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.

• Chuño
• Freeze-drying

Categories: Food & agriculture Places Sciences South America

The Generalist

I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and am curious about most things.