Chahi Ariel grew the world’s heaviest strawberry that weighed in at 289 grams (10.2 ounces). The strawberry was listed as such in the Guinness Book of World Records, which recorded its size as  18 cm (7 inches) long and 34 cm (13.4 inches) in circumference.

The berry, a fine example of the Ilan breed developed at the Volcani Institute, was actually grown last year on his family’s farm “Strawberries in the Field” in Kadmia-Zoran in central Israel and kept in a freezer so the Guinness officials could confirm the record-breaking status of the strawberry.  

“When we heard, it was an amazing feeling. I jumped in the car, laughed and sang,” said Ariel. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

Unusually cold weather in early 2021 slowed the strawberry’s ripening process, allowing it to continue gaining weight, according to the record book’s website.

“The strawberry developed slowly for more than 45 days from flowering which caused its large size at full ripening stage,” explained Dr. Nir Dai,  a researcher at the Volcani Institute. 

The previous record was held by a Japanese farmer who discovered a 250-gram strawberry in his harvest in 2015.

The record-breaking strawberry is not an anomaly for Israel where agriculture is a highly developed industry. Israel is a major exporter of fresh produce and a world leader in agricultural technologies despite the fact that the geography of the country is not naturally conducive to agriculture. More than half of the land area is desert and only 20% of the land area is naturally arable.

An even more apropos precedent for oversized produce was described in the Bible. When the spies returned from Israel with a report on the land, they brought with them a cluster of grapes so large that it required a pair of men to carry.