Does it matter? Olive Oil vs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

[WeaversPort]

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

 

[mx5inpenn]

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.

 

[toxikon]

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

 

[IrishLass]

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

 

[WeaversPort]

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.

 

[Susie]

I use this:

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

 

[Zany_in_CO]

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:

 

[Candybee]

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.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

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.

 

[SaltedFig]

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.

 

[WeaversPort]

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!

 

[Candybee]

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!

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

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​

 

[Terasa]

I use this:

Member's Mark 100% Pure Olive Oil (3 L) - Sam's Club

I use this oil too, it works great been using it for years.

 

[Vicki C]

I have also noticed that EVOO is getting to be cheaper than OO, and have wondered the same thing, but haven’t tried it yet. I use light olive oil, for the color, and regular olive oil. I can’t attest to the quality / authenticity but Walmart’s light OO is the cheapest I have found. Surprisingly, and annoyingly, it is cheapest in the 17 ounce bottles, currently selling at $2.88.
For regular OO (as in plain, not light) I have a Sam’s club membership and buy their 3 liter bottles when it is in stock, but it is ALMOST ALWAYS out of stock in my local store. (Supply chain?) I also buy at BJs which the same price as Walmart, $0.17/ounce.
These are all sold by fluid ounces. One fluid ounce of olive oil weighs 0.94 ounces.
I haven’t found any bulk suppliers of olive oil that would make the price point work when you add in shipping to New Hampshire, USA.
Here is part of a carrier oil spreadsheet I try to maintain where I track prices. The list isn’t comprehensive and some chains (Market Basket, for example) local to New England. The container size and price aren’t shown here, but the container sizes go small to large. Yellow is light olive oil, pink is regular olive oil. I don’t use pomace, traces too fast for me.

LMK if anyone knows about great deals for olive oil. (Well, that I could buy.)

 

[MelissaG]

I have also noticed that EVOO is getting to be cheaper than OO, and have wondered the same thing, but haven’t tried it yet. I use light olive oil, for the color, and regular olive oil. I can’t attest to the quality / authenticity but Walmart’s light OO is the cheapest I have found. Surprisingly, and annoyingly, it is cheapest in the 17 ounce bottles, currently selling at $2.88.
For regular OO (as in plain, not light) I have a Sam’s club membership and buy their 3 liter bottles when it is in stock, but it is ALMOST ALWAYS out of stock in my local store. (Supply chain?) I also buy at BJs which the same price as Walmart, $0.17/ounce.
These are all sold by fluid ounces. One fluid ounce of olive oil weighs 0.94 ounces.
I haven’t found any bulk suppliers of olive oil that would make the price point work when you add in shipping to New Hampshire, USA.
Here is part of a carrier oil spreadsheet I try to maintain where I track prices. The list isn’t comprehensive and some chains (Market Basket, for example) local to New England. The container size and price aren’t shown here, but the container sizes go small to large. Yellow is light olive oil, pink is regular olive oil. I don’t use pomace, traces too fast for me.

LMK if anyone knows about great deals for olive oil. (Well, that I could buy.)

View attachment 70541

Wow that's one heck of alot of work you went through to get all those prices. I just have to say thanks. Because that's amazing. I've been thinking of doing that for a long time. Do these include shipping or just the item?

 

[TheGecko]

I use EVOO for cooking and regular OO for soaping. I get my OO from Costco, it's somewhere around $25.00 for 2-3 liter bottles. Or that was the price last summer when I picked up a pallet...don't know what it is now.

 

[Vicki C]

Wow that's one heck of alot of work you went through to get all those prices. I just have to say thanks. Because that's amazing. I've been thinking of doing that for a long time. Do these include shipping or just the item?

There’s another column with shipping but I always buy OO locally - haven’t found it cheap enough from other sources.
And… this is the tip of the iceberg… Any other oils you want to see prices for?

 

[MelissaG]

There’s another column with shipping but I always buy OO locally - haven’t found it cheap enough from other sources.
And… this is the tip of the iceberg… Any other oils you want to see prices for?

Safflower? Cheapest is normally Fresh Market in another city but this time Soapers Choice beat the price.

 

[Vicki C]

I never use safflower, just OO and avocado, but I have one price in my spreadsheet, Jedwards high oleic safflower at $0.22 / ounce for 18 kg. (Doesn’t include shipping) What do you like about safflower? I’ve steered away from safflower and sunflower because of their high linoleic numbers but maybe I should be more open minded. The high oleic is just as pricey or more pricey than OO.

 

[MelissaG]

I never use safflower, just OO and avocado, but I have one price in my spreadsheet, Jedwards high oleic safflower at $0.22 / ounce for 18 kg. (Doesn’t include shipping) What do you like about safflower? I’ve steered away from safflower and sunflower because of their high linoleic numbers but maybe I should be more open minded. The high oleic is just as pricey or more pricey than OO.

I've never had a problem with it and its highly unlikely to be an allergen. It's also easy to get because I can just go pick it up since it's within a half hour drive. I use it in my bath bombs. I had been using cocoa butter but didn't like it as much. The feeling of the batch is better with safflower. Mango is too expensive. I find OO to be less desireable for bath bombs because, while it has great moisturizing properties, it can be too much if you're sitting in it. I had considered avocado but haven't decided if it's better since the price point seems to be about the same and to me it feels the same. I've been trying to find light colored oils so its less likely to discolor. The green of avocado doesn't sit right with me. I use coconut too of course but between 10 and 15%. I also use palm shortening.