Salt & Straw is one of those Portland hotspots that almost always has a line stretching out the door. Many are ice cream-loving locals while others are tourists responding to national and international press citing Salt & Straw as a must-taste stop in Portland. In summer, the line to eat Salt & Straw’s innovative ice cream may reach down the block. Even on a rainy night in January, that line can be formidable.
And now, there are more vegans in that line. For the second January running, Salt & Straw has started the New Year with special plant-based ice creams they call the Vegandulgence Series. This year’s line-up includes such unusual flavors as the sweet and salty Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Split (bananas, marionberry jam, peanut butter and coconut bacon candy), and a candied apricot fro-yo with lime and green cardamom.
The famous Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Split vegan ice cream
But vegans won’t have to don their alternative down jackets and rush out before January ends. Salt & Straw has announced a new plan to bring their standard offerings up to 20 percent vegan flavors by the end of 2019. Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw co-founder and head ice cream maker, took time out of his sweet and chilly day to answer my questions about this exciting new initiative.
Salt & Straw co-founder and head ice cream maker Tyler Malek. Photo by Leela Cyd Ross, courtesy of Salt & Straw
Teresa: Why has Salt & Straw decided to take on this 20 percent plant-based for 2019 initiative?
Tyler: This initiative means everything to us at Salt & Straw. Rewriting our menu in such a significant way means we can offer the same innovative, indulgent, and thoughtfully delicious ice creams to more people in this world. I’ve been brought to tears this month talking with customers who have never been able to visit Salt & Straw until now. Kim and I started Salt & Straw with the hopes of being The Happiest Part of People’s day, and this new menu amplifies that power tenfold.
Teresa: What are the challenges in making good vegan ice cream? How is the process different than standard dairy-based ice cream?
Tyler: These vegan recipes have been five years in the making, and, to be honest, they’re technically some of the most difficult flavors we’ve ever created. It was important to create these flavors with the same unctuousness texture and intriguing mix-ins that make our dairy-full flavors so great. For example, when you scoop through these ice creams, we hand-layer in things like almond butter ganache, or burnt peanut and “coconut bacon” brittle, or cheesecake featuring a local cashew cheesemaker. Every spoonful has a story to tell, and that means these flavors are just as taste-provoking as any of our other flavors.
Teresa: What ingredients are you most excited about in your line of vegan ice creams?
Tyler: One of the coolest developments we worked on for this menu was an aquafaba marshmallow; it’s a marshmallow made 100% vegan by replacing the egg whites with the liquid leftover from cooking chickpeas—crazy, right? Our team spent months devising different ways to cook the “bean stock” with sugar and mimic the same marshmallow texture that we use in other flavors. From there, we ground up and baked the leftover chickpeas into oatmeal moon pies that are folded into a chocolate coconut ice cream. Technically, it’s a mind-blowing feat to pull this recipe off, and I get excited every time I eat a scoop.
Aquafaba marshmallows! Photo courtesy of Salt & Straw
Teresa: I believe this is the second year Salt & Straw has featured vegan ice cream in January. Do you see a big uptick of vegans this month?
Tyler: We have seen a big uptick in our vegan ice cream sales this year, and I think it’s for a couple of reasons. First, we’ve gotten significantly better during the last year in making these recipes, and I think the quality of these flavors is some of the best ice cream (vegan or not) in the country right now. Second, our team and customers have learned a ton over the last year about what it means to decrease the amount of dairy in their lives, and this menu allows them to keep the indulgence and festivity of ice cream while also balancing out their diet a bit.
This January’s vegan superstars. Photo courtesy of Salt & Straw
Teresa: How do you get the word out to vegans about Salt & Straw’s plant-based ice creams?
Tyler: When we make ice cream flavors, we get to partner with local experts to help us craft our menu. In this case, working with people like Heidi Ho vegan cheeses meant we could tap into their expertise in making non-dairy treats, while also grounding our flavors with a bit of local authenticity. I think by using our ice cream to showcase amazing artisans like that we get a multiplying effect in both the final product and the reach.
Salt & Straw has shops in Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Anaheim and San Diego. Or arrange home delivery through the online shop.
Teresa Bergen owns the Veg Travel & Fitness site. Vegetarian since childhood, she’s an expert in traveling while vegetarian or vegan. Teresa’s the author of Vegetarian Asia Travel Guide, is the vegetarian editor for Real Food Traveler, and regularly contributes to Chic Vegan.
