Giant Strawberry Becomes A Guinness World Record Holder
One enormous strawberry just beat the odds and became a Guinness World Record holder.
This article is more than 2 years old
When you think of large fruits, coconuts, pineapple, and even jackfruit, usually take the cake. But this year, a humungous strawberry startled farmers and consumers around the world. An Israeli farmer broke records with the heaviest and largest strawberry ever produced.
The strawberry in question was found by Chahi Ariel, an Israeli man who grows produce on his family’s farm. The record-breaking strawberry he grew weighs 289 grams and is about the width of Ariel’s whole hand. Its length is about seven inches, with a circumference of 13 inches. These measurements were recently recorded by Guinness, making this strawberry an official record-destroying fruit.
Ariel knew he was onto a winner early in the strawberry’s ripening period. Though the berry was produced last year, he had kept it in a freezer until Guinness members could check it out themselves. After confirmation that the berry had exceeded previous records, Ariel said he jumped for joy and sang in excitement, stating he had waited a long time for this enormous fruit.
Abnormal conditions for Israeli farmers might be the reason why an unexpectedly large strawberry came to fruition. Last year, cold weather patterns in January slowed down the ripening process for crops around the nation. Instead of halting the growth of vegetation completely, Ariel’s produce continued to ripen slowly, noticing the fruit’s incremental expansion.
A Japanese strawberry from 2015 is the only rival for Ariel’s astounding strawberry. A farmer in Japan grew his fruit to 250 grams, the heaviest in the world at the time. The berry was of the Amaou variant, a particular subspecies of strawberry only grown in Fukuoka. Ariel exceeds this farmer’s berry by 39 grams, beating the previous record by a long shot.
Ariel’s strawberry is an endemic variety to Isreal, developed by a researcher many years ago. The berry was bred to be a larger fruit than its predecessor. Known as the Ilan variety, strawberries of this kind average five times smaller than Ariel’s record-breaking berry. Though this group of strawberries is generally larger than average, it may be a long time before Ariel’s gigantic fruit is surpassed.
Israel is known for growing many different strawberry varieties since the nation’s climate is perfect for berry cultivation. There are 12 varieties grown in the country that all contain unique levels of sweetness and juiciness. Israel is also known for having innovative berry scientists who concoct all kinds of new strawberry hybrids. The B4U or Berry For You, one specificallylly developed in Israel, looks precisely like a strawberry but has a taste profile similar to a grape. Though the B4U isn’t on the market yet, other genetically produced varieties are ubiquitous in the Israeli markets today.
This year has had many surprises to offer, but a larger-than-life fruit is definitely a curveball for many’s 2022 predictions. Hopefully, this newfound attention for Chahi Ariel’s family farm will bring profitable outcomes as they continue to grow the Ilan variety. Though the future is unknown, Ariel’s unbelievable strawberry will remain in the Guinness World Records for many years to come.
