An essential ingredient for making soft German pretzels or to make dried corn products digestible. Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Pellets is also known as lye or caustic soda. It is traditionally used in the water bath for poaching soft German pretzels and bagels. It helps to create the unique smooth, slightly blistered skin and aids in browning. It's also used to soak dried corn products, like hominy, prior to cooking to make it more digestible. Ripe green olives turn black after soaking in a sodium hydroxide bath.