Meet The Giant Tamal from Guatemala

Did you know that in Guatemala alone, there must be over 100 different kinds of tamales if not more? Tamales are an ancient American food, made throughout the continent for over 5000 years. How about that for trivia, thanks to Wikipedia. There are so many kinds of tamales that if one was to try a different kind per day, it would take you over twenty years to try all the different kinds. That is right, I said twenty years.

Often I come across photos of things or places which are remarkable because of the sizes, but the photos do not make it obvious. So, it is important to include a reference element for comparison whenever the size of something needs to be highlighted. That’s why I included the apples and fork next to the “tamal de oriente” (Easter Guatemala) so we can determined how much bigger the tamal is. The huge tamal de oriente is not only bigger, but it also included lots of meat and the seasoning is different as well.

The gigantic tamal from oriente (Eastern Guatemala) is the equivalent of 4 to 6 typical tamales or about a dozen Mexican typical tamales. The plate that holds this tamal is 11 inches or 28 cms in diameter. The dough has been cooked only once as opposed to the typical Guatemalan tamales which are cooked twice. There is also over a pound of pork meat inside (tongue, ear, head, ribs, et cetera).

Could you eat one these enourmous tamales all by yourself?

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