JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Prairie farmers here could be forgiven for developing a serious case of olive oil envy.
Over the course of the Canola Council of Canada’s annual convention in the city that never sleeps, participants repeatedly heard about how olive oil had completely captured the hearts of the discerning American consumer.
“The olive oil people have really won the battle,” said Linda West Eckhardt, a cookbook author and food journalist.
“They sold Americans on the idea that their product was natural, that it’s healthy, that it’s sexy, that it’s flavourful.
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“Look at how many products they have on the shelf.”
The shelves of North American grocery stores groan under the weight of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of differently packaged olive oils, while competing oils often have little product differentiation. Olive oil is now sold like wine.
Maureen Christian-Petrosky, a contributing editor with Bon Appetit and a judge of the Iron Chef America 2006 contest, said olive oil promoters years ago took their industry to the peak of the food pyramid. Canola oil made it part of the way up, but stalled out years ago. That’s where canola’s opportunity is.
“Olive oil was marketed to us as a healthy oil,” said Christian-Petrosky after speaking to the conference.
“Canola has been in our kitchens forever. So people now need to be reintroduced to canola oil, and now is the time to do it off the buzz of the trans fats issue. Now people are paying attention that there is a good fat and a bad fat.
“The good fat is not just olive oil.”
Canadian home economist Mairlyn Smith summed up the anxiety of many in the canola industry when during the conference, she said “olive oil is sexy. Italians are sexy. Canadians, we’re not so sexy. What can we do?”
Food experts said canola needs to build its market by expanding from being a bulk commodity to being an oil sold in many varieties, with specialized types for distinct uses.
Christian-Petrosky said there is an opportunity now to catch up to olive oil, because canola oil can do things its Mediterranean competitor cannot.
“Olive oil’s going to come under some scrutiny as we get into this trans fat issue because the fats that we use in our kitchen need to be versatile, and olive oil, although it’s a good choice for a healthy fat, isn’t as versatile in cooking as canola is,” said Christian-Petrosky.
Uwe Toedter, the executive chef of the New York Hilton, said he is a big fan of canola oil because it has a neutral taste, a high smoke point and can be used in many ways. He uses high-stability canola oil in his huge kitchen.
But he said the canola industry and major canola processors could reach a far bigger base if they reached out to consumers.
“The canola council hasn’t yet done the job. Cargill hasn’t yet done the job,” said Toedter.
