Chuño [SEP] country of origin
Chuño
Chuño () is a freeze-dried potato product traditionally made by Quechua and Aymara communities of Bolivia and Peru, and is known in various countries of South America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. It is a five-day process, obtained by exposing a frost-resistant variety of potatoes to the very low night temperatures of the Andean Altiplano, freezing them, and subsequently exposing them to the intense sunlight of the day (this being the traditional process). The word comes from Quechua "
potatoes are spread closely on flat ground, and allowed to freeze with the low night temperatures and dehydrate in the daytime, for about three nights. This process results in natural freeze-drying.
By the end of this process, usually around May, the potatoes are taken to "chuñochinapampas" – flat areas where the potatoes can be laid out. The term is Aymara in origin and translates to “the place where the chuño is made”. Once they make it to the "chuñochinapampas," they are trampled