The US has tons of excess food. Upcycling turns would-be trash into ice cream

Tyler Malek is the head ice cream maker at a restaurant named Salt & Straw Ice Cream in Portland, Oregon. In this ice cream shop, one chef's trash is another chef's cold treat. The shop uses different leftover ingredients to create different flavors. For example, leftover whey turns into lemon curd ice cream. And for the chocolate barley milk flavor, Malek uses leftover rice and grains to give it a mild, creamy flavor. Malek hopes that people will stop calling leftover ingredients "food waste" and call them "wasted food" instead.

Salt & Straw Ice Cream is one of the pioneers of the upcycling concept, which involves turning food waste into high-quality items. Chips and cake mixes made from upcycled food are becoming popular in stores. The ingredients include completely edible fruits and vegetables from farms. But they are often rejected by restaurants and supermarkets because of their appearance.

Chocolate Barley

The Upcycled Food Association awards an official "Upcycling Certified" seal to qualified products. These seals inform customers that the company producing the meal used upcycled ingredients. In 2021, the association verified about 30 products. Currently, 450 products are carrying the seal.

Chocolate Barley Milk

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

excess　/ɪk'ses/　n)過剰･超過

upcycle　/’ʌpsaɪkl/　v)元のものよりも価値を高めてリサイクルする

straw　/strɔː/　n)わら、ストロー

treat　/triːt/　v)扱う･対処する　n)喜び･楽しみ･、おごり、ご馳走

ingredient   /ɪn'griːdiənt/　n)料理の材料

flavor　/'fleɪvə(r)/　/'fleɪvər/　n)味･風味

whey   /weɪ/　n)ホエイ･チーズ製造時に分離される水溶液

curd　/kɜːd/　/kɜːrd/　n)カード･牛乳が凝固したもの

カードは凝固したという意味。果汁･バター･卵と砂糖を混ぜてクリーム状にした、フルーツバターのようなもの

Lemon Curd

barley　/'bɑːli/　/'bɑːrli/　n)大麦

grain　/greɪn/　n)穀物(小麦･ﾄｳﾓﾛｺｼ･コメ等)

creamy　/'kriːmi/　adj)クリーム状の･なめらかな

concept　/'kɒnsept/　/'kɑːnsept/　n)コンセプト･考え･概念

involve   /ɪn'vɒlv/　/ɪn'vɑːlv/　v)深く関りを持つ

item　/'aɪtəm/　n)商品の品目、出し物

edible   /'edəbl/　adj)まだ食べられる･食べることができる

award　/ə'wɔːd/　/ə'wɔːrd/　v)賞を授与する　n)賞

certify　/'sɜːtɪfaɪ/　/'sɜːrtɪfaɪ/　v)証明･保証･認定する、免許を与える

Vaccination certificate.  Certificate証明書

Certification 認証

Certified adj)公認の

a seal　/siːl/　n)保証の印、印章

qualify   /'kwɒlɪfaɪ/　/'kwɑːlɪfaɪ/　v)資格を与える

association   n)共同･連携、会･組合･協会、関連･つながり

verify　/'verɪfaɪ/　v)妥当性を確認する)認証･証明する

food waste  生ごみ

poisonous   /'pɔɪzənəs/

[Upcycled Food]

・Salt & Straw Ice Cream uses different leftover ingredients for its ice cream products. Would you like to try them?

受け入れる･納得できる；acceptable

怖いもの見たさ；see scary things, rubbernecking

rubbernecking；首を伸ばしてむやみに見る人･物見高い人

rubberneck   /'rʌbənek/　/'rʌbərnek/　v)振り返って見る

I guess the reason I like horror movies is to see scary things.

I went to a town at night that was rubbernecked by rumors of something scary.

野次馬渋滞；rubbernecking delay

rubbernecking car accidents

社会問題；social issue/problem

食品を捨てる事；food waste, reduce food waste, zero food waste

Food waste is a social issue around the world.

理にかなっている；make sense

材料/食べ物をアップサイクルすること；upcycle ingredient/food

Upcycling ingredients/food really make sense.

・Do you think restaurant owners in your country would be willing to serve upcycled food?

関心をあつめる；gather attention

Upcycling foods gather attention from restaurant owners.

人口増加；　The population is increasing worldwide.

食料不足；   a food shortage

～の時代；　The era/age of the food shortage is coming.

climate change

食料不足の時代がやってくる

・Do you think people in your country would like to eat at a restaurant that serves upcycled food?

保守的、言い換えるなら時代遅れ；

Japanese are conservative.

In other ward, old-fashioned/outdated. 

好まない・望まない；unwilling

We Japanese people are unwilling to change their thoughts.

[Leftover and Wasted Food]

・What do you usually do with your leftover food?

It's my task to eat.

・In your country, is it okay to leave food on your plate after eating?

・In your opinion, is there a lot of wasted food in your home? What about in your community?

They(serving upcycled-food) give the image of the restaurant as good or not.