The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – Venezuela just attained a striking new Guinness record: world’s largest hallaca, which is 120 meters long.
Amid some 300 people, including cooks and spectators, the record was registered in the Caracas area of Los Heroes.
“For preparation of the giant hallaca, we had the participation of mothers in the neighborhood,” Sandra Alvarenga told The Associated Press, who is studying to be an international chef.
Minister of Food, Yban Bello, said the Guinness organization verified that the hallaca prepared at the event was the largest in the world.
Hallaca is kind of tamale prepared with a pork, beef and chopped chicken stew base. The stew is placed in a small, thin surface cornmeal dough and decorated with prunes, green olives, capers and a thin strip of paprika, among other ingredients, which vary by region.
It is then wrapped and tied in banana leaves like a little green box, boiled and smoked for about 40 minutes. Once ready, you simply cut the string, open the leaves, and enjoy.
“The hallaca unifies one dish for the whole country. It means family togetherness, a time to share with loved ones, and the elaborate preparation and the complexity of its composition differs greatly from the tamale,” Chef Federico Tischler from the Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas told The Associated Press. (AP)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica