New Mexicans Dish Up 116-Foot Tamale

A group of people in New Mexico say they cooked the world's longest tamale yesterday morning. Luis Hernandez of the ABQ West Chamber of Commerce says that a team of more than 30 chefs at Viva II, a three-day celebration of the state's heritage, assembled a 116-foot, 7-inch long tamale at the Valencia County fairgrounds in Belen. Organizers say the ingredients, which were provided by Bueno Foods, included 120 pounds of masa and 50 pounds of green chile. "We have to follow a 29 page booklet of rules from Guinness," an organizer told KRQE ahead of time. "Come one, come all and come very hungry," added another.

A local manufacturer of home improvement material has also designed a special steamer out of aluminum to cook the tamale in. Hernandez says the team plans to submit all the required documentation to Guinness World Records to get official recognition for the achievement. According to Guinness World Records, the longest tamale assembled was in Cancun, Mexico, in 2011 and measured a little longer than 66 feet. (More Guinness World Records stories.)