If you’ve ever looked at a head of garlic in the grocery store and thought, “I wish this were the size of a bowling ball,” congratulations—someone has already beaten you to it.
Competitive gardener Graham Barratt of Gloucestershire, England, has earned a Guinness World Record after growing an enormous elephant garlic bulb weighing 3 pounds, 13.7 ounces and measuring 7.5 inches in diameter. That’s roughly 35 times heavier than a typical grocery-store garlic bulb.
As if one record wasn’t enough, Barratt also set another Guinness record on the very same day with the world’s heaviest snow pea, making it an unusually successful trip to the judges’ table.
Elephant garlic, despite its name, isn’t actually true garlic. It’s more closely related to leeks and naturally grows much larger than ordinary garlic, although not usually quite this large. Barratt said he didn’t use any secret formula or magical fertilizer, simply planting the bulb in the fall and protecting it from winter frost while nature did the rest.
Guinness estimates the monster bulb could provide enough garlic flavoring for about 1,400 servings of spaghetti Bolognese, which should be enough to ensure nobody at dinner speaks to each other for at least a week.
Barratt is no stranger to record-breaking vegetables. Last year he collected multiple Guinness titles, including records for the world’s heaviest luffa and longest pea pod, suggesting his garden has become a rather intimidating place for ordinary produce.
Local vampires declined to comment on the achievement.
However, several reportedly listed Barratt’s neighborhood as a “No Fly Zone.”
