As a nation we may have been slow to appreciate the flavour and health benefits of olive oil, but these days we can't get enough of serious oils for cooking, dressing or drizzling. And it's not just extra virgin olive oil, but a host of modish, high quality, cold-pressed oils such as hempseed, pumpkinseed, and particularly rapeseed, that are jostling for our attention.

What is special about cold-pressing?

This is the method used to produce the finest quality of oils. The raw material, ie, olives, seeds or nuts, is simply crushed in a press so that it releases its oil without any of the heat treatments, solvents or anti-frothing agents that may be used in the processing of refined oils and which can affect their goodness and taste.

Until recently most rapeseed oil was refined in this way and used either as a component in blended "vegetable oil" or in processed foods. Now, however, a handful of small producers, such as the Campbell family of Cotswold Farm near Stow-on-the-Wold, are seeing the potential of carefully produced, cold-pressed rapeseed oil. They call theirs R-Oil and it is being championed by a clutch of Michelin-starred restaurants such as Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons.

What's it best used for?

Though it can't match the fruity, sometimes peppery oomph of an extra virgin olive oil, that can be an advantage where you don't want such a dominant flavour in cooking, dressings or mayonnaise. It is also one of the few "single" oils that can be heated to deep-frying temperature without its antioxidants, character, colour and flavour spoiling.

How does it compare healthwise with other oils?

Until the Seventies, rapeseed oil wasn't consumed by humans as it contained too much erucic acid, which can be mildly toxic in high doses. Now all rapeseed grown for culinary use is a strain containing very low levels of erucic acid (this was first bred in Canada, where, as in the US, it is known as canola). According to Richard Faulks, senior scientist at the Institute of Food Research, along with olive oil and walnut oil, rapeseed oil is one of the biggest sources of mono-unsaturated fats (better for the heart than saturated fats). It is also lower in saturated fats than olive oil or sunflower oil.

Where to buy

R-Oil (01451 870387; www.r-oil.co.uk) is available from Fortnum & Mason, 1l, £4.50. Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is also available from Borderfields in Scotland (0845 6120727; www.borderfields.co.uk), Hillfarm Oils in Suffolk (01986 798660; www.hillfarmoils.com), Graig Farm in Wales (01597 851655; www.graigfarm.co.uk), and Vom Fass (0870 7500962; www.vomfass.net).

Readers' queries

Where could I learn to make chocolate truffles?

Chantal Coady, founder of Rococo Chocolates and author of Real Chocolate, runs Chocolate Days following various themes at her Chocolate Factory in West London. For information, call 020-7352 5857 or visit www.rococochocolates.com.

If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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