Dear Team: Do you have a recipe for pie crust made with canola oil? Somewhere I read one, maybe even in a previous column, but I did not save it. Would this type of pie crust be more healthy? Probably the calories are still there, but is the fat better for you? I want to make meat pies using this recipe, but it could work for other pies, right?
I have been reading labels a lot and find many prepared soups, both canned and dry, contain MSG. I thought that was to be eliminated because a number of people are allergic to it. My husband, who is diabetic, gets high blood sugar when he eats Chinese food. Could this be the MSG? At some cafes it does not affect him. I have not asked if they use this additive.
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Also, on reading labels, I noticed that all the mushrooms in cans at our Co-op store are now imported from China. I was shocked. I know that mushrooms were grown in British Columbia by Money’s. Now even theirs are canned in China. So that tells me that our growers could be out of business. Honestly, I would pay more for made in Canada products. Would the fresh mushrooms be Canadian grown or also from overseas?
As my kids would say, “Mother, you get all fired up.” Hope that you can shed light on these questions. – N. H.
Dear N.H.: Canola oil is a popular and healthy choice because its saturated fatty acid levels are the lowest of any commonly consumed vegetable oil. Canola oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, second only to olive oil. It also contains an appreciable amount of the essential fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid. Canola oil is commonly used in vinaigrettes, marinades, stir-frying and baking.
This canola oil pie crust recipe is suitable for meat pies as well as fruit pies or any other pie crusts.
Canola oil pie crust
11/2 cups all-purpose 375 mL
flour
11/2 teaspoons 7 mL
granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
2 tablespoons cold 30 mL
1per cent milk
1/2 cup canola oil 125 mL
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. In a small bowl, beat milk into canola oil with fork until frothy. Form a well in the flour mixture. Add canola oil mixture and combine gently with a fork until crumbly. Pat in pie plate as you would for graham wafer crust. Add filling and bake according to filling recipe. Yield: two nine-inch (22 cm) shells or one nine-inch (22 cm) pie shell and top (eight slices per shell).
Source: Canola Cooks!, www.canolainfo.org.
As for your question about monosodium glutamate, or MSG, as of 2003, nutrition labelling is mandatory on most food labels. The rules also update requirements for nutrient content claims and permit, for the first time in Canada, diet-related health claims for foods. So although food purchased from grocery stores that contains MSG is labelled as such, when it comes to restaurants, you must ask.
MSG side effects for some people range from headaches, migraines, tightness of the chest, burning sensations in the forearms or back of the neck to asthma attacks and skin rashes.
Your husband’s blood sugar rise may be because the modern day form of MSG is usually made from fermented sugar beet or sugar cane molasses, similar to the way soy sauce is made. Originally, MSG was isolated from the seaweed in the salt form of glutamate.
Source: Good Food: The Complete Guide to Eating Well by Margaret Wittenberg.
You asked about where our fresh mushrooms are grown. According to Mushrooms Canada, there are about 90,000 tonnes of mushrooms grown in Canada each year and most mushrooms sold in Canada are grown here. You might like to ask your produce manager where he buys his from.
Washing cutlery
The best care for your cutlery is to wash and dry as soon as practical after using. Wash silverware and stainless steal in warm sudsy water.
Rinse well and dry. Do not let hollow handled silverware or
hollow ware stand in water because a combination of heat, water and detergent may loosen the solder.
Silverware may be washed in the dishwasher but the patina on fine silver is enhanced by the rubbing that occurs when washing and drying by hand.
Hollow handles may be loosened with exposure to heat and detergent in the dishwasher. The newer silverware is being made with glue that will withstand the heat of the dishwasher. It is recommended that you use the hot dry cycle rather than the economy dry.
Electrolytic methods of cleaning with aluminum-salt-soda are not recommended for cleaning silver with an oxidized or French grey finish.
If washing both silverware and stainless steel flatware in the dishwasher, do not put in the same basket section or let one metal touch the other because the silver may be permanently damaged.
New sterling silverware sometimes gets brown spots after washing in the dishwasher due to a reaction between water droplets and the small portion of copper at the surface. Avoid such spotting on new silverware by washing and drying by hand for the first few times. If you want to use the dishwasher, use the automatic rinse dispenser.
Sources: www.fantes.com and www.silverqueen.com and Michigan State University Extension.
Betty Ann Deobald is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at .
