The dazzling variety of potatoes at a market in Lima, capital of Peru, offered visitors a sensory feast, as the country celebrated the International Day of Potato on Friday.
In the market, stalls were covered with a vibrant array of potatoes, each labeled neatly with its name and the place of origin. Beyond their diverse shapes and colors, every potato boasts distinct flavors and unique nutritional benefits.
Also available at the stalls was a type of dehydrated potato reputed to be capable of staying preserved for up to ten years without spoiling.
The special preservation technique dates back to the ancient civilization of the Andes, when locals first created a unique freeze-drying process to make these potatoes.
"First, we take the potatoes outdoors and put them in cold for about three days. Then we take them to the river, where they soak in the water for about three to four weeks. After that, we take them out and freeze them again. After that, we peel them. After five days of sun-drying, we get this result, the white dehydrated potatoes," said John Macola Murillo, a stall keeper selling dehydrated potatoes.
For Peruvian people, potatoes are more than just a food ever-present on their dining tables. They can be processed into many delicacies including crispy potato chips, potato liquor, potato bread, and even potato ice cream.
As the United Nations General Assembly has designated May 30 as the International Day of Potato, Peru, renowned as the birthplace of potatoes, celebrates this occasion with nationwide festivities on the day each year.
With origins in the Andes Mountains dating back around 8,000 years, potatoes hold both cultural and economic significance in Peru, a country that boasts the world's greatest diversity of potatoes, with over 4,000 varieties.
Each year, the country produces around five million metric tons and cultivates about 330,000 hectares of potatoes, according to Peru's Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation.
In recent years, the country has made remarkable strides in exporting processed potato products, with its frozen potatoes, potato chips, and seeds of indigenous species increasingly making their way to international markets.
International potato day celebrated in Peru with festivities, trade
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that a deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is mostly complete as talks over a lasting peace deal will "probably" be held this weekend in Pakistan.
Trump said in a phone interview with Bloomberg that Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the United States.
"Most of the main points are finalized. It'll go pretty quickly," Trump said.
Asked if he would travel to Pakistan to sign the potential deal, Trump said: "I may." He added that he hasn't decided who would lead a U.S. delegation for talks with Iranian officials to sign an agreement.
Trump again denied that the moratorium on Iran's nuclear program would expire after 20 years. "No years, unlimited," Trump said.
The United States will get all of Iran's nuclear "dust" with no money having exchanged hands "in any way, shape, or form," Trump wrote on social media earlier on Friday. Multiple Western media outlets have interpreted Trump's reference to nuclear "dust" as meaning Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium.
"The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100 percent complete," Trump wrote in another post.
Iran has yet to comment on any deal beyond the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, nor on claims made by Trump that Tehran had offered concessions, including over the key issue of its nuclear program.
If the United States continues its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will consider it a violation of the ceasefire between the two countries and will close the waterway, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Friday, citing an informed source close to the Supreme National Security Council.
American news outlet Axios, citing two U.S. officials and two sources familiar with the negotiations, reported on Friday that the United States and Iran are communicating over a plan aimed at ending the war, and that one key topic under discussion involves the U.S. unfreezing 20 billion U.S. dollars in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for Iran giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium.
The Iranian side has yet to respond to Axios' report on the enriched uranium issue.
Trump claims peace deal with Iran mostly complete: report
