this morning I read an article in the Independent (Sat 26 Oct 07) about Rapeseed Oil and was surprised to see a bottle of it costed at £6.70. I was alarmed...because I have been regularly purchasing Goldenfields 'Pure' Rapeseed Oil from Morrisons at 89p...I thought I was onto a good thing...I had purposely sought out a Rapeseed Oil after seeing a TV doco about it which expounded its health benefits in comparison to Olive Oil - which I also use (Extra Virgin, Cold Pressed)...Despite it being a 'hot pressed' oil what are it's benefits?
Comment left on October 28, 2007 11:35 AM
Posted on October 28, 2007 11:35
I'm having trouble finding any kind of rape seed oil at the moment!
I regularly purchased my oil from Tesco (Goldenfields) then they stopped stocking it, then I found it in Asda, then they stopped it, so I moved on to Morrisons... and you guessed it.... now they no longer carry the stuff.... does anyone know where you can get a resonably priced rapeseed oil?
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Comment left on July 14, 2008 2:36 PM
Posted on July 14, 2008 14:36
I bought my last rapeseed oil at Booths supermarkets but they are restricted to NW England.
Goldenfields oil is on the Ocado website so presumably Waitrose stock it.
When I click on the "rapeseed oil. British" link in the above article, it fails to find any reference on the Farmers Weekly pages.
So much for promoting the British product!
Comment left on July 25, 2008 10:13 AM
Posted on July 25, 2008 10:13
There isn't much point in buying cold pressed oil of any kind for cooking! The cold pressing ensures that the highly desirable essential fatty acids or omega oils are present in the oil. Since they are destroyed or denatured by heat, conventional extraction methods destroy them but so does cooking!
Use the expensive cold pressed oils as salad oils and store them in a cool place or the frig between use.
Comment left on May 15, 2009 10:49 AM
Posted on May 15, 2009 10:49
This has been an interesting article, thanks for providing the information, it's really helped me with my homework. I love the theme and colors of your blog too!
Comment left on February 3, 2010 8:32 PM
Posted on February 3, 2010 20:32