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Place of origin | Bolivia and Peru |
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Main ingredients | Potatoes |
Chuño (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃuɲo] ) is a preserved potato product traditionally made by Quechua and Aymara communities of Bolivia and Peru, [1] and is known in various countries of South America, including Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Northwest Argentina. It is a five-day process, obtained by exposing a bitter, frost-resistant variety of potatoes [2] to the very low night temperatures of the Andean Altiplano, freezing them, and subsequently exposing them to the intense sunlight of the day (this being the traditional process). The word comes from Quechua ch'uñu, meaning 'frozen potato' ('wrinkled' in the dialects of the Junín Region).
The existence of chuño dates back to before the time of the Inca Empire in the 13th century, based on findings that have been made of the product at various archaeological sites.[ citation needed ] Specifically, they have been found at Tiwanaku, site of a culture which developed in the Collao Plateau, a geographic zone which includes territories of Bolivia and Peru.[ citation needed ]
It had been described in 1590 by Spanish chronicler José de Acosta. [3] Due to its portability, long shelf life, and nutritional value, chuño was eaten by Inca soldiers on marches. [4] Indeed Carl Troll argued that the nighttime sub-freezing temperatures of southern Peruvian highlands that allowed for chuño production favoured the rise of the Inca Empire. [5]
A form of chuño (chuño de liuto or chuño de concepción) [6] is made from the starchy storage roots of Alstroemeria ligtu . [7] [8] [9]
Chuño is made at the beginning of winter during June and July, during which time the temperatures reach around −5 °C (23 °F) at elevations of over 3,800 metres (12,500 ft). [10] After fall harvest (April–May), potatoes are selected for the production of chuño, typically small ones for ease of processing. These small potatoes are spread closely on flat ground, and allowed to freeze with the low night temperatures and dehydrate in the daytime, for about three nights. This process results in natural freeze-drying.
By the end of this process, the potatoes are taken to chuñochinapampas – flat areas where the potatoes can be laid out. The term is Aymara in origin and translates to “the place where the chuño is made”. [10] Once they make it to the chuñochinapampas, they are trampled by foot, traditionally through the work of extended family groups and their pets. This eliminates what little water is still retained by the potatoes, and removes the skins, enabling subsequent freezing and drying. They remain as they are for over a week, depending on weather conditions.
During the process of manually squeezing water out of the potatoes via stepping on them, whole families will participate. The previous freeze-drying breaks down cell walls, making it easier to remove water from the potatoes. [11] They build a small pile of potatoes with their feet and then "dance" on the pile, removing the skins as they do so. This will not entirely remove the skins, so the remaining skin is removed by hand afterwards. [12] Starting from this basic freeze-dry process, two varieties are obtained:
White chuño is obtained by washing the frozen potatoes. The washing may take various forms. In Bolivia, the potatoes are spread on blankets or straw and constantly sprayed with water to moisten. [13] In Peru, the frozen potatoes are transported to a river, and deposited in pools. This washing typically takes about a week. The final step is drying in the sun. The result is now called chuño, also known as papas secas (Spanish for 'dry potatoes'). In Bolivia, white chuño is also called tunta.
Black chuño is obtained directly from the original freezing, trampling, and refreezing process. The product is not washed or exposed to water again; after freezing and trampling, it is simply sun-dried. Black chuño production has less regional variation than white chuño, and is more likely to be kept and consumed by farmers than the more commercialized white chuño. [11]
Once dried, and with minimal care in storage, the product can last for a very long time, sometimes decades. [4]
Consumption is varied, from desserts to prepared dishes, as well as chuño flour, which is an essential ingredient in many dishes of Peruvian cuisine. Chairo is one of the most traditional Bolivian soups and it is made with chuño, meat, and vegetables. Especially in Bolivia, chuño is not considered the same as a regular potato. In certain recipes, chuño and potatoes should not be used interchangeably. [12] Chairo, for example, is not considered the same without the ground chuño. The other ingredients – wheat, carrots, etc – can be substituted, but not the chuño. It is also traditional in southern regions of Peru such as Arequipa and Puno. Another soup, this one made using whole chuño, is jakonta. More simply, chuño can be eaten with a variety of sauces.
Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dehydrated to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth. The word "jerky" derives from the Quechua word ch'arki which means "dried, salted meat".
The Aymara or Aimara, people are an indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America. Approximately 2.3 million Aymara live in northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The ancestors of the Aymara lived in the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca Empire in the late 15th or early 16th century, and later of the Spanish in the 16th century. With the Spanish American wars of independence (1810–1825), the Aymaras became subjects of the new nations of Bolivia and Peru. After the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), Chile annexed territory with the Aymara population.
Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America.
Oxalis tuberosa is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua, oca in Spanish, yams in New Zealand and several other alternative names. The plant was brought into cultivation in the central and southern Andes for its tubers, which are used as a root vegetable. The plant is not known in the wild, but populations of wild Oxalis species that bear smaller tubers are known from four areas of the central Andean region. Oca was introduced to Europe in 1830 as a competitor to the potato, and to New Zealand as early as 1860.
Ullucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Basellaceae, with one species, Ullucus tuberosus, a plant grown primarily as a root vegetable, secondarily as a leaf vegetable. The name ulluco is derived from the Quechua word ulluku, but depending on the region, it has many different names. These include illaco, melloco, chungua or ruba, olluco or papalisa, or ulluma.
Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, thereby removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by most conventional methods that evaporate water using heat.
Pachamanca is a traditional Peruvian dish baked with the aid of hot stones. The earthen oven is known as a huatia. It is generally made of lamb, mutton, alpaca, llama, guanaco, vicuna, pork, beef, chicken, or guinea pig, marinated in herbs and spices. Other Andean produce, such as potato or chuño, habas, sweet potato, mashua, oca, ulluco, cassava, yacon, plantain, humitas, ears of corn, and chilli, are often included in the baking.
Carl Troll, was a German geographer, brother of botanist Wilhelm Troll. From 1919 until 1922 Troll studied biology, chemistry, geology, geography and physics at the Universität in München. In 1921 he obtained his doctorate in botany and in 1925 his habilitation in geography. Between 1922 and 1927 he worked as an assistant at the Geography Institute in Munich. Troll was engaged in research in the ecology and geography of mountainous lands: between 1926 and 1929 went on a research journey throughout South American Andean countries where he visited northern Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. In 1933 and 1934 his research interests took him to East and South Africa; in 1937 Troll was in Ethiopia; and in 1954 he visited Mexico.
Quechua people, Quichua people or kichwa people may refer to any of the indigenous peoples of South America who speak the Quechua languages, which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru. Although most Quechua speakers are native to Peru, there are some significant populations in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina.
Peruvian cuisine reflects local practices and ingredients including influences mainly from the indigenous population, including the Inca, and cuisines brought by immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Africa. Without the familiar ingredients from their home countries, immigrants modified their traditional cuisines by using ingredients available in Peru.
Instant mashed potatoes are potatoes that have been through an industrial process of cooking, mashing and dehydrating to yield a packaged convenience food that can be reconstituted by adding hot water and/or milk, producing an approximation of mashed potatoes. They are available in many different flavors.
Chuno may refer to the following:
Chairo is a traditional dish of the Aymara people, consumed mainly in Bolivia and other countries in the Andes.
Inca cuisine originated in pre-Columbian times within the Inca civilization from the 13th to the 16th century. The Inca civilization stretched across many regions on the western coast of South America, and so there was a great diversity of unique plants and animals used for food. The most important plant staples involved various tubers, roots, and grains; and the most common sources of meat were guinea pigs, llamas, fish, and other aquatic and terrestrial organisms (305-307). Cuisine was heavily influenced by the Inca's food storage system, social gatherings and celebrations, and social status (308-315).
Inca agriculture was the culmination of thousands of years of farming and herding in the high-elevation Andes mountains of South America, the coastal deserts, and the rainforests of the Amazon basin. These three radically different environments were all part of the Inca Empire and required different technologies for agriculture. Inca agriculture was also characterized by the variety of crops grown, the lack of a market system and money, and the unique mechanisms by which the Incas organized their society. Andean civilization was "pristine"—one of six civilizations worldwide which were indigenous and not derivative from other civilizations. Most Andean crops and domestic animals were likewise pristine—not known to other civilizations. Potatoes and quinoa were among the many unique crops; Camelids and guinea pigs were the unique domesticated animals.
A qullqa (Quechua pronunciation:[ˈqʊʎˌqa] "deposit, storehouse"; was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. These were large stone buildings with roofs thatched with "ichu" grass, or what is known as Peruvian feathergrass. To a "prodigious [extent] unprecedented in the annals of world prehistory" the Incas stored food and other commodities which could be distributed to their armies, officials, conscripted laborers, and, in times of need, to the populace. The uncertainty of agriculture at the high altitudes which comprised most of the Inca Empire was among the factors which probably stimulated the construction of large numbers of qullqas.
Arequipan cuisine is the cuisine of Arequipa, a regional Peruvian cuisine. Arequipan cuisine is known for its picanterías, traditional local restaurants offering chicha de jora accompanied by four small plates of spicy rocoto seasoned regional delicacies along with singing or music.
Fricasé is a traditional soup in Bolivian cuisine prepared with pork, pork ribs or chicken, hominy, chuño or potatoes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and spices. It is sometimes consumed as a hangover food, as having a theoretical potential for easing or alleviating symptoms associated with the hangover.
Ocra is a Quechuan Campesino community within the Chinchaypujio District in Peru and about 1.5 hours outside of Cusco; its central village is located at 3,670 m (12,040 ft) altitude.