The Inca were freeze drying potatoes into chuño since the 13th century. The process involved multiple cycles of exposing potatoes to below freezing temperatures on mountain peaks in the Andes during the evening, and squeezing water out and drying them in the sunlight during the day. The Inca people also used the unique climate of the Altiplano to freeze dry meat.

The Japanese koya-dofu, freeze-dried