The Rapeseed Plant

Learn more about this heathy, multi-purpose crop

    In Germany rapeseed oil has become the most popular culinary oil beating olive oil into second place! Made from the tiny black seeds of Brassica napus, rapeseed oil became one of the most important oil plants worldwide in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It is one of the most sustainable and multi-purposeful crops in the world.

    Not only does it yield a fresh, healthy and delicious culinary oil but it also yields ‘Oilseed Rape Expeller Cake’ which is an important source of protein for our livestock – who in turn produce fertiliser to grow the crop that feeds them and us in the first place! So it’s a closed cycle, which is always a good thing. And more than that, it is a rich alternative to imported Soya, sprayed to the high heavens and mass produced, often in the place of our precious rain forests in South America. Organic Oilseed Rape also makes a good ‘break crop’ – meaning it can be grown to help suppress weeds and improve the soil condition. So from oil to animal feed to improving soil condition, it really is a plant that keeps on giving!

    Expeller Cake Nuts

    Expeller Cake Flakes

    There are two Oilseed Rape crops planted in Ireland, a ‘winter crop’ and a ‘spring crop’. The length of blooming does vary from season to season. But generally lasts about three weeks. During this time, the bright yellow fields can be seen in all their glory.

    Organic Oilseed Rape not only provides a delicious culinary oil and animal feed for our livestock and improves soil condition but it also provides nesting sites for birds such as reed bunting, pollen for bees and a food source and habitat for a range of wildlife. It’s extremely important for these animals and for our own health that the soil & the crops not be sprayed with chemicals which have become more and more controversial in these modern times.

    All cold pressed rapeseed oils have differing characteristics depending on the variety of seeds pressed, the climate and most of all, the soil in which they are grown. Second Nature’s rapeseed oil imparts a soft butteriness with hints of freshly picked garden peas and a very subtle nuttiness.