78-meter-long künefe dessert eaten in 20 minutes in Turkey’s Hatay

HATAY – Doğan News Agency

AA photo

A 78-meter-long künefe dessert was prepared on July 23 for an event held to commemorate the 78th year the southern border province of Hatay, the dessert’s homeland, joined Turkey. 

Some 1.5 tons of the heavy dessert was eaten in 20 minutes by participants.  

The Hatay Municipality initiated the event and placed the long dessert on the district of Antakya’s Atatürk Street, with Hatay Governor Erdal Ata and Hatay Mayor Lütfü Savaş pouring syrup on the dessert before serving the guests.  

Participants finished the 78-meter-long dessert in 20 minutes. 

Some participants, mostly children, nearly got crushed in a minor stampede. 

At least 600 kilograms of shredded wheat, 450 kilograms of sugar, 300 kilograms of cheese and 200 kilograms of butter were used in the preparation of the dessert.

Künefe is a Middle Eastern cheese pastry soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup. It is a specialty of the Levant and Turkey.

The pastry is heated in butter or margarine and then spread with soft white cheese and topped with more pastry. A thick syrup of sugar, water, and a few drops of rose water are poured on the pastry during the final minutes of cooking.