So what is the next “superfood”, or are they now called “functional foods”? Who knows? One vote might be for camelina.

So what the hell is camelina?

Camelina has the scientific name of Camelina sativa. It has a number of other names, depending on which part of Europe or Russia you are in. My favorite is “gold of pleasure”.

The plant is a member of the Brassica family. Brassicas include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard, brussels sprouts, kale and rapeseed (canola). Like rapeseed (canola), camelina is mainly used for oil. In Europe it has been cultivated for several thousand years.

One major reason for the interest is the high levels of omega 3 fatty acids in the oil. It is important to find more good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. The most recent post Should You Consume Less Fish Or Fish Oil? discusses some of the problems of getting omega-3 fatty acids from fish.

Camelina oil is also high in polyunsaturated fats, antioxidants and vitamin E. The oil is described as having a light almondy flavor, and due to the presence of antioxidants has good keeping qualities.

I have no idea what the smoke point is. So who knows how high you can heat the oil (If you want the most stable common oil, use avocado. See post Avocado Oil – An Oil You Should Consume). My search in PubMed did not retrieve a single hit for camelina.

Camelina is starting to be grown in the plains states mainly for use as a biofuel. Several companies have been set up to promote the growing of camelina for biofuels. Apparently camelina is also approved for inclusion in chicken feed up to 10%.

So start to look for foods that contain camelina. They will probably be those that advertise themselves as high in omega-3 fatty acids. I expect it will be quite a while before we can buy the oil in the supermarket for home cooking.

photo credit: ajari

[tags]camelina, gold of pleasure, omega-3 fatty acids[/tags]