[Aussie Rae]

Originally Posted by Queen.of.Clutter

From Wikipedia:
Food uses
Lyes are used to cure many types of food, including the traditional Nordic lutefisk, olives (making them less bitter), canned mandarin oranges, hominy, lye rolls, century eggs, and pretzels. They are also used as a tenderizer in the crust of baked Cantonese moon cakes, in "zongzi" (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves), in chewy southern Chinese noodles popular in Hong Kong and southern China, and in Japanese ramen noodles.They are also present in Kutsinta.

In the United States, food-grade lye must meet the requirements outlined in the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC),[1][page needed] as prescribed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[2][not in citation given] Lower grades of lye which are unsuitable for use in food preparation are commonly used as drain de-cloggers and oven cleaners.[2][page needed]

Thanks Queen.of.Clutter,