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permaculture - [permaculture] Processing Potatoes for longer term storage

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  • From: Harold Waldock <hwaldock@telus.net>
  • To: "Permaculture List" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>, Vanpermaculture <vanpermaculture@yahoogroups.com>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Processing Potatoes for longer term storage
  • Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:50:24 -0700

Ok, I left a little hint in an earlier email that claims potatoes can be
civilization makers, and kept for longer term storage (so you don't live
harvest to harvest (pay check to pay check) but have reserves for the bad
year.)

Let us celebrate Bill Mollison and quote from Page 81 of Ferment and Human
Nutrition Tagari 1993

"The dried potato is pre- Columbian in origin, and originated on the
altiplano (high plains,) of the Andes where conditions are ideal for natural
freeze-drying. On mid-winter nights frosts are severe, with minimum at -2 to
-14C (28 to -6F) and the sunny days 26-35C(78-95F) humidity is 15 to 39% at
dawn, and 12-18% at midday. Papa seca dried whole potato is made by boiling,
the skins rubbed off cut up and again boiled to a thin gruel, which is then
sun-dried to a crisp brown sheet, ground or milled into flour. It is stored
for months."

Bill mentions that Vitamin C is reduced by this processing.

Also

"Potato Cheese In Saxony, potatoes boiled and beaten with sour milk are
made into a sort of cheese, which packed in well-sealed vessels is kept many
years (from an old book the title page missing; it might be worth a try) I
imagine 6-15% salt would be essential."

Bill leaves us the detective work to get good at it by trial and error or to
hunt down recipes and instructions that work.

In modern times there are freeze-dry-vacuum machines that can reduce a runny
mash potatoes into cream white dried flakes or fine powders. This is what
was stored in such large quantities in the 1970's. I remember my mother
making mash potatoes from powders then. Potato flours or mash potato mix
vary in quality. These may be able to retain more Vit C on a single cook
cycle basis. Vacuum packs of the stuff is available in O2 barrier bags,
packed with O2 absorbers.

I will write about long term rice storage another time.



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