Conference turris::cooks

  They may just mean any vegetable oil(s) which you'd use in a salad,
  meaning that it doesn't have to be any particular oil, but that you
  might not want to use, say, peanut oil, which has a particular flavor
  and weight which might not give best results. For "salad oil", I'd use
  any light vegetable oil, such as corn oil, safflower oil, Wesson,
  Crisco, etc.

    HI CANDY!!!!!!!!!
    	When it calls for Salad Oil, I use Olive Oil.....I notice here
    at LTN2 in the cafe they have a container with Salad Oil on it.....
    I think veg oil and salad oil are different.........
    Unless you go to a health food store, I only use olive oil because
    it has a better taste........we always ate wine vinagar and olive
    oil for dressing....I'll ask my husband he's a massage therapist
    and they use all kinds of oils............ha....ha.....ha.......
    I'll find out from my mother-in-law what the difference is....the
    older and wiser people know that stuff..............
    
    D0nna

from Random House Dictionary of the English Language (College Edition)

SALAD OIL, an oil used in salad dressing, esp. olive oil or a vegetable 
oil, as from sesame, corn, or safflower

    Grapeseed oil is good for salads too.
    
    Although probably all culinary oils can be used in salads, not all
    salad oils can be used for cooking, especially frying, since they 
    cannot be heated to high temperatures - grapeseed is a good example.
                    
    Jacquie 

    re: .4:  Are you sure it's grapeseed?  Canola oil is made from
    rapeseed.   It's also low in cholesterol -- 1 gm/serving.
    A rape is "a plant with oil rich seeds used primarily as
    animal feed."
    
    ed

    Has anyone had any experience with using different oils and getting
    varied results in baking?  I have a recipe that I use all the time, and
    recently had it flop.  The only difference seems to be that I used
    Canola oil instead of the usual corn oil.  ALl other factors seemed to
    be equal.  Can different oils affect the quality?  With the canola oil,
    the cake seemed quite heavy.
    
    Sarah
    

    re: .5
    
     Are you certain you mean "cholesterol -- 1gm/serving" and not
    saturated fat ?  Canola oil is the lowest in saturated fat. I 
    don't believe it contains any cholesterol at all since cholesterol
    is found only in animal products such as meat and dairy products.
    
    Since canola oil is a derivitave of vegetable matter it shouldn't
    contain any cholesterol at all.
    
    - Larry
     

    It could be "saturated fat 1gm/serving" I'll check.
    
    As for vegetative matter not containing any cholesterol, that's
    "almost always true," right?
    
    ed

    No -- cholesterol only occurs in animal tissue.
    
    Canola oil is very low in saturated fat.
    
    					andrew

    re: .9: animal tissue and palm and coconut oil -- which is why I worded
    .8 as I did.
    
    ed

    The tropical oils, palm and coconut, don't contain cholesterol but are
    the highest in saturated fat, and therefore could probably be
    considered "as bad as" animal fat.  The more saturated the fat, the
    more solid it is a room temperature - Crisco, for example.  Coconut oil
    is solid and white - you usually have to heat the bottle to get any
    out.  I know yuppies and restaurants use it to pop corn, but I use it
    to make soap.
    
    Terry
    

  Cocoanut oil for popping corn? First I've heard. Does it taste
  noticeably better? I've always used corn oil or safflower oil, and my
  popcorn tastes great.

    RE: coconut oil & taste - I'm not sure about the difference in taste; I
    have a hot air popper now, but when I worked in a restaurant that
    served popcorn, they would buy it in 75 gallon drums.  We also loaded
    it with salt and that would have obliterated any taste!  Maybe it has
    something to do with tolerance for heat, although you usually only hear
    about peanut oil with regard to heat. When I finally found it in a
    gourmet store, the clerk very smugly said "Oh you must be popping corn
    tonight!" Maybe C oil is too expensive for regular folks for
    everyday use.  What I found is put out by Hain, and I think it is about
    a 14 oz jar for over $3.00.  For soapmaking, it helps give small dense
    bubbles but is too drying to the skin if you use too much C oil in
    proportion to the other ingredients - at least, that's what the book
    says!  
    
    Terry

    
    My understanding is that coconut oil enhances the natural tastes of
    foods without lending it's own taste to the food.  This is why it's
    so popular in the food industry unfortunately.  The plain truth is
    that it's not good for you cuz it's _loaded_ with saturated fats.
    
    - Larry

>    Has anyone had any experience with using different oils and getting
>    varied results in baking?  I have a recipe that I use all the time, and
>    recently had it flop.  The only difference seems to be that I used
>    Canola oil instead of the usual corn oil.  ALl other factors seemed to
>    be equal.  Can different oils affect the quality?  With the canola oil,
>    the cake seemed quite heavy.
    
Sarah,

I've never seen it happen - I have had different flavors added when I use
a very "furity" olive oil, for instance, but in baking, I've never seen that
significant a variation.

when baking anything that uses flour, don't overlook the temperature and
humidity on the day you bake.  Flour, especially white flour, is like a
sponge and absorbs moisture from the air.  If you bake a cake on a very
humid day, it may absorb more moisture and become heavier...it can be
"floury" when baked on a very dry day.  You may be noticing that type
of change.

re: grapeseed oil vs rapeseed oil

yes, they probably meant Grapeseed oil.  It is sold as a "fancy" oil - for
salads and such.  Rapeseed oil is not often seen (at least in my area) as
a labeled oil - it is the primary ingredient in certain "brand" names, but
I've never seen it offered as a labeled oil.

    
    re: .16
    
     Rapeseed oil is most often referred to as Canola Oil.  There is
    a couple different types labeled as Canola Oil but perhaps the 
    most popular is Puritan Oil.  If you look at the label you'll see
    that it's Canola Oil derived from rapeseed.
    
    Regards, Larry

    Yes to all queries, I DID mean grapeseed oil.  It's good for salads,
    and seems quite light.
    
    What about nut oils?
    
    I like walnut oil, also for salads, but don't like hazlenut oil. 

    Jacquie

    SO, where is grapeseed oil sold, or under what label(s)?
    
    ed

    Carrefour here in France, Sainsbury's in the UK.
           
    Doesn't that cover everywhere worth shopping (ouch!)
           
    Jacquie

gourmet food shops.  When in doubt, call Williams-Sonoma in San Franciso and
ask them for mail order info...if it is sold anywhere, they will know how to
get it, I'm sure.  I don't have the number, but it is available from 
information.  They may even have an 800 number.

    Well, I found Grapeseed Oil in Shaw's in Nashua.  The label says:
    Grapaccino, the Champagne of Oils.  $3.79 for 10 or 12 fl oz.
    
    Of course, I wasn't looking for it when I found it.
    
    ed