I recently made a lemon loaf that called for 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. I substituted canola oil and the loaf is oily and has an odd taste. I believe that 1/2 cup of oil is too much for this recipe. How does one substitute something for the oil (applesauce or clarified butter) or should I just decrease the amount of oil to 1/3 cup and stick with vegetable oil. Will safflower oil impart an odd flavor ?
Thanks !

I would not consider canola oil a substitution. The recipe called for vegetable oil and canola oil is exactly that. Canola and safflower oil usually have a mild flavor. Perhaps your oil had gone rancid? I have bought oil from the store that was rancid when I opened the bottle. Without knowing more about the recipe it is difficult to make recommendations. Substitutions can lead to an excess of experimentation. The best course is to try another recipe.

Yes to everything Gene said.  Maybe it’s something to do with local brands, but I find Canola oil goes rancid more quickly than any other vegetable oil that I’ve used.

I have to ditto that too. Every recipe I’ve ever made using oil always mentions vegetable or canola. 

What is the size of the pan you used?  Was your oil fresh? Oil gets rancid.  If it smells like linseed oil, throw it away.

I’ve baked from recipes which had mistakes like requiring 1 pound of powdered sugar instead of 1 cup. 

I would try it again

I have owned 2 bakeries and my biggest request was for lowering the fat/oil content and keeping a good flavor profile and texture.
I have had a lot of luck with unsweetened applesauce, only replace half of the fat/oil and equal amounts. I have used persimmons (puree’d), prunes, almost any dense fruit can be used. I also used to replace the sugar in recipes by using half the amount of sugar replaced with unsweetened applesauce or dense fruit and the other half with Fruitcase. If I was replacing 3 cups of sugar, I would use 1 1/2 cup of fruit and 1 cup of fruitcose. Fruitcose is a natural sugar derived from fruit and it is very sweet. Most diabetics know how to use it in their diets.