# Why is it called Vegetable Oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520 "2008-02-06T15:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/21 "2008-02-07T00:22:17Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I always thought “cheddar” was what they called cheese if it wasn’t interesting enough to be any other sort of cheese. [/QUOTE] Naw. That would be American cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/22 "2008-02-07T02:11:34Z")
Granted, the bottle of vegetable oil in my pantry has only one ingredient: soybean oikl. However, I hold in my hand (actually it’s sitting on the desk as my hands are busy typing) a can of Pam Professional no-stick cooking spray. It lists as ingredients: Vegetable Oil (Partially hydrogenated soybean oil, canola oil)… So it is possible, even here in the U.S.A., for “vegetable oil” to be something other than just soybeans. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/23 "2008-02-07T02:24:17Z")
Just checked… my “vegetable oil” doesn’t even have a list of ingredients! It does indicate it was manufactured by ADM, which surprises me. A “generic” oil with a huge friggin’ brand name written tinily on the label? ADM is known for soybeans and corn, so I’m going to guess it’s either one, the other, or a combination. My canola oil similarly doesn’t have an ingredients list, but it should be self explanatory. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/24 "2008-02-07T02:48:42Z")
Thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/25 "2008-02-07T08:28:08Z")
“Vegetable oil” is a USDA vegetable commodity standard term (VP7) that many products, including soybean oil, comply with. So, in the United States, it is convenient to use a term that has a semantic meaning that is easy for the authorities to verify. Economics dictate different components be used at different times. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine why non-U.S. companies use the term so prevalently (i.e. – I have no idea). “Cheddaring” is a process used only in making cheddar cheese. If a cheese is not cheddared while it’s being made, it should not be called “cheddar.” QED. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/26 "2008-02-07T08:37:40Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I always thought “cheddar” was what they called cheese if it wasn’t interesting enough to be any other sort of cheese. (Proper vintage cheddar, of course, is a whole different issue.) [/QUOTE] I think it’s just that Cheddar has become sort of the standard method of cheese making, rather than all standard cheeses being called Cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/27 "2008-02-07T11:18:03Z")
If it ain’t from Somerset, it ain’t real cheddar 😉 (Although legally that’s not the case…yet) > [@](#): > > The name ‘Cheddar cheese’ has become widely used internationally, and does not currently have a protected designation of origin (PDO). However, the European Union recognises \*\*West Country Farmhouse Cheddar \*\* as a PDO. To meet this standard the cheese must be made in the traditional manner using local ingredients in one of the four designated counties of South West England: Somerset, Devon, Dorset, or Cornwall. > > The Slow Food Movement, encouraged and advised by Neal’s Yard Dairy, has recently created a Cheddar Presidia, claiming that only three cheeses should be called ‘Cheddar’. Their specifications, which go well beyond the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar PDO, require that Cheddar cheese be made in Somerset, and with traditional methods, such as using raw milk, traditional animal rennet, and a cloth wrapping.[8] > > A number of large commercial food companies have in recent years established brands in the UK for their Cheddar cheese (Pilgrim’s Choice, Cathedral City, Davidstow etc.). This move is considered by some to be a safeguard in case Cheddar cheese receives PDO status in the future. Some companies have also considered relocating to Cheddar, Somerset, if this occurs. It is worth noting that Pilgrim’s Choice cheese is already produced in Wincanton, Somerset, and would fall into the “Cheddar Presidia” category. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/28 "2008-02-07T11:20:05Z")
Not much call for it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/29 "2008-02-07T12:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > In the UK, it tends to be sunflower or rapeseed (= Canola?). Almost. I always thought that “Canola” oil came from some weird “canola” plant, and was surprised to learn that it didn’t . “Canola” is a sort-of almst-portmanteau name given to some varieties of rapeseed oil by rapeseed oil guys who developed it in Canada (as **Gorsnak** hints above). Dictionaries claim it comes from “Canadian Oil, Low Acid” or some such, but I’m not sure that’s been confirmed. > [@](#): > > “Canola” is defined as any of several varieties of the rape plant having seeds that contain less than 2% erucic acid, and whose solid component contains less than 30 micromoles per gram of glucosinolates. (This has been the statutory definition in Canada since 1986.) If you ever come across rapeseed oil that is _not_ canola, avoid it, because erucic acid causes heart lesions, and glucosinolates cause thyroid enlargement and poor feed conversion! [http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifcanola.shtml](http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifcanola.shtml) (The oil in **Lorenzo’s Oil** was a variety of rapeseed oil, I recall. Presumably low in erucic acid, although they had worse problems at hand.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/30 "2008-02-07T13:26:50Z")
More (probably) than you ever wanted to know abour Canola oil: [http://www.canola-council.org/PDF/canola/english/originhistory.pdf](http://www.canola-council.org/PDF/canola/english/originhistory.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/31 "2008-02-07T13:30:14Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] As I posted already, I – here in the USA – have never seen anything in the ingredient list of “Vegetable Oil” anything other than “soybean oil”. [/QUOTE] But I have - I have long used generic or housebrand cooking oils (frequently, they’re exactly the same as name brand and often from the same factory). I have at times seen shelves of identical bottle prominently labeled “vegetable oil” that are of different color of oil and a closer reading of the label revealed they were separate bottles of corn, soy, sunflower, and other oils, and sometimes blends. Obviously, there was some money saved by minimal alteration of the labels. Occasionally I’ve seen “may contain” and a list of oils, obviously so that the formulation can change to whatever is cheapest at the time of manufacture (those I tend to avoid). I note that you are east coast whereas I am midwest - perhaps the region is a factor? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/32 "2008-02-07T14:11:35Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Not much call for it. [/QUOTE] Not much call for it? It’s the single most popular cheese in the world! ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/33 "2008-02-07T15:00:22Z")
Heh. Cheese. “Slow Food Movement.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/34 "2008-02-07T22:00:32Z")
I think that the last time I checked the label, vegetable oil around here is mostly Canola. Which would make sense, since we’re not that far from Canada. Really, how would you write recipes if they weren’t all called the same thing? “Add half a cup of Canola oil, or corn oil, or cottonseed oil”? If a half cup of one kind of oil works in a recipe, then a half cup of any other oil will work, too. And all of the “vegetable oils” are as near to flavorless as they can make them, so it’s not like the distinction between olive and other oils. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/35 "2008-02-07T23:42:11Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] I think that the last time I checked the label, vegetable oil around here is mostly Canola. Which would make sense, since we’re not that far from Canada. Really, how would you write recipes if they weren’t all called the same thing? “Add half a cup of Canola oil, or corn oil, or cottonseed oil”? If a half cup of one kind of oil works in a recipe, then a half cup of any other oil will work, too. And all of the “vegetable oils” are as near to flavorless as they can make them, so it’s not like the distinction between olive and other oils. [/QUOTE] I think you will find that, in many if not most places in the US, Canola Oil is sold as Canola Oil, rather than as the more generic Vegetable Oil. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/36 "2008-02-07T23:46:34Z")
FWIW, I had a look at the various ‘vegetable oil’ offerings in Tesco, and none list any ingredients. So it is, presumably, acceptable as a description by itself. However I also looked at the industrial-size cans in the far corner of the store, shelved with various Indian/Chinese/Polish items they don’t see fit to stock on the main shelves (much cheaper spices than the main display in the aisles, if anyone is interested). They all state that they are from soya, and specifically that they are not from non-GM sources, which I guess probably indicates a North American origin. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/37 "2008-02-07T23:59:53Z")
From _Why do Dogs Have Wet Noses and Other Imponderables_ by David Feldman (1990): > [@](#): > > What Vegetables Are Used in Vegetable Oils? > > If a company is selling 100% corn, peanut, or safflower oil, it will trumpet the identity of the vegetable in marquee-sized letters on the label. So it is natural that most consumers, when faced with the words “vegetable oil” on the label, assumer that the contents consist of either a “bad” oil, such as the cottonseed, coconut, or palm oil that cardiologists are constantly warning us about., or a blend of several different vegetables. > > In fact, until recently, many vegetable oils were blends. But now all the major brands, such as Wesson and Crisco as well as most generic or store-brand vegetable oils, use 100% soybean oil in their “vegetable oils.” > > Although soybean oil has most of the characteristics of the “good” oils. the North American consumer hasn’t yet embraced soybeans but will pay a premium for corn oil or peanut oil. Until consumers are convinced that soybeans are more desirable than “vegetable oil”, soybeans will continue to forego star billing on the label and appear only in fine print. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/38 "2008-02-08T00:55:01Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] I think you will find that, in many if not most places in the US, Canola Oil is sold as Canola Oil, rather than as the more generic Vegetable Oil. [/QUOTE] I find these international differences fascinating. Here in the UK, the most common _sold-as-named_ oil would be sunflower. Canola oil (or its exact equivalent) exists quite commonly, but is never sold under that name - it’s the generic ‘vegetable’ oil, most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520/39 "2008-02-08T18:07:32Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] “Canola” is a sort-of almst-portmanteau name given to some varieties of rapeseed oil [/QUOTE] I’m sufficiently juvenile that whenever I hear “canola,” I think of “canoodle.” Thus it’s really weird to hear that it’s all just different varieties of “rape.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-vegetable-oil/436520.md?page=1)