Thanksgiving records split image

Thanksgiving dates all the way back to the year 1621, meaning that 2021 marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving! 🎉

To celebrate this year’s extra special occasion, feast your eyes on these mouth-watering Thanksgiving food records

fastest time to carve a turkey

Fastest time to carve a turkey

Vegans and vegetarians keep scrolling! 😱

The fastest time to carve a turkey is 3 min 19.47 sec, achieved by Paul Kelly (UK) on 3 June 2009. 🦃

Paul went head-to-head against a local butcher in a battle to break this record.

Heaviest turkey

Weighing 39.09 kg (86 lb), the titanic turkey that holds this record was named Tyson. He won the last annual `heaviest turkey' competition, held in London on 12 December 1989. Tyson was sold at a charity auction for a record £4400 (then $6,692).

Did you know?
Turkey probably wasn’t on the menu at the first Thanksgiving in 1621.  The Wampanoag people brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided “wild fowl” (historians think this was probably ducks or geese). 🦆

Andre Ortolf eating cranberry sauce

Fastest time to eat 500 g of cranberry sauce

The only thing André Ortolf likes more than eating fast food is eating food fast. 😋

He gulped down 500 g (17.6 oz) of cranberry sauce in a mere 42.94 seconds!

André has held this record since 2016 - his previous time was 1 min 0.27 seconds.

Andre Ortolf most mashed potato eaten

Most mashed potato eaten

André also holds two spud speed eating records:

  • Most mashed potato eaten in 30 seconds: 598 g (21.09 oz)
  • Most mashed potato eaten in one minute: 1120 grams (39.5 oz)

Even though André is a beloved member of the Guinness World Records family, he is not invited to our Thanksgiving dinners. Leave some food for the rest of us! 😂

largest serving of mashed potato

Largest serving of mashed potato

This record was (s)mashed by Jason Lin, Colin Stockdale, Tyler Hubeny and Evan Armstrong (all USA) in New York, USA on 20 June 2015. 

They cooked up the world’s largest serving of mashed potatoes, weighing 1,198 kg (2,641 lbs) - the same weight as around 8,000 potatoes. 🥔🥔🥔

All of the mashed potatoes were distributed to local soup kitchens and food pantries.

largest green bean casserole

Largest green bean casserole

It might not be your favourite part of the meal, but it’s one of the most important!

The largest serving of green bean casserole is 457.67 kg (1,009 lb), achieved by Green Giant (USA) on 20 November 2019. 😲

The giant casserole was cooked up in New York, USA. In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, it was donated to Citymeals on Wheels to feed 3,000 senior citizens in the area. 

Largest pumpkin pie

Largest pumpkin pie

The largest pumpkin pie was made by New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers (USA) at New Bremen Pumpkinfest in New Bremen, Ohio, USA. How’s that for a tongue twister😵

The pie measured 6 m (20 ft) in diameter, requiring 440 sheets of dough to make the crust. 🥧

It weighed 1,678 kg (3,699 lb). That’s about the same weight as a car! 🚙

 “Our town is extremely pleased to have this record.”

🍕 Starving for more food records? Tuck into the Famous food quiz 🍔