How do we feel about canola (rapeseed) oil?

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Hi everybody I just wanted to chime in. So I read on line that canola oil doesn't have as long of a shelf life it can go rancid so I really thought I was going to hate it and the first time I used it I hated it my batch excelerated and I thought it might of been the oil But I think I over blended of the Lavender FO I used excelerated so One day I tried it again cause it's cheap and I love cooking with it and I heard it's supposed to be good for swirling so I tried it, it's turned out to be my best swirling recipe. For a really long lasting swirl I use 15% canola oil of my recipe and for a semi not as long swirl if you want it to set quicker I use 10% canola oil with 5% caster oil my main ingredient is Olive oil with palm and coconut oil as my hard oils and it's so nice. I have been using it alot now to practice my swirling cause it's cheap and I swear my lather is a bit better then using almond oil I don't know but anyways I will let everyone know in the future how long my bars last before they go bad but I did read on line if you don't use more then 15% it won't effect the soaps self life. So I am a happy camper with using canola oil right now and I think everyone should try it a couple of times to see if they like it. I will let any one know if anything changes in my soaps.
 
I discovered some high oleic canola in the grocery store today and bought it because I need something new to try 🙂
I took a closer look at the oil I bought and it’s mid-oleic (64% oleic). Based on the fatty acid profiles for “canola” versus “canola, high oleic” in the SMF c@lculator, I opted to be more conservative and went with the canola option.

The labels:
IMG_0035.jpegIMG_0034.jpeg
 
I took a closer look at the oil I bought and it’s mid-oleic (64% oleic). Based on the fatty acid profiles for “canola” versus “canola, high oleic” in the SMF c@lculator, I opted to be more conservative and went with the canola option.

The labels:
View attachment 73674View attachment 73675
Hello, sorry if it’s obvious, but how do you know it’s high oleic? Thank you 😊
 
Ooh - so mine is cold pressed virgin rapeseed. NOT cheap - more expensive than olive oil but I acquired mine free so you can't get cheaper than that. It's 76% oleic - does that mean it's safe to use without contributing to DOS? I already use 20% RBO in my recipe so I am pushing the boundaries somewhat with that already being high linoleic.

ETA: I've just compared high oleic rapeseed with OO and RBO in soap calc. RBO has the highest palmitic, then OO, and rapeseed virtually none at all. It seems to me that if I used the rapeseed, it would serve me best as a sub for the OO ( the linoleic being the same for both). That way I can retain the palmitic value of RBO, which I like to do, given my recipe contains no palm oil and therefore very little palmitic.
 
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@CpnDouchette Can you clarify what you mean by “DOS was an issue but I was using it at around 20%.” ? Was it only an issue when you used it above 20%, but not a problem at 20%? Were you using high oleic canola oil?
I've checked my notes and I used it at 25%, 20% and then 10%. DOS was an issue at 25% and 20% but not at 10%. If you're asking whether I know it was the rapeseed vs the other oils that also contributed to oleic profile then I don't for sure. This was a good couple of years ago and my recipes were let's-try-a-bit-of-this-and-chuck-some-of-that-in rather than the more scientific approach of let's change one thing and see what difference it makes.

It wasn't branded as low or high oleic and I never checked at the time - I doubt I knew back then there was such a thing as high, mid and low oleic!
 
Hi everybody I just wanted to chime in. So I read on line that canola oil doesn't have as long of a shelf life it can go rancid so I really thought I was going to hate it and the first time I used it I hated it my batch excelerated and I thought it might of been the oil But I think I over blended of the Lavender FO I used excelerated so One day I tried it again cause it's cheap and I love cooking with it and I heard it's supposed to be good for swirling so I tried it, it's turned out to be my best swirling recipe. For a really long lasting swirl I use 15% canola oil of my recipe and for a semi not as long swirl if you want it to set quicker I use 10% canola oil with 5% caster oil my main ingredient is Olive oil with palm and coconut oil as my hard oils and it's so nice. I have been using it alot now to practice my swirling cause it's cheap and I swear my lather is a bit better then using almond oil I don't know but anyways I will let everyone know in the future how long my bars last before they go bad but I did read on line if you don't use more then 15% it won't effect the soaps self life. So I am a happy camper with using canola oil right now and I think everyone should try it a couple of times to see if they like it. I will let any one know if anything changes in my soaps.
My main swirly recipe is canola. I have tried other recipes and nothing makes a nicer batch to do my designs. I use it at 35.77 % I have never had an issue with DOS. I am able to unmold and cut the next morning without a problem.
 

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I wonder if switching to a high oleic version of canola oil would interfere with the length of time the batter stays liquid?

Brambleberry has a high oleic canola oil (unfortunately no information on fatty acids for how high oleic it is) for ~4/lb.

I haven’t seen high oleic canola oil anywhere else.

And I ran out to Trader Joe’s and got their high oleic sunflower. Have not tried it yet. Trader Joe’s also has a 10 pound pure aloe juice option and their coconut milk (lite, cream, regular) doesn’t have any gums in it.
 
My main swirly recipe is canola. I have tried other recipes and nothing makes a nicer batch to do my designs. I use it at 35.77 % I have never had an issue with DOS. I am able to unmold and cut the next morning without a problem.
Oh that's awesome do you use the high oleic or do you use any kind I tried to figure mine out last night and I think mine is a medium. I really like it for swirling too. It's also my best swirling recipe 😄.
 
Oh that's awesome do you use the high oleic or do you use any kind I tried to figure mine out last night and I think mine is a medium. I really like it for swirling too. It's also my best swirling recipe 😄.
I actually have no idea LOL. I get the cheapest one at the grocery store. I will have to look into it when I get home from work.
 
Ooh - so mine is cold pressed virgin rapeseed. NOT cheap - more expensive than olive oil but I acquired mine free so you can't get cheaper than that. It's 76% oleic - does that mean it's safe to use without contributing to DOS? I already use 20% RBO in my recipe so I am pushing the boundaries somewhat with that already being high linoleic.

ETA: I've just compared high oleic rapeseed with OO and RBO in soap calc. RBO has the highest palmitic, then OO, and rapeseed virtually none at all. It seems to me that if I used the rapeseed, it would serve me best as a sub for the OO ( the linoleic being the same for both). That way I can retain the palmitic value of RBO, which I like to do, given my recipe contains no palm oil and therefore very little palmitic.
I think you should be good at 20% since this is a high oleic variety. I would give it a try if I were you.
 
So today I went to all my grocery stores in town and I couldn't find a high oleic canola oil till I went to Wholesales club to the back where they sell stuff in large quantities for restaurants. So I found it but it's huge 17 liters for 50 bucks it sounds like a really good deal but I'm not sure what to do with that much I only use 15% in my batches the other thing is how long would I be able to store it for. Also it has a spout but how in the heck am I going to lift that sucker to pour it I would obviously have to find other containers to fill and store it. I'm just wondering what everyone's opinion would be do you think I should get it and do you have any ideas for storing and pouring it? 😊
 
Hi everybody I just wanted to chime in. So I read on line that canola oil doesn't have as long of a shelf life it can go rancid so I really thought I was going to hate it and the first time I used it I hated it my batch excelerated and I thought it might of been the oil But I think I over blended of the Lavender FO I used excelerated so One day I tried it again cause it's cheap and I love cooking with it and I heard it's supposed to be good for swirling so I tried it, it's turned out to be my best swirling recipe. For a really long lasting swirl I use 15% canola oil of my recipe and for a semi not as long swirl if you want it to set quicker I use 10% canola oil with 5% caster oil my main ingredient is Olive oil with palm and coconut oil as my hard oils and it's so nice. I have been using it alot now to practice my swirling cause it's cheap and I swear my lather is a bit better then using almond oil I don't know but anyways I will let everyone know in the future how long my bars last before they go bad but I did read on line if you don't use more then 15% it won't effect the soaps self life. So I am a happy camper with using canola oil right now and I think everyone should try it a couple of times to see if they like it. I will let any one know if anything changes in my soaps.
Well I got the dreaded orange spots from this cheap Western Family Canola oil I noticed this to day on some embeds I made a couple months ago. Here they are. That sucks a little.🙄
IMG_20231020_143333.jpg
 

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Rapeseed oil led me to make soap... I was inspired by the book "JADAM organic Farming", where according to the book I made liquid soap as a soil conditioner for use in the garden. The author states that rapeseed oil has a good wetting ability. And a small note in the book that you can easily make solid soap using sodium hydroxide... I started looking for information and trying. I haven't made soap with rapeseed oil yet, but thanks to this thread I was looking to get 10 liters of cold pressed rapeseed oil for a good price. I am located in the Czech Republic. Rapeseed is grown a lot here. It is expensive in smaller quantities. I don't use that much for soap, but I do at home.
 
Hi new user here. Just thought I would chime in with my own experience using Canola. I only make soap as a hobby for personal use and I never sell it.

In the UK it's just called 'rapeseed oil'. I am referring to the refined version that is the main constituent of generic 'vegetable oil' that you buy in the supermarket. Currently it's pretty cheap at about £2.80 per litre.

I like to make a 100% canola bar and use it in the shower. Pros of this are:
  • as mentioned above, it's dirt cheap
  • locally produced. Very important to me as between this, lard and tallow I can make a pretty sustainable bar of soap here in the UK. I do use coconut oil in hand soaps however.
  • it makes an ideal 'shampoo bar'. It doesn't make your hair squeak or turn into straw like other soaps do. (disclaimer: I have short man-hair so I can pretty much use anything to wash my hair). I find it's even better than olive oil in this regard.
  • doesn't dry skin/scalp (i.e. 'moisturizing' but I hate using that term).
  • produces a very thick, creamy lather
  • neutral scent
Down sides of 100% canola bar:
  • doesn't work as a hand soap (e.g. next to the sink), especially if you live in hard water area. Just doesn't lather well enough. In the shower it lathers fine with warm/hot water and something else to help (hair, cloth, etc).
Using it complimentary to other oils (e.g. as a substitute for olive oil) it's excellent as well. In this manner it's fine to use alongside coconut oil or whatever as a hand soap.

As others have mentioned, it can make softer bars so I get through them quick enough that DOS hasn't been a problem. I've tried hardening them using salt, but if you try this be aware that any more than 1 tsp per 500g oil kills the lather.

I wouldn't recommend using cold-pressed rapeseed for soap. It has a distinct odour and unless you like smelling that way I would avoid. Also it's more expensive and (probably?) contains more unsaponifiable components. I do like to eat cold-pressed rapeseed though because it's made locally and is way cheaper than the disaster that is olive oil at the moment :)

So in summary I really like canola/rapeseed and I would encourage anyone who is on the fence about it to try it out. I will probably never bother using olive oil again because the properties are so similar and rapeseed is so much cheaper (and importantly: locally produced).
 
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