Largest hummus dish - Israeli chefs sets world
record
ABU GOSH, Israel -- Fifty chefs in the Arab-Israeli
village of Abu Ghosh mashed up 8992.5 pounds (4,087.5 kilos)
of hummus -setting the new world record for the Largest
hummus dish. Photo: 50 chefs mashed up over four tonnes
of hummus-setting the new world record for the Largest
hummus dish. / David Vaaknin/AP Photo
(enlarge
photo)
The recipe included 2 1/2 tons of chickpeas,
1 1/2 tons of sesame paste and hundreds of fresh-squeezed
lemons, as well as crushed garlic and olive oil. The finished
product was displayed on a huge dish: a satellite dish nearly
20 feet in diameter. That is about twice as much as the previous
world record set in October in neighbouring Lebanon, Israel's
political and culinary rival.
A simple but tasty dish of chickpeas, sesame
paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, hummus stirs passions
and rivalries across much of the Middle East.
Hummus, sometimes described as one of the oldest
known prepared foods, is enjoyed in much of the Middle East
and has probably been around for centuries.
Most hummus pundits agree its historical origins
are lost in the sands of time, with various theories mentioning
several areas of the Middle East, Rome, Greece and the Crusaders.
For Jawadat Ibrahim, who organised the event,
the roots of the popular dish are irrelevant.
"It's something we all share and enjoy," said
Ibrahim, who owns the Abu Ghosh Restaurant in the heart
of the Arab-Israeli village of the same name which every weekends
attracts hordes of hungry visitors, many in search of the
perfect hummus.
About 50 chefs worked side by side to prepare
the massive plate of hummus set up on a specially erected
platform outside the restaurant located just a short drive
from Jerusalem.
The previous Guinness world record for the largest
hummus dish was set by a 4,532 pounds (2,056 kilograms)
hummus plate made by Lebanese Chefs. The word from Lebanon is that they're
already preparing to beat this record. And the word in Abu
Gosh is that they're preparing to beat that record.
Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud
told The Associated Press that his country plans to beat the
new record in the spring with an even bigger plate of humous,
to be prepared on the border with Israel. "This way they can
learn how to do humous," he said. Related world records:
Food
world records
