foodsources
profile of a super oil
Freefield Organics enters the Canadian
cooking scene with camelina oil
There’s a new oilseed in town. Chefs, home
cooks and health nuts alike are falling in
love with camelina oil, a golden-hued, lightly
nutty flavoured oil pressed from the Camelina
sativa seed, an ancient oilseed native to
Europe. And fear not, locavores: thanks to
Freefield Organics, camelina is taking root in
Manitoba.
Owners Franz and Erna Kracher started
Freefield Organics immediately after moving
to Canada from Austria in 2005. With
backgrounds in farming and passion for
supporting the local economy, the Krachers
decided to preach the gospel of camelina
in their new country, swearing by its high
quality nutritional properties, versatility
and accessibility. Together, they created the
first line of organic camelina oil products in
Canada.
“Camelina is one of the easiest plants to
grow and provides one of the healthiest oils
on the planet,” says Franz. A typical western
diet contains approximately 20 times more
Omega-6 oils than Omega-3 oils, while
healthcare professionals recommend it be
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the other way around. Camelina oil contains
twice as much Omega-3 than Omega-6,
making it superior to similar oils like olive,
canola or sunflower.
The oil of camelina is abundant in sterols,
which have been proven to interfere with
cholesterol absorption. An extremely high
content of two types of Vitamin E, known
to be a cancer-fighting antioxidant, also
provides essential health benefits such as
enhanced immune function and prevention
of eye problems.
Those two Vitamin E compounds naturally
protect the oil from oxidation and rancidity,
giving it an impressive shelf life of up to 18
months. If that weren’t reason enough to keep
it stocked in the kitchen, camelina happens
to have one of the highest smoke points of
any cooking oil: 475° Fahrenheit. As it is
significantly less likely to burn than similar
oils, using camelina reduces the risk of smoke
and harmful chemical byproducts entering
the food.
“Camelina is 100% beneficial. I don’t even
like to compare it to other oils,” says Franz.
By Kelsey Schaefer