Most of us think olive oil is the healthiest cooking oil. We perceive the sunny Mediterranean climate and a luxury product like an olive must produce a healthy oil. So it’s a surprise to hear that our own cold pressed rape seed oil is better and very tasty. And the chances are you probably have a local producer. Have you tried it yet?

Cold pressed rapeseed oil has the lowest saturated fat of any culinary oil and less than half that of Olive Oil. Like olive oil, rapeseed oil is low in saturated fat and high in good essential omega oils normally obtained from fish.

What are the health benefits of Rapeseed Oil?

• Contains the lowest saturated fat content of any oil – less than half that of Olive Oil.
• Has 10 times more Omega 3 than Olive Oil.
• Is a good source of Vitamin E.
• High in monounsaturated fats.
• Contains no artificial preservatives and is trans-fat and GM free.

Cold pressed means pressed at room temperature with no solvents, producing a natural additive free oil. Cold pressing means a lower yield of oil but with the excess pulp sold at a good price as animal feed, a farmer can afford the better production method.

So if you haven’t tried it ask your local farm shop or buy online here from our MarketPlace and don’t forget other great British oils like Linseed, Flax or Sunflower.

Online food shopping can provide access to amazing artisan food, bargains from those trying to promote their products and the one stop delivered convenience, for your granny. Interested?

If like me you have been reluctantly dragged in to the digital age you probably started shopping online for the holiday flight, then the book or DVD, Christmas gifts, insurance and now clothes and food?

In the past online shopping best suited price comparison on branded products or commodities, now ‘taster’ bargains and convenience are big factors. Why not enjoy a bargain. And get your granny’s heavy shopping bags delivered?

We have set up our MarketPlace to help artisan and local food producers sell online. In time, we want everybody in the country to be able to buy a complete range of local food and drink in one delivery, for everybody’s granny. So far 391 producers and retailers have added 7,300 products to the BigBarn MarketPlace. In some areas you can get a complete range, in others we are hoping to help village shops team up with local farmers to offer a bigger range online than can be stocked in the shop. You can then collect or get a local delivery for you and your granny.

And bargains? Many producers have some delicious foods and will be setting up special offers to encourage people to taste and, hopefully reorder.

To get a bargain and encourage more producers to join and team up simply register as a customer by buying delicious food and drink. Simply click on any of the following, and if our system does not already know it, type in your postcode, to see who sells online nearest to you; beef, free range pork, chicken, sausages, home cure bacon, game, fish, langoustine, sea salt, chilli sauce, wild yeast, ham, asparagus, beer, wine, cider, honey, preserves, salami, pate, fudge, chocolate, cakes, pies, oysters, shrimp, coffee, tea, veg box, pesto, olives, cheese, mustard, herbs, biscuits, cakes.

And for the boring stuff, tins, washing powder, loo rolls, dog food, the really heavy bags, we recommend www.mysupermarket.com where you can type in you shopping list and let the supermarkets scrap amongst themselves for your business.