City Food, Vancouver Summer 2006

Fresh Pressed Salad Oils – Our picks of the patch (excerpt)

What could be a better dish in summer than a plate of sun-ripe tomatoes, sliced, drizzled with fragrant olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt? Or anything drizzled with really good olive oil, for that matter. That’s the beauty of summer food; it’s simple. But simplicity demands top quality and freshness, and when it comes to oil, we want to use only the best products available. Here’s five of our recommended favourites. All of them stellar, all of them good for you. Plus you can rest assured that the people behind them care as much about quality as you do. But you don’t have to take our word for it. You can ask them yourself.

Highwood Crossing
Certified Organic Canola Oil

Most eco-conscious cooks are unimpressed with canola oil. For one thing, most Canadian canola oil is produces from GMO crops, for another, it tends to be tasteless. Not so the canola oil from Highwood Crossing. Their oil is a rich, golden colour with an aroma and flavour that is distinctively grain like – think butter melting on fresh baked bread. What’s more, it’s produced from 100 percent organic, non GMO canola crops grown on the farm of Tony and Penny Marshall, a couple who maintain and acreage just south of Calgary that has been in their family for nearly 100 years. The Marshall’s cold-press the oil to extract the maximum levels of omega-6 and omega-3, giving it a fatty acid profile similar to extra virgin olive oil. It’s also incredibly fresh. The oil is delivered to customers within a week of bottling and has expiry dates clearly marked on the label. So far, their only distributor in BC is Hainle Estate vineyards in Peachland, but you can contact the Marshalls for shipping via their website at www.highwoodcrossing.com.