Olive Oil (virgin / refined / olive oil)
INCI Olea Europaea Fruit Oil. Saponified with NaOH it is listed as Sodium Olivate, with KOH as Potassium Olivate. CAS 8001-25-0; EC 232-277-0, as CosIng gives them. Also: Extra virgin olive oil, EVOO, Virgin olive oil, Refined olive oil, Olea europaea fruit oil, Light olive oil.
Published values
| Saponification value | 184–196 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 190.0 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.1354 g/g |
| Iodine value | 75–94 g I₂/100 g |
| INS (SAP − IV) | 106 |
| Melting point | — |
| Unsaponifiable matter | ≤ 1.5 % |
Soapmaking books print about 0.135 g NaOH per g (median of 12 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %.
A bar made of 100 % Olive Oil
Conventional qualities summed from the fatty-acid groups; a single-oil bar is a reference point, not a recipe.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 64.3 g(62.3–66.4) | 90.3 g(87.4–93.1) |
| 1 kg | 128.7 g(124.6–132.7) | 180.5 g(174.8–186.2) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 58.4 g(56.5–60.2) | 81.9 g(79.3–84.5) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 116.7 g(113.0–120.4) | 163.7 g(158.6–168.9) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
Saturated : unsaturated 17 : 83
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myristic acid | C14:0 · saturated | 0–0.05 | 0.0 |
| Palmitic acid | C16:0 · saturated | 7.5–20 | 13.8 |
| Palmitoleic acid | C16:1 | 0.3–3.5 | 1.9 |
| Stearic acid | C18:0 · saturated | 0.5–5 | 2.8 |
| Oleic acid | C18:1 | 55–83 | 69.0 |
| Linoleic acid | C18:2 | 3.5–21 | 12.3 |
| α-Linolenic acid | C18:3 n-3 | 0–1.2 | 0.6 |
| Arachidic acid | C20:0 · saturated | 0–0.6 | 0.3 |
| Gadoleic acid | C20:1 | 0–0.4 | 0.2 |
| Behenic acid | C22:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
| Lignoceric acid | C24:0 · saturated | 0–0.2 | 0.1 |
Recipes that use it
- Castile brine bar 100 % of the oils
- Castile soap 100 % of the oils
- Liquid castile soap 100 % of the oils
- Nablus-style olive oil soap 100 % of the oils
- Savon noir, olive soft soap 100 % of the oils
- Greek olive bar 90 % of the oils
- Laurel-free olive bar 85 % of the oils
- Aleppo-style soap, 20 % laurel 80 % of the oils
- Bastile soap 80 % of the oils
- Aleppo-style laurel and olive bar 75 % of the oils
- High-olive bastile bar 75 % of the oils
- Savon de Marseille, 72 % 72 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
- Antioxidants and chelators: keeping soap from going off
- Castile soap: pure olive oil, and why it's worth the wait
- Choosing the oils for your first soap
- Dreaded orange spots (DOS) and rancid soap
- Marseille soap: what savon de Marseille is and what 72 % means
- Soap from used cooking oil: how much lye, and how to clean the oil
- Soap in hard water: scum, chelators and rinse
- Swirl techniques: in the pot, drop, hanger, spoon and Taiwan
- The 25er-Rezept: Germany's four-oil beginner soap, with or without palm
- The soaping oils: what each one brings to a bar
- Your first cold process soap, step by step
Compared with other oils
Where these numbers come from
Section 3 fatty-acid composition (GC, % total FA) is mandatory. Appendix 3 'Chemical and physical characteristics' (relative density 0.910-0.916, saponification value, iodine value (Wijs), unsaponifiable matter) is ADVISORY. C18:3 limit left open in this print (footnote 3: national limits may remain pending IOOC survey).
JP XVIII 'Olive Oil': acid value NMT 1.0; saponification value 186-194; unsaponifiable matters NMT 1.5 %; iodine value 79-88; specific gravity 0.908-0.914.
Ph. Eur. 12 'Olive oil, refined' fatty-acid limits, including linolenic acid max 1.2 %: the source of the record's linolenic range, which CXS 33 leaves open.
Fatty acids: CXS 33 Section 3 table (identical ranges for virgin olive oils, refined olive oil and olive oil): C14:0 0.0-0.05, C16:0 7.5-20.0, C16:1 0.3-3.5, C17:0/C17:1 0.0-0.3 (omitted), C18:0 0.5-5.0, C18:1 55.0-83.0, C18:2 3.5-21.0, C18:3 not limited in this print, C20:0 0.0-0.6, C20:1 0.0-0.4, C22:0 0.0-0.2, C24:0 0.0-0.2 %. Linolenic (C18:3) is the one acid not taken from CXS 33: that print leaves its limit open, so the record carries Ph. Eur. 12's max 1.2 % (below), with a minimum of 0. SAP 184-196 mg KOH/g, IV (Wijs) 75-94 and unsaponifiable <= 15 g/kg are from the ADVISORY Appendix (section 3, 'Chemical and physical characteristics'). Additional: JP XVIII 'Olive Oil' SAP 186-194, IV 79-88, unsaponifiable NMT 1.5 %, specific gravity 0.908-0.914; Ph. Eur. 12 'Olive oil, refined' (Heess sheet) palmitic 7.5-20.0, palmitoleic max 3.5, stearic 0.5-5.0, oleic 56.0-85.0, linoleic 3.5-20.0, linolenic max 1.2, arachidic max 0.7, eicosenoic max 0.4, behenic max 0.2, lignoceric max 0.2 %, unsaponifiable max 1.5 %.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.