The 'Hummus Wars' rage on. And for now, Lebanon has the upper hand.
On Saturday Lebanon set a new world record for, what else, the largest plate of hummus as part of its ongoing battle with Israel for supremacy when it comes to the popular chickpea dish. Around 300 chefs were involved in creating the 23,042 pounds of hummus, more than doubling the previous record set by Israel in January in the Arab-Israeli village of Abu Gosh. A Guinness World records representative was on hand to verify the claim.
Yet, in spite of their shared appreciation, the origin of the dish is a source of heated debate with the Lebanese claiming ownership and Israelis denying that they have exclusive rights to the name.
Lebanon has been seeking approval from the European Union to register hummus as a national dish.
Not content to just lay claim to the Hummus title, Lebanon followed up on Sunday by setting the Guinness World Record for biggest falafel dish. This time out they cooked up 11,381 pounds of the dish. Stay tuned for Israel's next move.
Here are pictures from this week's endeavors, as well as previous attempts at world records in hummus, falafel and even tabbouleh!
Video from the AP of the cooks at work: