Uru woman on Lake Titicaca floating island with freeze dried "jerky"
This Uru woman on one of the floating islands on Lake Titicaca is holding up in her right hand a whole freeze dried fish and some other type of meat in her left hand. To her right on the totora reeds is a freshly dressed lake bird which looks like a heron family member. They raise some of these type birds on their islands and also hunt for others among the wild reed beds.
The Quechua people probably invented freeze-drying food in the high Andes, with freeze-dried potatoes being a staple of their diet. Since the temperatures routinely get to freezing at night, the farmers who raise potatoes (some say there are over 400 varieties), leave them out to freeze at night. The next morning, they walk on the potatoes to squeeze out any moisture, then let them freeze again over night. We heard they repeat this process for about two weeks untl the potatoes are completely dried. This allows them to keep the potatoes almost indefinitely. Then when they want to eat them, they soak them in water, reconstitute them, and then cook them. Many of the people who are raised on them, love them. Many who taste them for the first time do not like them. I personally did not like the taste. But one of my friends said when his sister was working in Peru, she baked some potatoes and the Peruvian people hated the taste of her baked potatoes. So apparently a lot depends on what you grow up eating.
The Quechua also freeze-dried meat in the high cold nights and called it "charqui." That's where our word "jerky" comes from as the idea was spread by the Spanish according to what we were told. While some linguists dispute this because dried meat has been used in many other parts of the world, it is possible that the name "jerky" was spread by the Spanish and became the common name for something that had been called many names in other areas.
In the foreground are fresh totora reeds which they chop into shorter lengths and then peel to eat the starchy interior. There is a pile of the ready-to-eat reed cores to the right of her basket.
Uru woman on Lake Titicaca floating island with freeze dried "jerky"
This Uru woman on one of the floating islands on Lake Titicaca is holding up in her right hand a whole freeze dried fish and some other type of meat in her left hand. To her right on the totora reeds is a freshly dressed lake bird which looks like a heron family member. They raise some of these type birds on their islands and also hunt for others among the wild reed beds.
The Quechua people probably invented freeze-drying food in the high Andes, with freeze-dried potatoes being a staple of their diet. Since the temperatures routinely get to freezing at night, the farmers who raise potatoes (some say there are over 400 varieties), leave them out to freeze at night. The next morning, they walk on the potatoes to squeeze out any moisture, then let them freeze again over night. We heard they repeat this process for about two weeks untl the potatoes are completely dried. This allows them to keep the potatoes almost indefinitely. Then when they want to eat them, they soak them in water, reconstitute them, and then cook them. Many of the people who are raised on them, love them. Many who taste them for the first time do not like them. I personally did not like the taste. But one of my friends said when his sister was working in Peru, she baked some potatoes and the Peruvian people hated the taste of her baked potatoes. So apparently a lot depends on what you grow up eating.
The Quechua also freeze-dried meat in the high cold nights and called it "charqui." That's where our word "jerky" comes from as the idea was spread by the Spanish according to what we were told. While some linguists dispute this because dried meat has been used in many other parts of the world, it is possible that the name "jerky" was spread by the Spanish and became the common name for something that had been called many names in other areas.
In the foreground are fresh totora reeds which they chop into shorter lengths and then peel to eat the starchy interior. There is a pile of the ready-to-eat reed cores to the right of her basket.