NASA famously freeze-dried ice cream so that astronauts could enjoy it in space. But this method of food preparation actually dates back hundreds of years: the South American chuño, or freeze-dried potato, remains edible for decades.

Eric in SF [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Because a properly freeze-drived chuño remains edible for a long time, they were a staple of the Incan and Tiwanaku Empires. They are still a popular part of Bolivian and Peruvian cuisine, used in soups or ground up into flour.
Categories: Food & agriculture Places Sciences South America
The Generalist
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