World's heaviest strawberry 'an absolute monster'. See pics

Israeli farmer Tzachi Ariel holds a strawberry weighing a whopping 289 grams.

A strawberry weighing 289 grams, found in an Israeli farmer’s field, set a new Guinness World Records for the heaviest strawberry.

Tzachi Ariel found the strawberry in his family’s agricultural field in Kadima village in central Israel in February 2021. The fruit was weighed on February 12, 2021. Ariel then froze his berry last year as he waited for a confirmation of the record.

“We waited for the results for a year. Two weeks ago, we received an official announcement. We are very happy to be part of the Guinness Book of Records,” he said.

Israeli farmer Tzachi Ariel displays a 289 grams strawberry.

“We kept it in the freezer for a year. It’s no longer as pretty as it was.”

Ariel’s wait turned out to be fruitful as after a year, the Guinness World Records declared his strawberry as the world’s heaviest.

A year on, the fruit had turned a few shades darker and developed white patches.

Workers pick strawberries in a field where one fruit weighting 289 grams was found.

Cold weather in early 2021 slowed the ripening process and allowed the strawberry to continue gaining weight.

The supersized strawberry is a local variety called Ilan that tends to grow to a hefty size. Ariel said the record-setting specimen has shrunk to about half the size it was a year before.

The previous record-holder for the heaviest strawberry was a Japanese fruit grown in 2015 in Fukuoka, that weighed 250 grams.

he strawberry was picked on Chahi Ariel’s family farm near the city of Netanya in central Israel in February 2021.

Ariel said he jumped up and down in his car, laughing and singing when he got the news. We are very happy to be in the Guinness World Records," he said.

(With inputs from AFP and AP)