?> [Canola in Europe is called by its real name: oilseed rape] I got to wondering about the veracity of this claim and concluded that if "oilseed rape" is the real name for canola, then the "real" name for petrol is "crude oil". "Canola" describes only very specific and special licenced varieties bred originally, in my lifetime, from common rapeseeds. Canola is considered to by most to be a distinct crop from "rapeseeds", although it is still technically classed as a rapeseed. Canola is double zero, meaning it has been selected by various means to be very low on the two constituents of common traditional Argentine and Polish rapeseeds which made them unattractive and toxic. Those unattractive qualities carried over the honey produced from those plants, too and account for the bad reputation "rape" honey has to this day, even though much of the "clover" honey produced in North America is actually partly, at least, canola honey. Canola honey is not dark and nasty like rape honey; it is light and very pleasant-tasting. The historic transformation from an industrial to edible oil is now taken for granted and almost forgotten since no one in his right mind would grow the old varieties, but for those of us who kept bees back in the rapeseed days, rape was something to avoid and could ruin a crop. Fortunately it was not in great demand. Here is one version of the history: http://www.wdm.ca/skteacherguide/WDMResearch/CanolaResearchPaper.pdf I don't know why some Europeans continue to speak of oilseed rape if they mean canola. Custom, I guess. We even call it "rape" once in a wile even though we know we are wrong. It's easier to say and turns heads in the city. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm