surprised by the prices of oils

[Mr_Dove]

I picked up some coconut oil for my wife today and I was very surprised to see that it was actually cheaper than olive oil. I didn't expect that at all.

We're new so we're still doing small batches and buying our oils at the grocery store where possible.

Olive Oil: $4.50/17 ounces
Coconut Oil: $5.00/30 ounces

 

[Sapwn]

There are many qualities of olive oil and there is a price range for them.
For soap making you need the cheapest one.

 

[Ruthie]

Olive oil has gone up a lot- due to crop failures I am told. If you live in the U.S. you might try Sam's for a better price on OO.

 

[kazmi]

I get my OO at Sam's and my coconut oil at the grocery store.

 

[Bicycle808]

There are many qualities of olive oil and there is a price range for them.
For soap making you need the cheapest one.

I generally agree with this, although I personally stay away from items labeled as "blended olive oil", some of which contains canola or other veggie oils. (I'm aware that a lot of pure OO is blended from several different types of OO, and this doesn't bother me one bit.) These tend to be the cheapest oils labeled as OO. I also don't tend to use pomace, b/c it traces too fast, and I'm wary of the solvents used in its extraction. They probably don't cause any actual problems, but I try to keep things as simple as I can, and avoid unnecessary additives wherever possible.

I buy the 169oz bottles of Berio brand olive il for, like, $19. Works for me.

 

[savonierre]

Costco has pure unadulterated olive oil for a good price..

 

[Busyfingers]

I buy OO from Costco. My first batch CP soap was made with GV brand OO from Wal-Mart. Would you know the 1st CP recipe I do and I got DOS and from every recipe I used that oil in. Very discouraging as a first time soaper let me tell ya!

 

[Moody Glenn]

I had read an article about three months ago that due to the severe drought that hit Europe last summer the olive trees greatly suffered. The blossoms had bad pollination, the fruit (olives) that did develop were not as large and so on. Based upon 'supply and demand' the supply of olives at harvest time was significantly less but the demand remains high - thus an increase in prices.

Adding other plant oils to olive oil happens all the time with unscrupulous businesses. There was a warning that these types of businesses would take advantage of this shortage by mixing greater amounts of other oils with some olive oil and passing it off as "100% real olive oil." So beware on what you purchase. That cheap olive oil may not be what it actually is. And this can cause problems when making your soap. Different oils within what you think is pure olive oil can really mess-up the saponification process. That may be one reason why different batches of soap behave strangely and not consistently.

 

[nebetmiw]

Besides that bad crops that olive has had this past year. Coconut is not that popular as a cooking oil Unless you grew up with it like on the islands. It is not well known as a cooking oil in the most the USA. It is mostly used in cosmetics and shampoos ect. I perfer CO to many other oils for cooking and making soap. It has a higher burn number like peanut oil. I do not use OO in any of my soaps as my skin clogs with it.

 

[CaliChan]

Both coconut oil and olive oil for me is .17 cents an oz
I stopped buying the cheepest OO and I saw a dramatic difference in quality
The olive oil I buy is a blend of olive oils. The cheepest OO here always gave me unusually soft bars. I'm pretty sure it had been cut with other oils

 

[Cosmoman]

Yup Sams is the place to get Virgin Olive Oil at best price I can find