Inka Freeze-Dried Potatoes from Tambo Viejo, Acarí Valley, Perú

At the time the Inka state flourished in western South America, several hundred varieties of potatoes were cultivated, some of which were bitter and needed to be processed to be edible. The processing strategy employed was freeze-drying, and the product is called chuño. Early colonial period documents inform us that the freeze-dried potatoes were safely stored for extended periods of time in state-controlled warehouses. Given that potatoes spoil quickly, chuño production was a savvy strategy not only to prevent the loss of important food but also to create large volumes of food reserves that were used to support imperial projects. Currently, chuño is still produced and is a sustainable way to prevent food waste. Recent archaeological excavation carried out at the Inka provincial center of Tambo Viejo, Peru, resulted in the discovery of chuño and demonstrates that this product was widely distributed across the Inka realm, including the Pacific coast.