AURA

Reay Tannahill, Food in History (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1988), pp.225-6:

"After I heard about this, I looked it up and found a book called Food in History by Reay Tannahill who says that the natives of Peru have relied on potatoes for thousands of years and that, in fact, the potato originated in Peru. It might have been the mountain weather that led to the Peruvians freezing then drying potatoes as a way to extend their shelf life, but whether or not, it’s the custom there to leave them out in the cold , then eliminate moisture by walking on them. Doing this for nearly a week produces potatoes suitable for long term storage, with the end product being known as chuño. You can click on the link in the text version of this note if you feel like it."

More on chuño. la papa es vida