Can canola oil be substituted for olive oil when making pasta?

Answer 1

You don't really need oil to make pasta, you just need boiling water, with maybe some salt added if you prefer it that way. If you need oil for a sauce, you theoretically use canola in place of olive oil, but taste wise and health wise you wouldn't want to. A good quality extra virgin olive oil tastes way better than any canola ever could, and since canola has to be heated to be extracted, it already has formed carcinogens before you even bring it home from the store, whereas a cold pressed extra virgin olive oil hasn't been heated higher than usually 96 degrees and therefore it has little or no carcinogens until you start heating it, therefore is you are careful you have a longer time before it becomes dangerous for health. Also, oils should always be purchased in a glass bottle. Plastic bottles are not only bad for health, but also have a very negative effect on the pure taste of the oil.

Amy Williamson, Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and soux chef