USA Battles Food Waste: Upcycling Transforms Leftovers into Gourmet Ice Cream and Pizza

Transforming discarded ingredients into delicious ice cream is all in a day’s work at Tyler Malek’s ice cream shops.

The chief ice cream maker at the Portland, Oregon-based Salt & Straw uses the whey leftover from yogurt makers in upstate New York to conjure up his unique lemon curd flavor. And for a light and creamy chocolate barley milk, he incorporates leftover rice and grains from beer brewing.

“We shouldn’t call this food waste, but rather wasted food and aim to cut down on how much we waste,” Malek commented.

Malek’s ice cream chain is one of the trailblazers in the upcycling movement, turning leftover food into premium products. His stores, from the Pacific Northwest to Miami, now offer flavors like “Cacao Pulp & Chocolate Stracciatella Gelato,” concocted from cacao pulp left over from chocolate manufacturing that would otherwise have been discarded.

This trend is catching on as consumers are becoming more aware of their food’s origins and its environmental impact. A staggering 35 million tons (31 million metric tons) of food, approximately 40% of the country’s food production, is wasted annually in the U.S., costing the economy over $200 billion, as reported by the Upcycled Food Association.

Upcycled food is gradually appearing in products like cake mixes and vegetable chips in natural grocery stores. Ingredients consist of perfectly consumable fruits and vegetables from farms across the country, which are often rejected by restaurants and grocery stores due to their appearance, such as oddly-shaped white strawberries, wilted greens, and misshapen mushrooms.

In celebration of World Upcycling Day this Saturday, the Upcycled Food Association offers an “Upcycling Certified” seal to eligible products. These seals, which are featured on Salt & Straw’s upcycled flavors, increase consumer awareness of the company’s use of such ingredients.

Starting with about 30 products certified in 2021, the association now boasts 450 products carrying the label.

“Much of the food discarded or uneaten in our supply chain is due to outdated aesthetic standards or perceptions of what quality food should look like,” stated Angie Crone, the association’s CEO. “This mark signifies a company’s commitment to reducing food waste in their supply chain, making it visible to shoppers everywhere.”

The association’s seal is also displayed on all products made by Renewal Mill, a company based in Oakland that repurposes plant-based milk byproducts into staples like baking flour, aiming to reduce manufacturing waste.

“The pulp left over from making soy milk is turned into a high fiber gluten-free flour called okara flour,” explained co-founder Caroline Cotto. “We then use this flour to create baking mixes and ready-to-eat cookies.”

The company’s okara flour is a key ingredient in Salt & Straw’s new “Salted Caramel & Okara Cupcakes” flavor.

But the upcycling movement isn’t limited to trendy ice cream parlors, farmers’ markets, or natural groceries. A restaurant in San Francisco that serves pizza and wine focuses on upcycled ingredients such as oddly-shaped mushrooms, peppers, and discolored tomatoes, and also utilizes meat offcuts in its star dish – beef heart meatballs.

“A lot of people associate upcycling with dumpster diving or using rotten ingredients. However, our overly productive food system leads to significant waste,” commented Kayla Abe, co-owner of Shuggie’s Trash Pie. “Some customers might order a meatball without realizing it’s made of beef heart. They’re often pleasantly surprised when they declare it the best meatball they’ve ever tasted.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Upcycling Food Waste

More about Upcycling Food Waste

• Upcycled Food Association
• Salt & Straw
• Renewal Mill
• Shuggie’s Trash Pie