Measured at 612 metres and 70 centimetres, the record surpasses the one previously broken in Hungary, which had tallied 255 metres.
ADVERTISEMENTNea Vyssa-resident and “garlic knitter” Dimitra Athanasova Tzoridou just broke the world record with the longest garlic braid, totalling 612 metres and 70 centimetres. The record was previously held by Hungary at 255 metres.
The attempt was made at the four-day 18th International Trade Fair Alexpo 2018 in Alexandroupolis, Greece. The bi-annual affair is a means of promoting local businesses and entrepreneurs.
“Each segment of the Alexpo programme is meant to contribute in creating an Exhibition with dynamic and high impact that will provide participants and visitors with new stimuli and optimistic messages about the state of the market and the local community,” writes Christodoulos Topsidis, President of Evros Chamber, on the Alexpo site.
It took Tzoridou about 16 hours and 20,000 garlic heads — amounting to over two tons of garlic.
"It was a very difficult experience. Fortunately, we did it," she said.
The necessary paperwork has been sent to officially claim a title at the Guinness World Records.
"The administration of the Chamber decided in the framework of ‘Alexpo 2018’ to promote a product of the Prefecture of Evros and this is a product that distinguishes in our area, the garlic of N. Vissas,” Topsidis explained. The world record achievement “is recorded globally and all major markets will be able to through the internet to look for it.”
Paschalis Papadakis, Head of the Evros Agricultural Economics and Development Department, said that upon analysis, the garlic of the Nea Vyssa region has “qualitative characteristics [that] are the best [compared to five other types of garlic], while the substance allycin that aids against many diseases is much more in quantity and quality in this garlic.”