Blessed are the cheesemakers, for they shall … make a cheese ball weighing 1,611 kilos.

Cheese producers in the small town of Pijijiapan, Chiapas, have re-entered the Guinness Book of World Records after stringing together the largest ball of quesillo in history, earning the acknowledgement on Aug. 29 at the city’s Campo Nuevo Milenio field. 

Alfredo Arista, official adjudicator of Guinness World Records, verified compliance with the requirements necessary to recognize the new world record and presented an award to Mayor Carlos Alberto Albores.

Mayor Albores said that the eight cheese-producing companies participating conducted three test runs before undertaking the record-setting effort. He said an estimated 15,500 liters of fresh milk were required to produce the giant ball of cheese.

Once the master cheesemaker and cheese producers finished preparing the string cheese, the difficult task of forming the ball got under way. To do it, a special rotating structure with metal platforms was built, allowing the ball to be rotated and manipulated while its dimensions and weight increased.

The strings were progressively wound over almost four hours, until a single piece weighing more than 1.7 tonnes was realized.

The Tourism Ministry lauded the achievement, saying in a social media post that the record was established thanks to “the tradition, talent and hands of Chiapas’ cheese-producing families who are keeping alive one of the special characteristics that distinguishes the region.”

“Behind this large ball of string cheese lies a lot of work, tradition and pride,” said Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez. “This is a great opportunity for more people to get to know Pijijiapan, its flavors, its communities and everything this destination has to offer.”

The Pacific Coast town of Pijijiapan — with a population of just over 18,000 souls and the county seat of the municipality of the same name — is well known for its exceptional dairy products, especially its fresh cheeses, particularly a renowned doble crema.

One goal of last week’s event was to reclaim the Guinness Record it had lost to cheesemakers in Reyes Etla, just 20 kilometers north of Oaxaca city, when cheesemakers there constructed a ball weighing 636.2 kilos in 2024. 

Pijijiapan had established the initial record in 2023 (making a cheese ball weighing 558 kilos), and organizers said they planned to climb back atop the cheesemaking mountain by assembling a cheese ball weighing more than 1,500 kilos. 

At the same time, municipal officials sought to protect the identity, origin and tradition linked to the production of Pijijiapan cheese by obtaining an official Declaration of Protection of the Geographical Indication “Quesillo de Pijijiapan, Chiapas.” 

In support of this goal, the state Economy Ministry filed an application with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) requesting the formal designation.

With reports from La Jornada, El Financiero and UnoTV