"ps" == purple stars writes:

ps News f2s wrote:
It is soaked in lye for several weeks, then rinsed many
times and finally boiled.

What chemical is lye?

ps i don't know, but it's a base/alkaline. it might be sodium hydroxide.
ps same principle as soaking something in acid, except as a base ... the
ps goal being to make an unhealthy environment for bacteria to grow in,
ps one that they don't like. bacteria don't like dryness (drying or
ps smoking), alkaline/acids (pickling), too much salt (salting),
ps radiation, too much heat (cooking/canning), cold (freezing), too much
ps sugar (candying), etc.

But the purpose in this case is not preservation, the drying has
already taken care of that. The purpose is to aid in the rehydration,
at the same time transmogrifying the fish into something which I
refuse to eat.

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