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SPUDSMART.COM SUMMER 201528 From Chuno to Vodka Potato processing has been around for centuries and theres a lot more to it than making french fries and potato chips. BY HIELKE DE JONG FRESH POTATO consumption once the mainstay of world potato utilization is decreasing in many countries especially in developed regions. Currently more potatoes are processed to meet rising demand from the fast food snack and convenience food industries. The major drivers behind this development include growing urban populations rising incomes changing diets and the diversification of lifestyles that leave less time for preparing fresh potatoes at home. This shift in turn is affecting how cultivars are being grown. In North America especially the rise and fall of major cultivars can to a large extent be attributed to market demand cultivars which are best-suited for processing into french fries and chips are supplanting those which are not. CHUNO AND PAPA SECA The oldest form of potato processing is the preparation of chuno an ancient method of freeze-drying food that is at least 2000 years old. The procedure utilizes the occurrence of night-time freezing temperatures in June and July in the Andean region of South America. Tubers are exposed to freezing temperatures for three or four nights. They thaw out during the day and are then trampled by foot to remove the moisture. Afterwards they dry out in the sun. There are two types of chuno chuno blanco white and chuno negro black. In the preparation of chuno blanco the tuber skins are also removed and the tubers are washed in a stream. The chuno processing methods remove most of the glycoalkaloids bitter tasting natural compounds which confer resistance to insects and diseases. This is an important feature because it facilitates the consumption of otherwise bitter potatoes that because of their frost resistance can be grown at high altitudes. Capable of being stored for a year or longer chuno occupied a very important place in the Andean societies and made human life in the Andes above 3800 metres possible. Chuno was used by populations from higher altitudes to barter for products from lower elevations and could also be stored by the centrally controlled government of the Inca Empire and distributed to areas where there had been crop failures. After the Spanish conquest of the Incas chuno was also used to feed the slaves in the silver mines of Potosi located in what is now Bolivia. A form of dried potatoes known as papa seca is another ancient food preservation product. It is produced by boiling and hand-peeling potatoes that are then sliced or broken into small pieces and sun-dried. It can probably Dehydrated shredded potatoes circa 1940. SOURCE FOOD SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY DEPT. PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ARCHIVES RESEARCH CENTER OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES. Chuno negro left and chuno blanco at a market in La Paz Bolivia. SOURCE FREMEN TOURS LA PAZ BOLIVIA.