Soybean oil, is it found in supermarkets?

[Vanessa]

Ok I have read that soybean oil is a good filler oil as it is cheap and produces a good hard bar and also fairly food lathering and conditioning properties.

My question is, is it available at supermarkets (in Australia) and does it go under a different name? If it is is it with the shelf oils or is it in the fridge section?

Vanessa

 

[topcat]

I haven't been able to find it over here in any I have tried Vanessa. Perhaps other Aussies here can help you out more. I have found an Australian online source of infused soybean oils and they are a fantastic supplier that I have used for many other products, but I can't find straight soybean oil online here either. Here is the link to the infused oils:-

http://www.heirloombodycare.com.au/adva ... 8a&x=6&y=6

Tanya

 

[ChrissyB]

The only soybean oil I have been able to find is Copha, which is coconut oil and soybean lecithin, but not sure in what percentages so can't help you out with sap numbers.
Try www.bibina.com.au

 

[ChrissyB]

Okay yes they have it at Bibina, food supply warehouse not far from me, but it is in 20lt lots.
TC have you ever been there? Have a look at the website under oils-liquid and oils-solid, they have heaps.

 

[Vanessa]

Ah ok then so I am assuming it is probably more of an American thing when I read about it being cheap and easy to source, because I hadnt found it very easy to source her at all and thought I might have been missing something in the soap making to grocery translation

 

[topcat]

Golly they do have lots of oils! What are their prices like Chrissy? I have never been there, though I have heard of them.

Vanessa - yes, the States and Canada have oils & butters available to them that I have not been able to source here...for example Illipe butter and Kokum butter and Babassu oil. All are excellent for soaping apparently but I can't find any here

Tanya

 

[Galavanting Gifts]

Hi Vnessa, do you have Farmer Pats anywhere near you? I found some the other day it was $11 for 2 litres, I havn't been able to find it anywhere else though, oh and they also sell corn oil which i've had a horrible time trying to find. Hope this helps.

 

[ChrissyB]

Tanya they are pretty good. They are more of a restaurant/catering supply business than a supermarket, though they are open to the public. I also go there every couple of months for my mum because they get in that double salted dutch licorice that she loves.
I am going to go there to check out their oils, I am thinking that soybean oil may be a good "filler" oil for soaping. They have corn oil also.

 

[Callmebubbles]

Soybean

I have just started adding about 10% soybean to my batches and even though it was to see if it would help lower batch prices, i really like the addition. I have found ESCENTIALS OF AUSTRALIA to be great for all my base oils.
https://www.escentialsofaustralia.com/p ... .php?gid=7

20 litres for $60 or 5 litres for $17
Never had a problem with this company, although sometimes they are a titchy bit slower than some others to deliver. Always within a week though, no grumbles from me.
They have some good cosmetic ingredients too

HTH

 

[topcat]

Thanks Micki! I did a search on Max's website and couldn't find it....must have typed it in wrong. I will keep that in mind. I agree his goods are almost always on the money and so far his delivery to me has been excellent.

Tanya

 

[carebear]

so what is the cheap cooking oil in YOUR neck of the woods then?

 

[Vanessa]

I guess Canola oil would probably be one of the easiest and cheapest to find, but a lot of people are starting to avoid canola now because they have introduced GM canola here, and there is no standard to label GM and non GM canolla products, so I know a lot of people who are stearing clear of Canola. So that may change the market a bit here in the near future

 

[Lindy]

Uhmmm - what's GM Canola?

 

[TessC]

Genetically modified. I found this article about it, kinda interesting:

http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_ ... eseed.html

This may be a dumb question, so feel free to point and laugh if it is, lol, but would the GM versions that have different fatty acids in them soap differently, or would it still be the exact same as non-GM oil?

 

[Vanessa]

This may be a dumb question, so feel free to point and laugh if it is, lol, but would the GM versions that have different fatty acids in them soap differently, or would it still be the exact same as non-GM oil?

I wouldnt think that it would have that much affect on it. But that is one of the reasons people want to stay away from GM foods because no one knows what the reactions are going to be. I like to think of it like the additive/preservative thing that is going on at the moment where a lot of people have sensitivities/alergies to them and there is a bigger market for additive/preservative free products, its only since it is put in everything for a long period of time that people are starting to have a reaction to it.

Another problem with the GM canola is that it is herbicide resistant, so the crop can be sprayed a with a lot more chemicals to kill weeds and pests but not affect the canolla itself, producing a better yield, but then there is the issue about increased herbicide and what residues that leaves in the final product.

 

[topcat]

I guess Canola oil would probably be one of the easiest and cheapest to find, but a lot of people are starting to avoid canola now because they have introduced GM canola here, and there is no standard to label GM and non GM canolla products, so I know a lot of people who are stearing clear of Canola. So that may change the market a bit here in the near future

My understanding of canola is that it is produced by GMing rapeseed to make it edible to humans and livestock, so all canola is genetically modified....could be mistaken of course - I have only picked up this idea from reading about it on the internet. I was checking it out for use as a food oil and decided against it...I also do not eat margarine for the same reason.

My preferance for food oil is RBO and OO - not surprisingly these are always two oils I include in my soap!

Tanya

 

[Lindy]

OMG - this is me running to my cupboard and throwing out that canola oil - good thing it's garbage day tomorrow....

That is so weird I spent years living in Alberta with farming family and I didn't know that! Mind you they were ranchers, wheat farmers, dairy farmers and mixed farmers (a lot of farmers)....

 

[Vanessa]

I dont know heaps about GM and Canolla but I think that because canola has bben around for quite a while it is probably more a matter of selective breeding, (taking a plant with the desired characteristics and then growing seeds from that and repeating, eventually getting a plant which is quite different from the orriginal - sort of a sped up evolution) which could be argued to be genetically modifying, but the commercial GM canola is somehow done in a lab, purposely changing the genetic makeup of the plant.

Either way I can agree with people not wanting to eat it

 

[ChrissyB]

Rice Bran and Olive Oil are my cooking oils of choice. And soaping, but I also use coconut and organic/sustainable palm and palm kernel.

 

[Vanessa]

OMG - this is me running to my cupboard and throwing out that canola oil - good thing it's garbage day tomorrow....

Even though I dont agree with it I would be throwing everything out with canola in it, but for me by not buying canola, where I can (I cook with olive instead, but I dont do a lot of deep frying) might eventually show these people that we dont agree with what they are doing.

But then I know of people who refuse to use Palm oil because of sustainability issues with its production (again I am not too familliar with this but I think in some areas native forests are being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations :cry: )

But then if we avoided everything that was bad for us/bad for the earth then we wouldnt be eating or doing too much