I know there are other controversial substances that I do have an opinion about: high fructose corn syrup, for example. My sensitive system tells me that stuff is a no go. I can have a small amount once in a while and not suffer any major consequences, but regular fountain sodas are absolutely off-limits for me these days.
My body seems to be fine with canola oil, but that doesn't mean there aren't some kind of long term consequences going on behind the scenes. I found a number of "alternative" sites claiming that canola oil can cause everything from inflammation to cancer. On the other hand, it seems like all of the "official" state-sponsored, Ministry of Truth-approved sources say that canola oil is just hunky-dory—organizations like Mayo Clinic and Harvard University. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
Normally, that alone would make me automatically suspicious of the substance in question, but since my body isn't sensitive to it...I just don't know. So if you, our readers, have an opinion about canola oil one way or the other, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. That said, let's look at this poppyseed dressing.
It's surprisingly sweet. It's a tad tangy. If I were trying it in a blind taste test, I might think it was a honey mustard dressing of some kind. You can see, feel, and taste the poppy seeds. They add some texture and nuttiness to the equation. The mouthfeel here is medium-thin, smooth, with a relatively low viscosity. It coats nicely.
It's surprisingly sweet. It's a tad tangy. If I were trying it in a blind taste test, I might think it was a honey mustard dressing of some kind. You can see, feel, and taste the poppy seeds. They add some texture and nuttiness to the equation. The mouthfeel here is medium-thin, smooth, with a relatively low viscosity. It coats nicely.
It worked well with our kale and cabbage salad. I think Sonia liked it a little more than I did. $3.69 for 12oz. Organic. Don't consume before taking a drug test. We're on the fence about a repeat purchase. Four stars from Sonia, three from me for Trader Joe's Organic Poppy Seed Dressing.
Bottom line: 7 out of 10.
I'm very interested in nutrition and try to eat healthy most of the time, so I have researched canola oil. I get the same results. Personally, I don't use it as cooking oil, but if it's an ingredient I don't let it bother me much. I don't eat huge amounts of salad dressing. I love these poppy seed dressings, so would be interested to try TJ's to see how it compares to Brianna's (the gold standard). I have one particular salad that I eat it with: Spinach, chicken, berries or mango, avocado, sliced almonds. It's perfect, but can't imagine it with other vegetable type salads. It's just too sweet.
ReplyDeletePS: not a fan of this new comment format. Not user-friendly.
Let me make sure I'm reading this correctly - you automatically assume that something is suspicious when it's backed by long-established, scientifically-based, globally reputed institutions (Harvard, The Mayo Clinic, in this case) and you then refer to them as The Ministry of Truth? But fringe, non-peer-reviewed, alternative sites/people are the ones you believe hold the most accurate information? Please clarify.
ReplyDeleteI try to eat healthy but also environmentally. I'll take canola over palm oil any day. We have really been enjoying this dressing. Even my DIL who doesn't like salad dressings likes this one. It is also great as a slaw dressing with dried cranberries and roasted sunflower seeds tossed in.
ReplyDeleteCanola oil has a high smoke point so it is very stable and thus less likely to break down in your cabinet, or during cooking (degraded oil is very much not good for you). It has a higher ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 than most of the commercially used cooking oils, save for flaxseed and cottonseed oil. It's usually pretty cheap, too. So overall I'd say it's fine.
ReplyDeleteForgot to say, I really like poppyseed dressing with broccoli, cashew, raisin, and red onion salad (anyone else miss Sweet Tomatoes/ Souplantation's Broccoli Madness salad?)
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