This little town easily eclipsed the previous world record by about 54 kilograms (119 pounds)!

Hokkaido is known for a lot of things, like delicious seafood and the Sapporo Snow Festival, but did you know the prefecture is also Japan’s leading producer of potatoes? In fact, one small town in south Hokkaido called Assabu is a major farming area for May Queen potatoes, and now, using those potatoes, Assabu has become famous for something else: setting the Guinness World Record for the largest croquette ever made.

▼ A video chronicling the giant croquette’s various stages of preparation.

This small town has been making giant croquettes as an annual event since 2004, but this year was the first time they tried for a world record. On July 23, they put together a huge, deep-fried potato dumpling in front of the town hall under a cloudy sky, using a specially made three-meter (10-foot) metal grate. It was made from 250 kilograms (551 pounds) worth of May Queen potatoes, ground beef, and onions, battered, and levered into about 1,100 liters (about 290 gallons) of hot, 170 degree Celsius (338 degree Fahrenheit) oil by a crane.

The resulting croquette had a nice golden exterior and a slightly sweet flavor from the May Queen potatoes, which also gave the interior filling a nice smoothness. In addition to winning a Guinness Record, it was also a hit with the locals.

▼ One netizen attended the event and got to try a piece of the croquette, after enjoying a show featuring Avataro Sentai Donbrothers.

Once it was finished, the croquette weighed 279 kilograms (615 pounds) and was big enough to feed 1,500 people. By comparison, the previous record was set in the Netherlands at 225.8 kilograms (497.8 pounds), so Assabu’s croquette beat the record by nearly 54 kilograms.

Japan has also set the record for the world’s largest karinto sweet, so they’re no stranger to creating giant food. I wonder what they’ll try to take on next?

Source: livedoor news via My Game News Flash, Sankei News
Top image: Pakutaso
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