The Inca empire was the first empire to use freeze drying. The Incas called the type of freeze drying Chuño. The main food they used Chuño with was potatoes but it worked with other root crops. They used the cold nights and warm days of the Andes mountains. 

Chuño was made in the Andes mountains with using the cold night and warm days to take out moisture from potatoes to preserve them. The cold night temperatures freeze the moisture in the potatoes. The warm days thaw out the frozen moisture, and during the day the Inca people would walk up to the potatoes and walk on them to take out any leftover moisture left in the potatoes. With the constant freezing and thawing of the potatoes it would preserve the potatoes, and if made properly they could last years without going bad.

The Inca people used freeze drying to preserve their potatoes and other root crops. The process also helped to lower the weight of the potatoes making it easier to store the potatoes. Also the lower weight made it easier to carry and transport. The Incas also used Chuño as a food source for their troops because of the low weight.

Some of the benefits of Chuño include how long it could last, how easy it was to transport, and it was easy to store. It can last years if made properly because of the removal of moisture from the potatoes. The way it was easier to transport was because of the removed moisture it made the potatoes lighter. Lastly it was able to be stored easier. This is because of the two previous reasons: because it could last longer is could be stored for longer and because of how light it was it made it able to be transport to storage faster and easier.