Thaindian News

May 11, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): Lebanon on Sunday joined the Guinness book of records. This was subsequent to the presentation by Lebanon of the world’s biggest plate of local food, falafel. On Saturday, the Lebanese had created the biggest plate of hummus.

On Saturday, more than 300 Lebanese cooks established the latest record for hummus. Hummus is fervently regarded by the Lebanese to be their national dish. This assertion is despite Israeli declarations to the contrary. The Lebanese maintained that the hummus is their national dish in the company of a Guinness World Records delegate, who confirmed that the hummus prepared on Saturday weighed 11.5 tons. That is 23,042 pounds.

The culinary battle has been played out in public for years between Israel and Lebanon with two sides outshining each other for the designation of the world’s best or world’s largest hummus dish.

Lebanon is a tiny nation, the territory of which is10, 452 sq km.

Hummus is an incredibly tasty dish constructed using chickpeas, sesame paste, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. It is a sort of delicacy that is tremendously well-liked in Lebanon and Israel.

The two countries have desired, for several years, to build the biggest plate to fight for the uniqueness of the dish.

In January, 50 chefs in Abu Gosh, an Arab rural community about 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem, developed a 4,090 kg hummus, which was approximately twice as much as the Guinness record achieved in October last year by the chefs in Lebanon.

As for Saturday’s World Record Hummus now possessed by Lebanon, Israeli chefs have articulated that they are intending a culinary counter-offensive.

Israel has articulated that the dishes such as hummus and falafel were unambiguously Middle Eastern and could not be annexed by any one nation.