# Does it matter? Olive Oil vs Extra Virgin Olive Oil



## WeaversPort (Mar 23, 2017)

After several years of being friends with chefs and getting lectures about things like "smoke points", I pretty much only use regular olive oil when cooking. I sincerely believe they would disown me if I brought them EVO for anything other than salad dressing.  But regular olive oil is harder to find and more expensive to buy. I could easily and affordably drown myself in extra virgin olive oil from the local grocery store. 

I've seen lots of discussion about olive oil pomace vs extra virgin olive oil, but do people see any significant difference between regular olive oil and extra virgin olive oil in soaps? Should I save my regular stuff for the kitchen and just get the other for my mad scientist leanings? 

Curious minds are curious..

Thank you for your thoughts! 
Kaye


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## mx5inpenn (Mar 23, 2017)

I use regular fine olive oil. If you have an aldi nearby, they carry it, as does Walmart and sam's club. I don't care to spend more for evoo, and the green color tends to come thru some. I like the golden color that at 40% still makes for a very white soap.


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## toxikon (Mar 23, 2017)

Whatever is cheapest works fine! EVOO can discolour your soap to a slight light green but that's about it.


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## IrishLass (Mar 23, 2017)

That's interesting that the regular type of OO is harder to find and more expensive for you than the extra-virgin kind. It's just the opposite where I live.

Anyway- I've made soaps with both (not in the same batch  ), and decided to save my money and buy the regular-type OO for my soaps. The one I use is Costco's in-store Kirkland brand OO labeled as 'Pure Olive Oil' (i.e., not the virgin or the 'lite' kinds- just 'Pure Olive Oil').


IrishLass


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## WeaversPort (Mar 23, 2017)

Thank you everyone! I'll check Aldi, and if not there will see if I can get a friend to take me to Costco. Maybe I can find some regular olive oil there for a lower price. I paid some $18 for a liter of regular at the store, and they had extra virgin in three litres jugs for only a little more.


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## Susie (Mar 23, 2017)

I use this:

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/pure-olive-oil-3-ltr/prod7020084.ip?xid=plp:product:1:1


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## Zany_in_CO (Mar 24, 2017)

Things to remember about olive oil:

1) It is graded for taste, not soaping. EVOO is the least acidic; pomace is the most acidic, and therefore better for soaping because it contains more fatty acid. 

2) I don't know about other countries, but in the USA 85% of the EVOO on the grocers shelves is adulterated. (Google "fake" or "adulterated" olive oil to get the full scoop.) That's according to the latest annual study done by the COOC (California Olive Oil Commission) at UC Davis.

3) Most soapers use Grade A or "Pure Olive Oil".  Soapers Choice is a good place to buy OO and one of the few places to get Pomace. Kirkland, from Cosco, is known to be a good choice. There are other brands, but I don't know where to get the latest info. on those. The list I have is from several years ago. 

4) If it's cheap, and from the Mediterranean countries -- Italy, Greece, Turkey, etc. it's most likely adulterated.

Why is that so important? Because it can skew your recipe and you can lose 6 months of sales before you figure out what you're doing wrong. Don't ask me how I know...:silent:


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## Candybee (Mar 24, 2017)

I buy the bulk pomace from Soaper's Choice or Golden Barrel. For soaping I prefer the lighter color and don't buy EVOO because I have too much trouble with it imparting unwanted hues in my colors or even white soaps.

For cooking I buy regular OO for sauteeing and also imported OO from a local vendor. I am lucky to belong to a market that has a vendor with a family owned olive farm in Greece. The family makes their own OO and he just happens to be at my market. So I get the real deal for dirt cheap and wow! It has incredible taste and flavour. I love just dipping crusty bits of bread in it and eating that way.


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## Zany_in_CO (Mar 24, 2017)

Candybee said:


> For cooking I buy regular OO for sauteeing and also imported OO from a local vendor. I am lucky to belong to a market that has a vendor with a family owned olive farm in Greece. The family makes their own OO and he just happens to be at my market. So I get the real deal for dirt cheap and wow! It has incredible taste and flavour. I love just dipping crusty bits of bread in it and eating that way.


That is SO cool! Lucky you! I'm green with envy. :mrgreen:  
I can hardly stand the taste of olive oil we get from the grocery stores. We've tried many different brands. So, when I read an article in a Health magazine that said


> A blend of 90% Rice Bran Oil & 10% Sesame Oil is good for cardiovascular health and for lowering blood pressure


 we switched! We not only use it for sautéing and salad dressing, but also add it like butter on baked potatoes and bread. YUM!   
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




ETA: I have NO idea why I haven't soaped it yet. Must add that to my Round Tuit List.


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## SaltedFig (Mar 24, 2017)

I like to soap with EVOO - sometimes the colour can be very beautiful (my favourite so far is a pale minty green hot process soap that started life as a cold-process batch gone wrong).

I am very lucky - there are many olive groves close by and multiple sellers of olive oil at my local farmers markets.


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## WeaversPort (Mar 25, 2017)

Zany_in_CO said:


> We not only use it for sautéing and salad dressing, but also add it like butter on baked potatoes and bread. YUM!



I love sesame oil!!  My favorite breakfast food is a Korean dish, Ttukbaegi gyeranjjim steamed egg, topped with green onion and sesame oil before serving. I'm going to have to give this rice bran and sesame oil a try!


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## Candybee (Mar 27, 2017)

Zany_in_CO said:


> That is SO cool! Lucky you! I'm green with envy. :mrgreen:
> I can hardly stand the taste of olive oil we get from the grocery stores. We've tried many different brands. So, when I read an article in a Health magazine that said
> we switched! We not only use it for sautéing and salad dressing, but also add it like butter on baked potatoes and bread. YUM!
> 
> ...



If it helps the only OO I found at the store I can eat is California Ranch brand. They have a mild everyday flavor I use for eating and cooking. Tastes the closest to the greek family's OO I buy but sooooo much more mild. I don't taste adulteration in it but then I am not an OO expert. I just know what I like!
Save​


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