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The potato has been and continues to be a sustainable element for millions of people around the world and has been recognized this year because we are celebrating the International Year of the Potato.

Today, the potato is consumed in different forms, as much as in its original state as processed. For Andean towns, the ways in which it can be consumed is essential because of the rigorous climate changes in their region which can cause crop troubles. It was because of those very climate variations that the residents of the Andes decided to seek other agricultural ways to assure their community that they would be fine in times of climate-related difficulties.

This is where chuño blanco came from. Also known as tunta or moraya, it is one of the oldest foods in all of humanity and its consumption started in the tallest mountains in Peru. According to archaeological evidence found in diverse places in the Andes, chuño or moraya is a 10 million year-old food source.

Chuño shouldn't be confused with potato starch which has erroneously received the same name. Chuño, tunta or moraya is simply a dehydrated potato by traditional methods which take advantage of the natural elements of the region, such as the varying temperatures of the Altiplano (cold nights and warm and sunny during the day. The product comes about from a natural process that takes approximately 50 days to occur.

The Chuño process is the following: potatoes are selected and are left to air out so they can freeze throughout various nights. Then, it is deposited in a lake or a place with running water. After 30 days or more, saturated with water, the potatoes are extended over the ground and are stomped on to eliminate the liquid and rid it of the skin. Finally, they are left out again to air out for 10 to 15 days. This way, they are exposed the sun and freezing nights, which will eventually dry out the potatoes completely.

In this form, the dehydrated potato, stored in appropriate conditions and without exposing it to the humidity of the environment, can be maintained for many years without its characteristics and nutritious values won't be affected.

Different scientific tests have demonstrated the high-nutritional value of this product. For example, it is an important source of calcium and iron, superior to rice and wheat, which we consumed daily. Also, it possesses a high-caloric content.

However, its consumption in big cities is restricted because of the prejudices against the products and the scarce information that exists about its uses and benefits as a food source.

The project INCOPA (Technological Innovation and Competitiveness for the Peruvian Potato) of the International Center of the Potato (CIP), supported by the sources of the Swiss Agency for the Development and Cooperation (COSUDE), has been as of 14 years ago, coordinating actions with the purpose of revitalizing the commercial productivity of the product and bettering its image in the market place.

In conjunction with this new image promotion, with the help of cooking schools and restaurants in Lima and in the department of Puno located in in the southeast of Peru, a great culinary versatility for chuño has been discovered. Recipes has been created which use the product as a principal ingredient in the preparation of delicious dishes, which are part of a new gastronomical genre is Peruvian cuisine known as Nova Andina.

One of the most visible achievements in the revelatory process of this ancestral food product has been confirmed the 2006 "Consortium Los Aymaras", which is a participant of farming organization and small producers of the province of El Collao, Puno.

Annually, the consortium has created around 5,000 tons of tunta which has replaced more than 30,000 tons of fresh potatoes. This production is meant for regional markets and Bolivia. The consortium is recently in works to export the product to Spain. Other plans for it includes its exportation to the United States. In Lima, the product can now be found at the principal supermarket chains.

INCOPA is organizing gastronomy festivals and supporting the businesses and industries that have demonstrated interest in developing products based on tunta. With these programs, organizations like the INCOPA, will look for the best chuño available and all for its better diffusion in the public eye this year, The International Year of the Potato.