We’ve been producing cold pressed rapeseed oil on our farm for 20 years and in that time, we’ve seen opinions and trends around culinary oils shift dramatically. It’s been interesting to observe these waves of change – many of which are led by social media influencers, fad diets and quite often backed by misinformation.

Over the past year however, we’ve seen a substantial rise in the use of cold pressed rapeseed oil amongst health-conscious consumers and cooks. We know that the hefty price of olive oil is driving people to more cost-effective culinary oils. But the move to cold pressed rapeseed oil can also be attributed to growing awareness of its nutritional advantages over other cooking oils, backed by a more positive conversation that’s rooted in sound evidence and science.

Doctor Sarah Berry, Professor of Nutrition at King’s College London and Chief Scientist at Zoe discussed at length on the Zoe podcast how seed oils, including rapeseed oil, can lower the risk of heart disease. Nutritionist, May Simpkin published an interesting comparison piece on her blog comparing the nutritional values of British-produced cold pressed oils and heavily processed, refined canola oils.  Whilst the Wellness Scoop highlighted the benefits of seed oils, with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert citing: “Rapeseed oil has very similar properties to olive oil, if not when it’s cold pressed, superior properties, actually. It can be a very good oil to cook with. It’s high in Vitamin E, it’s a natural antioxidant. And there’s so much research that shows it actually lowers bad cholesterol.”

It’s been reassuring to witness the conversation return to sensible territory. We are a company that cares deeply about the provenance of our oil and the benefit it can offer for human health. We’ve always known cold pressed rapeseed oil is a sound choice nutritionally. Our mechanical pressing process preserves natural nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins, resulting in an oil that’s low in saturated fat with the ideal ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. The fact that it’s grown here in Britain and offers so much versatility in the kitchen are both equally important attributes to be treasured.

So, thank you to the educated voices working so hard to dispel the myths and present consumers with sound, logical advice when it comes to culinary oils.

We know health can look very different from one person to another, but our ethos has always been to cook from scratch, focus on variety in the diet, use wholefood ingredients and treat yourself now and again. Happy, healthy and balanced – surely that’s a recipe we can all get on board with?

Read more about the health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil

Get inspired by our recipes

See our oil comparison