Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #607

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Cucumber Shortages In Iceland Blamed On TikTok Craze: 'First Time We Have Experienced Something Like This'
By Christine Rousselle Fox News
A Canadian TikTok cre- ator whose viral cucum- ber salad recipes have received millions of views and shares is being blamed for a shortage of the veg- etable in Iceland, the BBC reported.
TikTok creator Logan Moffitt, who shares videos with his 6 million followers under the username "@LogagM," started making cucum- ber salad content in July.
He told Fox News Digital he suspects his videos are popular because they're "super- simple, easy-to-follow and fast recipes," he said via email.
His
recipes mainly follow the same basic steps. Moffitt holds a cucum- ber to the camera and says, "Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber. Let me show you the best way to do it."
He then slices the cucumber into a deli container, using a man- doline slicer.
In some videos, Moffitt references
the "demure" TikTok trend and reminds viewers to "be mindful" of their mandolines.
Moffitt, who is in his 20s, then inserts vari- ous ingredients into the deli container before closing it and shaking it. The videos end with him taking a bite of his
salad.
Moffitt told Fox News Digital he'd been mak- ing cucumber salads for a while, but "just recently started posting them" in an attempt to experiment with differ- ent types of content.
They're seasonal, too, as summer is "the per- fect time to have some cucumber salad," he noted.
While many of his cucumber salad varia- tions are inspired by Asian foods, Moffitt said he's been inspired to transform other foods into salads, too.
"I usually think of ideas for the salads from pre- existing food: jalapeño popper cucumbers, chipotle cucumbers, sushi cucumbers," he said.
His favorite, he added, is the "salmon cream cheese" cucumber.
One variation of that recipe has received more than 32 million views on TikTok in the month since it was posted.
Rather than use specif- ic recipes and ingredi- ent amounts, Moffitt relies on his cooking experience to craft his salads.
"I think through a lot of practice and time spent in the kitchen you grow to learn what quantities are important for your
own taste," he said.
For Moffitt, "focusing on your taste, rather than an exact recipe, makes cooking super fun."
Said one TikTok user in response to Moffitt's "salmon bagel cucum- ber" recipe, "You've somehow romanticized cucumbers and I love that for you."
"I don't even like cucumbers but still find myself watching the whole video every time," said another TikTok user.
The popular recipes are partly to blame for a shortage of cucumbers in Iceland, the BBC reported in late August.
The Horticulturists' Sales Company (SFG), Iceland's farmers' asso- ciation, told the BBC that there were short- ages of the
vegetable and that farmers "have been unable to keep up with spiraling demand" for cucumbers.
One Icelandic super- market chain told the BBC that cucumber sales had doubled since the salad recipes became popu- lar.
The sales of other ingredients used in Moffitt's recipes, includ- ing sesame oil and chili oil, have also increased, the BBC reported.
The cucumber short- ages in Iceland should resolve themselves before too long, the BBC also noted.
Kristín Linda Sveinsdóttir, who works in marketing for the SFG, told the BBC that the viral cucumber salad trend came at the same time that many farmers are not produc- ing large amounts of cucumbers.
"Everything is happen- ing at the same time," Sveinsdóttir told the BBC. "This is the first time we have experi- enced something like this."
There likely would not have been a shortage had the cucumber salad TikTok
recipes gained popular- ity earlier in the sum- mer, Sveinsdóttir told the BBC.
Moffitt himself posted about the shortages in an Aug. 26 TikTok video.
"A lot of you guys have been asking me how many cucumbers I buy in a week, so let's count them out," he said in a video cap- tioned, "Cucumber haul!"
In the video, Moffitt revealed that he had purchased 17 cucum- bers that week.
"Seventeen cucum- bers," he said, holding the vegetables.
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