Rapeseed Oil Benefits challenge feedback thread – chance to win supermarket gift cards!NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

Here's what RapeseedOilBenefits.com, a not-for-profit campaign aiming to inspire people to use this cooking oil, say about the challenge:

“Did you know rapeseed oil, sometimes labelled vegetable oil, is a healthy choice of cooking oil? It contains less saturated fat than other commonly used cooking oils and fats (e.g. approx. 50% less than olive oil). Recent UK dietary and nutrition surveys estimate that as a nation we’re eating too much saturated fat so we need to look for ways to cut down. Current UK government guidelines advise cutting down on all fats and replacing saturated fat with some unsaturated fat. Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats such as rapeseed oil in the diet has been shown to lower blood cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. It’s also a rich source of vitamin E.

Rapeseed oil is the only commonly used culinary oil that can be widely found both grown and bottled in the UK. It's also produced in other countries in the EU and worldwide. It comes in two forms: artisan cold-pressed and refined, which is often labelled vegetable oil. As well as its nutritional benefits, it’s competitively priced and has many culinary benefits, like its excellent, light, non-greasy flavour profile, and its versatility – from crispy roast potatoes, to healthier baking, to vibrant salad dressings.

Struggling to keep up your New Year’s resolutions? Give rapeseed oil a try, involve your family too if you can, and add your feedback here to be entered into a prize draw."

Here's what's involved:

~ Official testers (those already selected by MNHQ) who add a comment here between Monday 13 March and Sunday 2 April can win a £250 supermarket gift card

~ Non-official testers (open to all UK MNers) who add a comment here between Monday 13 March and Sunday 2 April can win a £150 supermarket gift card

• The challenge is to buy two bottles of rapeseed oil – one refined, often labelled 'vegetable oil' and usually in plastic bottles, and the other labelled 'cold-pressed' and often in glass bottles – and then use them in place of your normal cooking oil for two weeks and tell us what you think by adding your feedback here. Involve your family too if you can. If you already use rapeseed oil, feel free to take part in the challenge too, as Rapeseed Oil Benefits would like to know what you think also, to help them inspire others to use this cooking oil.

• If you have any questions about rapeseed oil go to RapeseedOilBenefits.com and check out the Guide to Rapeseed Oil pages and the FAQs, or use the Contact Us form. To help you get cooking with rapeseed oil, try these delicious Recipes created by professional home economists and dietitians, designed to show that healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring – it can be surprisingly good!

Please add your feedback below on the following:

~ Let us know what you think of rapeseed oil and if you knew about the benefits already or not.

~ Have you tried out any RapeseedOilBenefits.com recipes? How did you and your family find them?

~ Please add any other comments, photos, recipes, tips or ideas you have too – we'd love to hear from you at various stages of the challenge.

Thanks
MNHQ

Closing date: Sunday 2 April. Winners will be selected at random from all posting a comment: one ‘official’ tester and one ‘non-official’ tester – prizes as above.

Please note: posts on this thread may be reproduced by Rapeseed Oil Benefits (AHDB).

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Official tester....I was unaware of the health benefits of rapeseed oil prior to this trial. I had also never tried the cold pressed rapeseed oil.

I have used the basic oil for roast potatoes & vegetables in the oven, as well as an oil for the frying pan. I have no noticed any taste difference to my normal oil and the rapeseed oil cooked everything well.

I have been very impressed by the cold pressed oil. I like the rich colour and nutty flavour. I have used it instead of extra virgin olive oil for salads & marinades. I wouldn't replace my normal olive oil with the rapeseed oil, but will continue to use both in the future. I particularly like the cold rapeseed oil for marinating, but I definitely prefer olive oil for tomato salads. I would imagine that the rapeseed oil would make an excellent home made hoummos & this is one of the next things I will try out with it.

I have enjoyed the test so far and look forward to continuing to experiment with the oils in future.

Official tester

First time trying this and its great - I don't feel so guilty for wanting to fry things up or add oil as this is a far healthier alternative to its sunflower or vegetable oil counterpart. I've seen it at affordable prices too at the asian aisle in the supermarket for large volume but as was only doing this as part of the test I bought these from Sainsbury's.

I used it in place of my usual oil so for cooking, frying etc. It does not smell overpowering and adds some flavour to the food too - less fat what's not to like?

Hello

I am replying as an official tester and have been using both types of rapeseed oil for the last few weeks.

I have used the ordinary 'vegetable oil' for frying in place of my usual sunflower oil. I have not noticed any particular difference in its performance or taste. I have yet to try it on roast potatoes which could be a real test so hope to do that soon and feedback if I can. The oil is quite thin which I find useful to coat a hot pan easily.

I have used the cold pressed oil in salad dressing to replace olive oil. I haven't noticed much difference here either. The taste is fruity and perhaps 'thinner' than extra virgin olive oil but I haven't found this different enough to put me off using it. However I would probably look into the relative health benefits of the two oils before giving up olive oil as I know the health benefits of this are tried and tested and useful to have as part of my diet.

I am impressed with rapeseed oil overall and would certainly use it more knowing it has both health benefits and is a more locally produced product. I think indeed that that would be the biggest selling point for me; a product that can be grown in our country and travels less seems to meet our environmentally sound objectives these days. This should definitely be more widely publicised.

And I would certainly like to see the labelling changed from 'vegetable oil' which I immediately think of as being less healthy than sunflower oil, to 'rapeseed oil' so that we know what exactly it is and that it becomes a more attractive choice.

Thanks for letting me test these products and I will certainly buy in the future.

Official tester feedback:
Thought that the oils were fine, the unrefined one was pleasantly nutty, delicious on fried mushrooms. I was aware of the benefits of vitamin e and low food miles.

Didn't try any official recipes, but did use the oils for 2 weeks in all of my usual recipes. The pesto worked well, bread was normal, salads were a bit nuttier, roast turned out great, and the oil made no difference to the flavour of soups. No one else in the house seemed to notice so that was a win!

I have to say that I will be keeping the bottles in the cupboard, along side my olive oil and sunflower oil.

Official Tester here:

Before taking part in the challenge, I had not previously used rapeseed oil. I had heard stories that rapeseed oil would have a strong bitter taste and worried this would affect my recipes. However, after using the oil for the past seven days, I know this not to be the case. The rapeseed oil tastes nutty and slightly buttery, which enhances most dishes.

We tried a couple of recipes from the website. The Tear 'N' Share Seeded Cheese Scones were a particular hit with all the family as were the Fruity Buttermilk Pancakes.

After trying the rapeseed oil for myself and reading about the benefits on RapeseedOilBenefits.com, I am now a convert. I like that the oil contains less saturated fat than other commonly used oils and that it is rich in vitamin E. I am also pleased to read that this is a home-grown crop as I prefer to buy things produced in this country.

I've made some cheese scones and banana bread using the refined oil today. Both recipes taste as they normally do with absolutely no change in texture from the sunflower oil that I'd usually make them with.
Continuing to be impressed with the rapeseed oil!

Non tester. Recently switched to rapeseed oil after seeing it on eat well for less. Apparently higher smoking point and better for u.

Use it in any dish that needs oil. It makes the chicken a lighter brown. I'll buy it again.

Official tester:

~ Let us know what you think of rapeseed oil and if you knew about the benefits already or not.

Before applying to the test, I read about the benefits of Rapeseed oil as I have never used it before and decided to try it considering the nutritional benefits - Although there were quite scary info somewhere else on the internet, there were convincing factors how the risk factors has been taken care of before making it as an edible oil - Wasn't sure about the smell and I was actually concerned as one of my friends mentioned, there is usually a different odour while cooking with vegetable oils! 


~ Have you tried out any RapeseedOilBenefits.com recipes? How did you and your family find them?
~~~~We tried the Prawn and Stir Fry noodles recipe but I replaced Prawn with Chicken as my DD1 is not a fan for Prawn and Hubby doesn't eat sea food and considering DD2 is not very appreciative when it comes to food, I will end up in finishing all!  I know Prawn would have tasted better but couldn't complain about the chicken noodles either!

I haven't told anyone about Rapeseed oil and surprisingly no one realised the smell while cooking or eating - All they have seen is the yummy noodles on the dinner plate :)

~ Please add any other comments, photos, recipes, tips or ideas you have too – we'd love to hear from you at various stages of the challenge.

~~~~~~~~~I used the oil for coating fish before baking and it tasted really good. I usually fry/bake fish with Sesame oil (also known as gingelly oil/til oil) and used Rapeseed oil this time. Smelled good and tasted good too (The taste was a little better with Sesame oil though  :) )

Tried replacing olive oil on salad dressing but I am sorry, the kids made it out and didn't like it! So, I think I will stick with Olive oil for salad dressing but will use Rapeseed oil for cooking although it wouldn't replace other oils entirely. I like testing and tasting food cooked in different oils so I think My cupboard will now have Sesame Oil, Sunflower oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Rapeseed oil :)

Official tester

I've used the rapeseed oil exclusively through the test period. I'd used the refined oil before but not the compressed oil. I'd definitely use the refined for general cooking in future.

I love the fact that you can use the oil for high temp cooking and it gives such yummy results.

I am an official tester. We usually use Olive oil so it was a change for us. I tried the tear and share cheese scone from the recipe website and it was lovely. My fussy 2 year old wolfed it down and I have made it a couple of times. Both oils fried really well and didn't have too much of a strong flavour. We didn't notice too much in a difference in flavour between these and olive oil.

We weren't aware of the health benefits so it was really good to read up on. I will use rapeseed oil in the future for sure.

TESTER

~ Let us know what you think of rapeseed oil and if you knew about the benefits already or not.
I didn't know about the benefits so it was very enlightening to read what a healthy choice it would be to switch, and to see how it compares to the other oils.

~ Have you tried out any RapeseedOilBenefits.com recipes? How did you and your family find them?
I haven't tried any recipes from the site yet, but rather used the oil in my tried and tested recipes where I would usually use Olive oil e.g. spaghetti bolognese sauce and lasagne (I used the cold pressed Rapeseed oil for this) which tasted lovely, and I used the standard Rapeseed oil for quick cooks such as fried eggs.

Overall, I was worried that the taste of the oil wouldn't be as nice as my usual olive oil but I would be very happy to switch for the additional health benefits Rapeseed offers. My children didn't notice the difference either. I will definitely be trying out some of the recipes on RapeseedOilBenefits.com over Easter!! I think my DDs would love to try the Chocolate and Cranberry Brownies recipe!!

Official taster tester - thank you for the opportunity.

I was previously unaware of any health benefits, and the fact that it was lower in saturated fat than olive oil - which I had happily been using for pretty much everything, thinking it was a healthy option!

I love the fact that it's locally grown, and also it's low smoking point. It's meant it's been fantastic for stir frys. I haven't noticed any particular strong taste to it - the cold-pressed is certainly a different taste to olive oil, but just as versatile.

I've also made roast vegetables for a curry, and roast potatoes, which were both good, and seemed less oily than using sunflower or olive oil. Oh, and fried eggs turn ou particularly well.

I did attempt a lemon cake (I wasn't sure which to use, but have made cakes with OO before, so went with cold pressed) - it was fine, but a little dry, and I think I'd prefer a more buttery taste. It did make it a lovely yellow colour though!
I've just seen a recipe for chocolate and amaretto cake, and might try that next.

Official Tester
With the voucher I purchased refined Vegetable Oil and Taste The Difference British Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

Well I have spent the last few weeks cooking with this product and finding out more about it. I have used rapeseed oil before but i was not aware of its benefits. Being lower in saturated fat than other oils is a big bonus. I would normally avoid refined oils however finding out that vegetable oil made from rapeseed oi has a higher smoking point is brilliant. I have been tending to use butter for frying etc for this reasons and it's good to know I can use oil instead.

I have used the oils a number of times in my day to day cooking including spaghetti bolognese, chilli, fried eggs no scrambled eggs. I am not really a recipe person but I decided to give a recipe from RapeseedOilBenefits website a try. I cooked the One Pot chicken and oaty sweet potato roast recipe. It was tasty but I am not sure I cooked it right as it tasted a bit like porridge coated chicken and potatoes. The kids were amused though. The chicken and sweet potatoes were well cooked in the oil and it wasn't overpowering. I will definitely keep bottles of the rapeseed oil in my cupboard from now on, especially the refined vegetable oil.

I have changed from using Olive Oil to Rapeseed oil and it is fantastic! Versatile too.
Its colour is lovely and the taste is great, you can use it for everything from baking to making salad dressings.
It is not overpowering and has been perfect for cooking bolognese sauce, chicken curry, stir fried chicken, rice, In fact when I made stir fry wit rapeseed oil my son yummed it all up! He's never done that before. So I'm very happy with the results.

Cold Rapeseed oil is full of cold pressed virgins, a total delight on the lips. I tried some chips, and loved the results. An absolute treat on hot air fried chips.
I have used it for cooking too, it does not burn and leaves a really nice taste, used in salads as well it gives a very unique taste which we love.

Official Tester. I've used the Rapeseed oil (both types-- using the cold pressed for salad dishes and dips) as per the trial and cooked with it as well as trying out recipes. The main difference I've found is the fact that it is far less greasy and less strong smelling than other cooking oils. It makes fabulous cakes!- especially Carrot Cake (which I'd normally use an oil in)- giving a lighter result but equally as moist. I wouldn't hesitate to continue using the Rapeseed Oil now in place of previous cooking oils.

Official tester.

I've always used vegetable oil for many years but have always been confused about rapeseed oil. Is vegetable oil that I've been using all these years just rapeseed oil?!

Anyway the cold pressed one is hell of a lot more expensive than the vegetable one.

I've been using the rapeseed oil for cooking everything from chicken curry, lamb biryani, fish masala, fried eggs, french toast. It's been fantastic for everyday meals but on salads i do prefer my olive oil. Rapeseed has a very bland taste so doesn't suit me for salads.

I haven't tried it for baking but that's because ive never baked with oil but i can imagine it would be a very good alternative.

One of the things that really impressed me about rapeseed was the high heat point. For this reason alone i will be sticking with using it in all my cooking. Also it was good to see that it's made in the UK too!

For cooking that requires larger amounts of oil for example for frying, i would use the unrefined vegetable oil just for economy.

Official tester

I made another recipe from rapeseedoilbenefits.com

Chicken parcels
1 sliced red onion
1 sliced red pepper
1 lemon
4 chick breasts
2 tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil

Preheat oven to 200C. Get 4 large squares of foil - divide pepper and onion into 4 and place in centre of each foil square.

Halve the lemon and slice one half into 4. Place a slice on top of vegetables in each foil square.

Top with a chicken breast and scrunch the foil together leaving a small vent in the top.

Squeeze juice from lemon half and mix with the oil. Pour through the vents equally.

Place on a baking tray and cook for 30 mins.

These were fabulous. Had ours with rice and salad. Will definitely make again

Hi guys. I love this oil!! I've been using it for a few weeks now and my skin feels great. I dont like the taste of Olive oil so this is a great alternative. I have also baked some of the suggested recipes on the link and have been happy with the results. A big from me !

Non official tester - I did sweet potato fries with the oil and was surprised how light and tasty they were.

I have really enjoyed this challenge! I found the rapeseed oil really versatile. I wouldn't use it on salads because I prefer the raw flavour of an olive oil but I have used it for everything else and the taste is great.
I will definitely be switching

~ Let us know what you think of rapeseed oil and if you knew about the benefits already or not.
I didn't know of the benefits before this product test

~ Have you tried out any RapeseedOilBenefits.com recipes? How did you and your family find them?
No I didn't use the recipes but replaced it where I would have used oil in my own cooking. Am not one for following recipes as tend to make things up as I go along with whatever is in the cupboard!

~ Please add any other comments, photos, recipes, tips or ideas you have too – we'd love to hear from you at various stages of the challenge.
I don't tend to use a lot of oil in cooking but I used it for roast potatoes. and the family commented on how crispy they were, I used it on a joint of pork too and we had the best crackling ever! I also use oil for homemade wedges and tray baked meals and did notice that bits didn't stick to the pans as they often do when using my usual oils. Ds likes to make his own salad dressings and said it gave a nice nutty flavour. I will continue to use it now the trial is over.

Official tester here! I normally use olive oil with my cooking so when I found out that rapeseed oil is a healthier option I was really interested in using it for the first time. I have sometimes used vegetable oil when baking before but I had never realised before that it's actually rapeseed oil too. I started using the cold pressed for salad dressing and it worked really well so I will definitely continue using it. I then made the lemon and rapeseed oil, it was delicious and went down really well with my husband and two children, I would highly recommend it!! It has worked really well with my roast potatoes and sweet potato wedges too, it tasted very similar to the olive oil I normally use but I think the health benefits made it subconsciously taste better for me. After giving these a try I will absolutely be switching over, thank you Mumsnet!

Official tester- We tried the Specially selected cold pressed British rapeseed oil and a Sainsbury's vegetable oil- 100% rapeseed oil. Both oils seemed more yellow in colour than olive oil like we usually use, but I liked this as it seemed to make our food more golden in colour without the grease. I used the cold pressed oil in chips/ wedges and stir fry and the vegetable oil in brownies. I was impressed with both oils. The brownies I made tasted softer than the ones I usually make with butter. After doing this challenge, I would change my usual oil to rapeseed oil. I will also look at the website above for more recipe ideas.

official tester

I've been using both types of rapeseed oil for the last two weeks.
I didnt realise all the health benefits of rapeseed oil (didnt realise that it contained less saturated fat than other oils - 50% less than olive oil!), I didnt realise that Vegetable oil was usually rapeseed oil too and dint realise that there were two different types of rapeseed oil.
I had heard that rapeseed oil had a higher burning/smoke point (or something) so better to cook with, I found that cooking/frying with rapeseed oil, had a nice flavour and seemed lighter than other cooking oils and together with the heath benefits I'm surprised that it isnt generally the oil of choice used by everyone.
I found that the cold pressed oil was ideal in dressings as it has a lovely colour and nice flavour and doesn't taste too greasy, so very light. Im very impressed with both.

I am now a convert to rapeseed oil and it will be my oil of choice for both types. I am also spreading details of the health benefits to my friends and family.

Official tester here 😊

I'd never used rapeseed oil before and I'm definitely converted!

I used the refined oil to make roasted sweet potatoes wedges and then again to roast all of the vegetables for our Sunday lunch. The DC couldn't taste the difference but DH and I could and we both thought the veg tasted much nicer than when roasted in olive oil.

I baked a lemon drizzle cake using the refined oil and the result was amazing! The cake was so moist and fluffy and was such a success that the whole cake was gone in 20 minutes!

I also used the refined oil to fry bacon and eggs 🍳for breakfast, I normally use sunflower oil for this and find you can usually taste it on the food but we couldn't taste the refined oil on the eggs at all so I'll definitely be using it for all my frying now.

I used the cold pressed oil to make pesto and I was really impressed with the full flavour. I also made arrabiata pasta and drizzled some of the cold pressed oil over it and it was delicious!

I wasn't aware previously of the health benefits of rapeseed oil, particularly in comparison to olive oil which is what I normally use. I think it would be really beneficial to promote the awareness of this and also to make people aware of ways they can support British farming. I'll definitely be using both types of rapeseed oil in the future but I'd love to see some 'infused' cold pressed oils for dipping and roasting.