Canola oil IS a food oil, derived from the rape seed.  But noone would buy
"rape oil" so a new name was made up.  I've heard that "Canola" comes from
"Canada oil", Canada being a big producer of rape seed.
 
Canola is similar to olive oil in that it is high in monosaturated fats
("good" fats).  But it has a very mild flavor/odor compared to olive oil,
and is good for uses where you don't want the olive oil flavor.
 
Linda Iroff
North Coast Ferret Shelter West
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 2243]