(no subject)

[camwyn]

Today on 'word combinations I really never expected to read, but okay, yeah, that makes sense':

"food-grade lye"

I had read somewhere ages ago that proper soft pretzels are made with a lye solution applied to the outside to produce the right exterior texture. It had not occurred to me that you would need, or have, a specific formulation of lye for this process; I tend to think of lye purely in a soapmaking context, or else a drain-clearing one. But yeah. Food grade lye makes sense.

Comments

[ceitfianna]

Oh yes, I saw them do this on a GBBO episode. The pretzels are briefly cooked or submerged in the lye bath before baking.

[genarti]

On the one hand, that makes sense; on the other hand, HUH.

[shati]

Hah, I think of lye as one of the things you can soak corn in to prevent malnutrition. I wouldn't have thought of soap!

[tibicina]

It's also one of the ways you cure olives and used in lutefisk and a couple other food items. Usually it's used for curing and then rinsed out before eating, but yeah, the way you get pretzel stuff is a weak lye solution.

[cameoflage]

I knew this mainly because I was reading about pretzels on Wikipedia a few months ago by sheer coincidence.