Pomace vs. Grade A vs. Virgin

[MatthewDM]

Which olive oil do you use for your soaps? And why?

What differences do you realize in the final product?

 

[judymoody]

I use A grade.

Pomace is fine but can speed up trace.

Virgin is wasted in soap, IMO, unless you like the greenish color it imparts.

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

I use pomace because it is supposed to be better for soap. I am starting to rethink because of the solvents used for its extraction but haven't decided to change yet...

 

[cpacamper]

At the local grocery store are 18-20 brands of "extra virgin" olive oils in various sizes and shapes. One or two labelled plain "olive oil." I found the largest container of the least expensive evoo cheaper per ounce than regular olive oil, so that's what I bought ad experimented with. Now that its time to place an Essential Depot order, I'll snag a bottle of pomace.

So to answer your question, I used evoo initially because it was easy to find locally

 

[KatieV]

I use Pomace in all my CP soaps. I generally make castile soaps and Pomace seems to work the best for me. (and it is much more cost effective).

I've used EVOO, haven't really noticed much of a difference between the two in hardness or color.

 

[lsg]

I did use pomace, but have switched to Refined A.

 

[shunt2011]

I use Olive Oil from Costso. I've tried pomace but didn't care for it and as stated it could speed things up a bit.

 

[dixiedragon]

I use OO from Costco. I've got some Pomace but haven't tried it.

 

[dosco]

I use pomace because it is supposed to be better for soap. I am starting to rethink because of the solvents used for its extraction but haven't decided to change yet...

I'd think the heat involved in the reaction (assuming HP) would drive off any remaining solvent (which I think is hexane). PLus the alkali hydrolysis would also presumably destroy any remaining solvent ...?

-Dave

 

[LazyUmbrella]

In case you're interested there is a rather spirited discussion on the use of OO pomace here!

 

[Ellacho]

For the price(& no S/H), I buy both Pure OO & organic ex vr OO from Costco.

 

[LunaSkye]

I used EVOO and OO pomace. I can't tell you the difference between the two as my pomace soaps are still curing, but I can say that I like to use EVOO for superfatting some of my HP soaps.

 

[dosco]

I'd think the heat involved in the reaction (assuming HP) would drive off any remaining solvent (which I think is hexane). PLus the alkali hydrolysis would also presumably destroy any remaining solvent ...?

-Dave

There is an interesting wikipedia page regarding hexane. Doesn't look like it would be affected by the lye at all ... interesting.

-Dave

 

[Bubli]

I just started using Pure. I was using pomace, which is what I learned to make soap with, and after reading that pomace isn't really that good of quality, I switched. I will continue using pure, but honestly I much prefer the quicker, thicker trace of pomace. Something else I noticed with pure vrs pomace (in same exact recipe with just pomace switched out for pure and reconfigured lye and same batch size and water amount) was that gel took twice as long even with cpop, gel was not as translucent looking and upon cooling when I cut loaf at 24 hours, there was a mottled look to the texture similar to what you get when using shea butter or palm oil. But all was well, once soap cured the mottling went away. I think the over all end result in my soap was better with pure (which I think is equivalent to Grade A). Though like I said, I prefer the initial reaction of pomace. I can spare a few extra minutes though knowing I am using better oil. Hope that helps.

 

[claudep]

I use evoo which is on sale at the grocery store. Why pay additional shipping when cost is the same for grade a from my supplier.

 

[jules92207]

I have been using pomace till recently but after reading the spirited debate about pomace and then having only Costco olive oil on hand I decided to not buy pomace anymore. Its really not that much more cost wise and I like not having to think about the solvents that may/may not make a difference.

 

[sassanellat]

There is an interesting wikipedia page regarding hexane. Doesn't look like it would be affected by the lye at all ... interesting.

-Dave

Nope. And the trace hexane isn't going to boil off - the concentration too low for the partial pressure. And while hexane isn't that horrible for you compared to many other solvents, what happens when it's ingested (or absorbed through the skin) over a lifetime. I live near Chemical Valley, and there were days where the wind wasn't blowing the usual way and we'd be able to smell the plants as we went to schoool. Even with just periodic exposure to the mixed gasses, we have huge gains in the cancer rate (despite the fact the plants are miles away on the far side of a wide river in a different country. Some of the chemicals are just really bad.

 

[smeetree]

REAL virgin olive oil is almost impossible to find in the U.S. 70% or more is fake or diluted. And if you do it's crazy expensive and you won't want to use it in soap. There is a big (mafia) scam diluting evoo with other oils. Trust me, you are not using olive oil in your soaps if you buy it cheap.

http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-tell-if-your-olive-oil-fake/

At least with pomace you know it's olive oil. Yes, the solvent is an issue.

 

[claudep]

Yup, olive oil is expensive. In canada, will pften find it at 7-8$ per liter.

 

[DWinMadison]

I looked at pomace but decided to stick with regular OO since I can get it locally with no wait and no shipping cost. Every time I go to the grocery I breeze by the baking aisle to check for oils on sale and the Rx to look for marked down castor. As much as I like evoo for cooking, not so much for soap. I can leave a slight residual odor in finished soap and can slightly darken or discolor whiter soaps at least in my experience. Would I use it if it was on super sale? Absolutely. I did recently order on palm kernal to use instead of regular palm. That should be interesting as they score quite differently on soapcalc.net

Hardness Cleansing Conditioning Bubbly Creamy Iodine INS
Oil 29 - 54 12 - 22 44 - 69 14 - 46 16 - 48 41 - 70 136 - 165
Palm Kernal 75 65 18 65 10 20 227
Palm Oil 50 1 49 1 49 53 145