Farmer, Chahi Ariel grew a giant strawberry on his farm in central Israel last year. The fruit has been kept on ice until Guinness World Records finally declared it to be the largest ever, beating the previous record set in Japan.
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The mammoth strawberry weighs 289g and has been declared the world’s largest after Chahi Ariel spent a year nurturing it.
The huge fruit was picked on Mr Ariel’s family farm near Netanya in central Israel in February 2021 and has been kept on ice ever since!
“We waited for a year for the results. We kept it in the freezer for a year. It’s no longer as pretty as it was,” Mr Ariel said.
The strawberry is a local variety named Ilan. This particular variety does tend to grow to a very large size but this world-recording breaking specimen has now shrunk to half its original size since being on ice for a year.
The previous record was a strawberry grown in Fukuoka, Japan in 2015, which tipped the scales at a whopping 250g!
Mr Ariel said he jumped up and down, laughing and singing when he got the record-breaking news.
“We are very happy to be in the Guinness World Records,” he said.
