Dried potatoes.
 

According to resources the Inka/Inca and the people before and after them in Peru would let potatoes freeze and then press out the moisture.
They would then let them dry for later use
It is said they will last indefinitely doing this.
Has anyone tried this?
I'm going to give it a go with two potatoes just to see what happens. :lol:
Worth

Are you talking about making chuno? You'll have the best results by using small potatoes.

I've seen this on a couple of documentaries. Apparently, they place the potatoes on the ground and let the very low temperatures, well below freezing, dry the water out of them through the repeated freezing, before stepping on them to remove any final residual moisture. Then they are virtually devoid of any moisture. Some were then dried further for long term storage, while others were used in their soups, etc..

Whatever I'm doing I'm sure it will be a disaster. :lol:
Yes chuno.
I froze them for the first time and let them thaw and the water is just running out of them.
Now for the next freezing.
Not too sure I want to step on them either.
Maybe a more sanitary way is in order. ;)
Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;435393]
Not too sure I want to step on them either.
Maybe a more sanitary way is in order. ;)
Worth[/QUOTE]

wash feet and clean socks :twisted:

[QUOTE=rags57078;435394]wash feet and clean socks :twisted:[/QUOTE]

Right. :))
looks like I need to do part of this at the river for 30 days if I want white Chuno pronounce chunyo
Maybe I can order some on line.
Better yet go there.:yes:
Side note a hoot owl just started hooting sweet. :love:

[url]http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CCcQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Farchive.peruthisweek.com%2Fgastronomy%2Ffeatures-1046&rct=j&q=chuno%20recipe&ei=SURMVIu6N4m4yQS2uYHwBg&usg=AFQjCNHVluVB9Q9ixiYc7WniHQKLCqTfuA[/url]
Worth

Thanks for the lesson. I had never heard of this.

Chuno may make an interesting and beneficial addition to Gluten Free cooking for those with Celiac or Gluten Free Intolerance.

BTW...can just picture you doing the stomping, Worth.....a la stomping grapes (although I'm not sure which would be funnier). At least with the chuno your feet wouldn't change colour...much. LOL

Per Wiki...freeze for three days, smash, freeze two more days. Dry thoroughly. Use a small variety.

Well folks I'm high in the Andes at around ten thousand feet.
It froze out last night and I'm going out to check on my potatoes after I feed my llamas. :lol:

Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;435422]Well folks I'm high in the Andes at around ten thousand feet.
It froze out last night and I'm going out to check on my potatoes after I feed my llamas. :lol:

Worth[/QUOTE]

Are you sure it wasn't just 2 beers last night, Worth? :twisted:

[QUOTE=Zana;435446]Are you sure it wasn't just 2 beers last night, Worth? :twisted:[/QUOTE]

Well After I decided to stay at home I had another.:twisted:
The sun has come up and the potatoes have thawed.
I have squeezed out a ton of water and they are turning dark as expected and drying .
Here I am high in the Andes with the lamas.
[IMG]http://med.stanford.edu/ohns/education/residency/images/global_health/llamas_peru_2008.png[/IMG]

Here are some folks making Chuno.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUNZfTEpyE[/url]

It seems there is not much information on chuno or its use outside the Andes.

Yesterday I took one small piece and cooked it in a leftover conglom I made.
The outside was all black or very deep purple and the inside was white.
The flavor was as described on the nutty side.

I have never liked frozen potatoes as the texture was way off and disgusting.
These however (presumably) after the squeezing and partial dehydration took on a whole new flavor and the texture was like nothing I have ever had before.
It was very a very concentrated potato nut flavor.
The texture is like a very soft but chewable leather almost mushroom like.
The appearance is what most of western society would call disgusting.
Photo coming soon from my phone.
Here it is.
[ATTACH]45939[/ATTACH]


My next step is I am putting them in the oven on low with the door cracked so they will dehydrate all the way but not cook.

I think it's more a matter of survival than gourmet cooking. Too, they have two varieties, white and black. The whiteness comes from thorough soaking and washing before the final dehydration.

[QUOTE=mensplace;435551]I think it's more a matter of survival than gourmet cooking. Too, they have two varieties, white and black. The whiteness comes from thorough soaking and washing before the final dehydration.[/QUOTE]

I ended up on youtube yesterday and they have cooking shows in Peru.
It was all in Spanish.
On one of these shows they were using white chuno in a recipe for a rabbet stew.
From the market pictures I see chuno is as important to these people as the pepper is.
The chuno is everywhere they love the stuff.

I have to tell you that little piece of chuno like potato I had yesterday took the potato to a whole new level.
I will also say that it was the best tasting potato I have ever had, that is no joke.

Also what ever the devil it is I am doing I will continue to do and make it a part of my regular diet.
As for the white chuno it is obvious the soaking in the water extracts the starch from the outer part of the potato while not in oxygen.
Without the starch there is no oxidation therefore no black potato.
Easy.;)

Did you know that at the time the Spanish found the Inca it was the largest empire on earth?

It was made up of several groups of people all over the Andes and they all didn't even speak the same language.

Therefore the Inca wasn't a single people as much as it was a confederation of several societies.
One of the most interesting things about them is their thinking about the garden.
The garden is for everything the people and the animals so they plant enough for all to share.
The garden should always have children in it.
The children bring laughter and will make the garden happy.
No bad thoughts, fights or anger should enter the garden.
This will make the garden unhappy and not produce.
They look at the plants from year to year to see what the season will be like.
Sounds about like what I believe in.;)

Worth

Okay the potatoes are completely dried out and as hard as a rock.
They are snow white on the inside.

I am afraid to eat them.:lol::o

Maybe I will try to do some of the white chuno the next time.:lol:

Worth

I'm going to try this, that would solve the problem with small ones [ok, usually my chickens are solving this problem;)] I am freezing some right now, and wanted to ask : is it important what kind of potato we are freezing? I mean if its starchy or waxy .. I am freezing some leftovers from my potatoes grown from TPS, and I just boiled the rest of it for chickens and tried few, and they are starchy or incredibly starchy.. Like, big visible starch grains shining inside like a little diamonds..

[QUOTE=loeb;465642]I'm going to try this, that would solve the problem with small ones [ok, usually my chickens are solving this problem;)] I am freezing some right now, and wanted to ask : is it important what kind of potato we are freezing? I mean if its starchy or waxy .. I am freezing some leftovers from my potatoes grown from TPS, and I just boiled the rest of it for chickens and tried few, and they are starchy or incredibly starchy.. Like, big visible starch grains shining inside like a little diamonds..[/QUOTE]

I think either would be fine.
It is a process that is in the making.

I have found that the soaking in water and rinsing keeps them from turning black.
I found this out by accident.


Worth

Soaking when they are defrosted, between freezing? I was reading about how they make it in Peru and there was something in soaking them in rivers.. I will try it too:)

[QUOTE=loeb;465648]Soaking when they are defrosted, between freezing? I readed about how they make it in Peru and there was something in soaking them in rivers.. I will try it too:)[/QUOTE]

Don't make yourself sick.:lol:

Worth

Haha I'm not going to soak it in the river.. just in plain fresh tap water:) I don't think that would hurt me

I think what is going on is the running water is removing the starch from the outer surface of the potato.
When this happens as the potato dries it wont turn black.

One of the things I do when I cut up fresh potatoes is to put them in water and use what we call fruit fresh in it.
This is mostly ascorbic acid and citric acid.
The black ones I made I tried and then tossed.
They tasted good but was creeped out by the color and was afraid I would get sick.:lol:

Worth

Saw a documentary on this....
They have a variety that is very reliable but poisonous, the freezing and squeezing and rubbing off the skin removes the poison. Drying makes them edible. Can be saved for 10 yrs.
Think about making it once in a while, but too lazy....

Dehydrating Potatoes
 

Used to make soups or stew with other vegetables. They keep forever at room temperature.

[URL]http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/23%20October%202016%20Dehydrating%20Potatoes/HTML/[/URL] 23 October 2016 Dehydrating Potatoes
Some Red Pontiac potatoes were dehydrated into a powder for long term storage. The potatoes were blended into a slurry of water and nixtamalized corn (to inhibit the slurry from sticking to the pan when dehydrating). Dehydration was about ten hours set at 125F/52C. The dried product was blended into a powder and stored in 250 ml canning jars. The slurry\powdering aspect saves much labour as opposed to the typical process used to dehydrate. The process is applicable to almost any product.
[IMG]http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/23%20October%202016%20Dehydrating%20Potatoes/HTML/22%20october%202016img_0011_std.jpg[/IMG]