Can you mix vegetable oil and canola oil?

In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “Can you mix vegetable oil and canola oil?” We are going to discuss how vegetable oil is different from canola oil, as well as go through the safety aspects, and nutritional, and health benefits of canola oil.

Can you mix vegetable oil and canola oil?

Yes, vegetable oil and canola oil can be mixed. They can differ in their flavor and nutritional profile, but they both are majorly used in cooking so mixing them would not cause any harm.

Oil blends may be beneficial to bring down ingredient costs, and modify the characteristics of oils in applications that require a mild taste, light color, and/or a higher smoke point [1].

Can you mix vegetable oil and canola oil for cooking and frying?

If you want to mix canola and vegetable oil for cooking or frying, it’s perfectly fine. You can blend them to get the benefits of both of them.

As vegetable oil is already a mixture of different oils like sunflower, olive oil, or corn oil, there’s no issue in adding them to each other. 

The mixture will have a smoke point of about 200°C [2], making it suitable for cooking and high-heat frying.

What is the difference between canola oil and vegetable oil?

Canola oil

Canola oil is produced from rapeseed using plant breeding techniques. These techniques were introduced by researchers in the early 1970s in order to produce oil reduced in erucic acid, a fat component that is potentially harmful to health [3,4]. 

It is a refined, neutral oil, which means it has a mild flavor. It can also be used at high temperatures, for instance for frying and cooking.

Canola oil is low in saturated fats, free from trans fats, and a good source of mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. 

According to Lin and others [3], canola oil is characterized by 7% of saturated fats, about 61% of monounsaturated fats, and 30% of polyunsaturated fats. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a low intake of saturated fats and their replacement with mono and polyunsaturated fats in order to protect against non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke [5].

Particularly, canola oil contains omega-6 and omega-3 in its composition, which are essential fatty acids that must be obtained from the diet. Additionally, omega-3 has been widely associated with cardiovascular protection [3,4].

Vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is a term that can be used for any oil obtained from vegetable sources, for instance, avocado oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil, among others. 

Vegetable oils are naturally good sources of healthy fats (namely mono and polyunsaturated fats), and free of trans fats. However, the fat profile can vary greatly between canola oil and the different types of vegetable oil. 

Just to give you a few examples, while canola oil contains about 30%  of polyunsaturated fats, linseed oil has 70%. 

Olive oil is richer in monounsaturated fats (80%) than canola oil, but poor in polyunsaturated fats (14% or below) [6].

Soya and sunflower oils are lower in omega-3 than canola oil, but higher in omega-6 fatty acids (about 50% of total fats) [6].

Both vegetable oil and canola oil have high smoke points: canola oil has a smoke point of 230°C while the smoke point of other vegetable oil ranges from 195 °C (olive oil) to 234°C (soybean oil) [2].

Is canola oil safe?

Yes, canola oil is stated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) since 1985 [1].

Canola oil has a low content of erucic acid as a result of rapeseed oil being bred to contain low levels of this fatty acid (less than 2%). Erucic acid at high levels of consumption is associated with adverse effects on the heart in several species [7]. 

Following a recent review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) a Tolerable Daily Intake of 7 mg/kg body weight per day of erucic acid was established [7]. 

Therefore, canola oil is safe for consumption.

Moreover, canola oil does not contain any protein so there are no chances of allergy from consuming it.

Nutritional value of canola oil

14g or 1 tablespoon of canola oil contains the following nutrients [2,3]:

  • It contains 4 grams of polyunsaturated fats that are heart-healthy and are considered good fats. 

Moreover, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (the polyunsaturated fats in canola oil) are essential nutrients that must be obtained from the diet.

  • It also contains 8 grams of monounsaturated fatty acids. 
  • There is no protein, minerals, or carbohydrates present in the canola oil. 
  • 9 milligrams of vitamin E 

Health benefits of canola oil : 

Canola oil is rich in unsaturated fats, particularly monounsaturated (60%) and polyunsaturated fats (30%), and can bring benefits to your health when consumed in adequate amounts and combined with an equilibrated diet. 

With regard to the high monounsaturated fats content of canola oil, Lin and others [3] highlighted the evidence supporting the positive effects of them compared with saturated fats on cardiovascular health.

Cited underlying mechanisms for cardiovascular protection include the regulation of plasma lipids and lipoproteins, susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidation, and insulin sensitivity [3,4]. 

Also, canola oil has been recommended for achieving daily omega-3 fatty acids requirements of 1 g/day [3,4], as it contains about 11% of this compound in relation to the total fat content. 

Omega-3 fatty acids have also been implicated with anti-inflammatory properties, reduction of blood pressure, and lowering of serum triglycerides and cholesterol levels [3,4].

Cooking with canola oil:

As canola oil has a mild flavor and high smoke point it can be used to make different dishes.

  • It can be used for baking, grilling, stir-frying, etc.
  • It can be used to make sauces and salad dressings.
  • It can be used to coat the non-stick pan.
  • Can be used as a replacement for butter or margarine.

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we answered the question “Can you mix vegetable oil and canola oil?” We discussed how vegetable oil is different from canola oil, as well as we went through the safety aspects, and nutritional, and health benefits of canola oil.

Citations

  1. https://www.centrafoods.com/products/oils/blends
  1. Alvarenga, BR, Xavier, FAN., Soares, FLF. et al. Thermal Stability Assessment of Vegetable Oils by Raman Spectroscopy and Chemometrics. Food Anal. Methods. 2022; 11:1969–1976.
  1. Lin Lin, Hanja Allemekinders, Angela Dansby, Lisa Campbell, Shaunda Durance-Tod, Alvin Berger, Peter JH Jones, Evidence of health benefits of canola oil. Nutrition Reviews. 2013;71(6):370–385.
  1. Ghazani, SM, Marangoni, AG. Minor Components in Canola Oil and Effects of Refining on These Constituents: A Review. J Am Oil Chem Soc. 2013; 90: 923–932.
  1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet
  1. Frankel N E. Lipid oxidation. Oily Print, 2005.
  1. https://www.food.gov.uk/research/research-projects/rapid-risk-assessment-what-is-the-long-term-risk-of-erucic-acid-to-uk-consumers-if-sunflower-oil-in-food-is-substituted-with

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