*This mass participation record attempt took place prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Corporate social responsibility company Impacta S.A has made history in South America after breaking the Guinness World Records title for the largest fried plantain.
Also referred to as a “tostone”, this record-breaking plantain was made with help and cooperation of the Ipetí Emberá indigenous people in the local area, bringing the community together.
For those who might not be aware, a fried plantain is made by slicing the plantain fruit native to the region, smashing it, and frying it twice. It is often accompanied with many Latin American dishes.
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After working together to make the world’s largest, the final weight totaled to 111.4 kilograms and measured 3.5 meters in diameter.
So how many ingredients were needed to produce such a massive tostone? As it turns out, an astounding 1,200 green bananas and 1,250 liters of oil were needed to make the final product.
In order to achieve this, the preparation of the fried plantain began early in the morning and didn’t conclude until the afternoon.
This event involved 134 people from the Ipetí Emberá indigenous community, 15 people from the Impacta S.A work team and 60 volunteers that actively participated in the organization and production of this record attempt.
The community of Ipetí Emberá received training in cooking, tourism, recycling, crafts, security and fire prevention, as well as disposal of garbage.
Upon having the record confirmed, the tribe who was heavily involved in the creation of the plantain celebrated with great joy, traditional indigenous music and dances – as this event was dedicated to highlighting the importance of the cultural richness in Panama.
Per Guinness World Records guidelines with all large food records, the fried plantain was distributed free of charge accompanied by a banana-based sauce, inspired by ingredients from the indigenous community and created especially by Chef Alonso García for this memorable event.
The project manager and director of Impacta, Sabrina Naimark, declared:
“With this initiative, we celebrated World Food Day and managed to give distinction to one of the traditional dishes of Panamanian cuisine. Also, the indigenous community was able to promote their original practices and traditions and the country benefited from tourism because of its cultural wealth. It was possible to unite the country for a common cause and produced the opportunity for our entire country to feel the human value. Actions change everything and in this case we demonstrated not only in Panama but the world.”
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