Low in food miles, high in flavour, simple natural food from the Isle of Wight. Taste the Goodness, Feel the Sunshine!
As well as Fuel Britannia Straw Logs the family grow, press and bottle Oil of Wight Rapeseed Oil. Golden Fields of Rapeseed are a welcome sign of spring time across the UK but, while most of us realise why cauliflowers or sweetcorn are grown it is more difficult to understand why Rapeseed is grown.
The yellow flowers are fertilised by myriad bees which benefit from the plentiful nectar. The flowers produce shiny black oil rich seeds in pods which, when combine harvested in late July are processed into oil.
A combination of heat and chemical extraction creates the maximum yield of a familiar generic ‘vegetable oil’. By employing a simple cold pressing technique a lower yielding, but highly flavoursome oil, is gently extracted from the seeds. Small scale cold pressing plants have sprung up around the country and the Isle of Wight has it’s very own ‘Oil of Wight’.
This local rapeseed is grown, cold pressed and bottled in Merstone by Caroline Knox and is sold in many Farmshops, gift shops and butchers across the Island as well as being available to buy on line from
www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk
Rapeseed oil is cold pressed from untreated seeds. It is a pure oil with a high smoke point and a full flavour. It contains no additives, preservatives or salt and is suitable for vegetarian, dairy and gluten free diets
Use it for roasting, frying, stir frying, drizzle onto pasta, potatoes or salad, dip bread into it, use it as a dairy free alternative to butter when baking, marinade with it, make salad dressings and sauces.
Rapeseed oil is one of the healthiest oils as well as being British. A healthy diet needs some oil and fats but it is important to minimise saturated fats and maximise unsaturated fats.
Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil has the lowest level of saturated fat content of any other oil available on the market. Only 6% saturated fat content, compared to most Olive Oils containing 14% and Sunflower Oil with 10% saturated fat.
Rapeseed Oil contains an ideal ratio of the Monounsaturated fats, Omegas 3, 6 & 9. This has been shown to reduce cholesterol and heart disease as well as aid brain and eye tissue development. Current research includes the potential benefits of Omega 3 in delaying the onset of Alzheimers.
Vitamin E occurs naturally in Rapeseed Oil. This vitamin acts as an antioxidant and is capable of protecting against cancer, heart disease and skin aging.
