10 ENORMOUS FOODS THAT HAVE SHATTERED WORLD RECORDS

10 ENORMOUS Foods That Have Shattered World Records
By Brynn Mannino and Christina Oehler, Woman's Day, 9 June 2015.

Whether to promote a business or raise funds for a good cause, Americans have become obsessed with creating big food - from meatballs and bagels to carrots and cupcakes. And who could blame them? Not only are these culinary feats fun to engineer - often requiring the special help of friends and, in many instances, an industrial-size oven - each project often has a celebratory unveiling event that garners quite a bit of media attention. Plus, who could resist the idea of being a Guinness World Record holder? Below, check out some of the larger-than-life creations that have helped spur businesses, promote movies and, most important of all, fulfil a life-size - er, lifelong - dream.

1. World's Largest Bagel

In August 2004, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Bruegger's bakery-cafes broke the Guinness World Record for its 868-pound bagel, which measured 6 feet in diameter and was 20 inches thick. Using 1,075 pounds of dough, 660 pounds of flour, 900 gallons of water, 53 pounds of malt, a nine-person baking team, a specially designed oven and a construction crane, the giant baked good was unveiled at The Great New York State Fair in Syracuse. After the judging, slices of the bagel were sold at the fair, along with T-shirts that read: "I saw history in the baking." Proceeds benefited local food banks in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester, New York.

2. World's Heaviest Carrot

Peter Glazebrook of the U.K. is the current holder of the World's Heaviest Carrot record, verified at the Harrogate Flower Shows Autumn Show on September 12, 2014. At 20 lbs, this carrot is currently the heaviest in existence according to the Guinness World Records.

3. World's Biggest Cookie

In 2003, Immaculate Baking Co. created a 40,000-pound chocolate-chip cookie measuring over 100 feet in diameter to capture the record for World's Biggest Cookie. Ingredients used were 6,000 pounds of chocolate chips, 12,200 pounds of unbleached flour, 6,525 pounds of unsalted butter, 5,000 pounds of granulated sugar, 3,370 pounds of dark brown sugar, 184 pounds of salt, 79 pounds of baking soda, 30,000 whole eggs and 10 gallons of pure vanilla. Engineered in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the cookie was baked in a structureless 7,850-foot oven - specially designed for the big cookie - in convective heat, for five to six hours. Following the event, the cookie was cut and sold, and 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Folk Artist's Foundation.

4. World's Largest Slab of Fudge

Is your mouth watering yet? The Northwest Fudge Factory, a fudge wholesale company located in Ontario, Canada, is the current record holder of the World's Largest Slab of Fudge. The photo above shows the monster dessert, which weighed 5,760 pounds and was made of vanilla, chocolate and maple flavours. The factory broke the previous record on October 23, 2010, according to the Guinness World Records.

5. World's Largest Meatball

No spaghetti needed. The Columbus Italian Club is currently the record holder of the World's Largest Meatball. On October 8, 2011, the Club prepared the giant meatball during the St. John's Italian Festival in Columbus, Ohio. The meat was handled by only seven members of the club, which included Fred Muccio, Mike DiCarlo, Jim Vergalitto, Bill Maselli, Rick Willimott, Chuck Nance and Joe Gigliotti. The final product, created in the Mr. Meatball kitchen owned by Paul Gulatta, weighed 1,110 lbs and was over 4 ft in diameter. According to Guinness World Records, the meat was constantly monitored while it was cooked to assure it was safe to eat.

6. World's Largest Bowl of Pasta

The World's Largest Bowl of Pasta was unveiled by the Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant at the chain's Anaheim, California, location, according to Guinness World Records. Weighing 13,786 lbs, the largest bowl of pasta had to be placed in a portable swimming pool, which was then covered in 10 gallons of tomato sauce.

7. World's Largest Fish and Chips Serving

On July 30, 2012, the World's Largest Fish and Chips Serving was created in London, England, according to Guinness World Records. The total weight of the serving was over 105 lbs; the battered fish weighed 42 lbs 1 oz and the chips weighed 63 lbs 3 oz. According to Guinness World Records, the sight raised hundreds of dollars which were donated to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

8. World's Largest Cupcake

The World's Largest Cupcake record now belongs to Georgetown Cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake's national headquarters in Sterling, Virginia, though the picture here is from the previous world record holder. On November 2, 2011, the bakery created a cupcake weighing 2,594 lbs, according to Guinness World Records. If Georgetown Cupcake sounds familiar, it's because it's the star of the TLC show, DC Cupcakes.

9. World's Largest Gingerbread House

Everything is certainly bigger in Texas. The World's Largest Gingerbread House was created in 2013 in Bryan, Texas. It covered 2,520 square feet, and was 21 ft in height. This 35.8 million-calorie treat has been named the biggest gingerbread house ever by the Guinness World Records.

10. World's Largest Sandwich

On St. Patrick's Day in 2005, the Guinness World Record was set for World's Largest Sandwich. Weighing in at 5,444 pounds, the sandwich - whose ingredients consisted of 4,000 pounds of bread, 1,000 pounds of corned beef and 444 pounds of mustard, lettuce and Swiss cheese - was engineered by Steve Sgroi, the owner of Dooleys (formerly Wild Woody’s Chill and Grill), an Irish pub with two locations in Eastern Michigan. Each slice of dough was rolled into an industrial-size oven on custom-made sheet pans and took eight hours to bake, while the total construction of the oversize creation required two weeks' prep time.

Top image: The world's largest sandwich. Credit: Guinness World Record.

[Source: Woman's Day. Edited. Top image and some links added.]