Blue Alms

After being gathered, the scales are boiled down into a paste, mixed with local herbs and spices, fish oil, salted, and then compressed into bricks. These are slow-smoked over hardwood for several days, and then broken into chunks. Alternatively, it can be compressed into long slabs instead of bricks, giving it a more flake-like appearance.   If stored properly, that is, in a dry and cool place within a kelp-padded container, blue alms are good for consumption as much as three years after being prepared. Due to its ubiquity across many different Kadian ethnic groups, there are numerous ways blue alms are eaten, be it on their own or as an ingredient in other dishes.

Consumption

Blue alms are normally eaten during every meal, much like bread. They have a very strong, very dominant flavor; fittingly, people have been eating them in one or both of two versions. These versions may include regional variants, but are, in essence:  

Flakes of blue alms that are briefly held above open flame, which intensifies their already intense aromas, and makes them crispier. Simply called blue flakes, it is a common evening snack among older Aderians, though most other Kadians deem the taste too strong.

Chunks of blue alms are minced and mixed with flour, then pureed with root vegetables and mixed with eggs, and then rolled in breadcrumbs; the mix can be either fried into small patties or left to cook in wet bread overnight.

During Famines

The second version is considered to be the "classic" famine food, as one can easily disguise leftovers, spoiled food, and even inedible items inside the mixtures; it is known as Bishop's Patties or Lion's Patties, both referring to a full scale civil war all around the lake.