A Ukrainian man has died right after winning a dumpling eating contest.
The winner/victim was 77 years old, and collapsed within minutes of taking first prize in a contest on consuming 10 Varenniki dumplings, considered one of Ukraine's most traditional foods.
Ukrainian Varenniki typically are stuffed with cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms or cherries.
Contest organizers were unable to revive him after he lost consciousness.
Organizers denied accusations that the contest killed the man, saying Mendel had eaten just 10 dumplings in all. He ate them, reportedly, in half a minute.
"A 77-year-old man ate much faster than his opponent," Viktor Khalamovsky, one of the contest organizers said.
"He won a prize for that – a jar of sour cream. What happened to him after his victory, the organizers don't know."
An autopsy has been planned to really determine the cause of his death.
Some of you may be wondering how to make a jar of sour cream, well, here you go:
Heat 1 cup of cream to 180 degrees in a double boiler.
If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the cream until it’s almost, but not quite, boiling.
Remove the cream from heat and let it cool down to 80-90 degrees. This will take about 2 hours sitting on the counter, but it will go faster if you put it in the refrigerator or an ice bath. Again, if you don’t have a thermometer, judge by touch – the cream should be body temperature, not hot or cold.
Pour the cream into a glass container and either whisk in 1 tablespoon of buttermilk or add the buttermilk and give the jar a good shake.
Leave the jar (covered) on your counter for 24-48 hours.
We offer our congratulations and condolences to the winner.
