Monday, July 7, 2025

The day that Toluca built the world’s longest torta

The central Mexican city of Toluca has claimed a new culinary world record after assembling the largest chorizo torta ever made.

Constructed on Sunday during an art and gastronomy festival, the massive torta was crafted on a bread roll that stretched an impressive 82 meters (269 feet).

A torta is a Mexican sandwich made on a roll, typically a bolillo or telera, which is sliced in half and filled with a wide variety of ingredients. 

The torta in Toluca, the capital of México state, included 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of meticulously layered red and green chorizo, 20 kilos of beans, 42 kilos of avocado, 46 kilos of tomatoes, 20 kilos of chilies and 60 liters of Mexican crema.

Its construction was the result of a community effort: 10 master chefs along with city workers and dozens of volunteers.

The feat was certified by a notary public as surpassing the record 75-meter torta built at the annual Torta Festival in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City in 2023.

However, no mention was made of the 76-meter torta reportedly constructed at the same festival last year, nor did any officials say the new record had been certified by Guinness World Records.

The Toluca torta was assembled at the Eagle Fountain — commonly known as the Águila de Colón — in Toluca’s city center as part of the “Entre Pinceles, Chisels y Sabores” festival.

At 82 meters long, Toluca's torta beat the 75-meter torta of record, assembled at the annual Torta Festival in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City in 2023.
At 82 meters long, Toluca’s torta beat the 75-meter torta of record, assembled at the annual Torta Festival in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City in 2023. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

Thousands of locals and visitors gathered to witness the preparation and, once completed, to enjoy a slice of the monumental sandwich.

“If you come to Toluca and don’t eat chorizo, it’s like going to the ocean and not swimming,” said Carmen Díaz, who was part of the prep crew.

Indeed, Toluca and México state are indelibly associated with chorizo — a spiced, crumbly ground meat (usually pork) made with chilies, garlic and vinegar, and sometimes encased as a sausage. As long ago as the 16th century, Toluca was considered the chorizo capital of New Spain.

The sandwich-making highlighted a three-day festival that also featured craft beer and chorizo exhibitions, concerts and cultural activities from over 20 countries.

It was also the latest in a long line of record-breaking culinary gallantry in Mexico, from a kilometer-long serving of sashimi in Mazatlán to an 80-meter taco acorazado in Cuernavaca to a ball of Oaxaca cheese weighing 558 kilograms (1,230 lbs.) in the Chiapas municipality of Pijijiapan.

With reports from El Sol de Toluca and Quadratin Edomex

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Anti-gentrification protest Mexico City

Hundreds protest gentrification in Mexico City’s Condesa and Roma neighborhoods

4
Most of the protesters were young people, including residents and former residents of inner-city Mexico City neighborhoods that have seen rents triple since the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to spend a day in Mexico City’s Tabacalera

1
Blow off the usual tourisst hotspots and take a bite of the real Mexico City as it was meant to be experienced.

What’s on in San Miguel de Allende in July?

0
Celebrate Jesus, the blues and a postmodernist poet as San Miguel de Allende prepares for a busy month of July.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity