Salt & Straw Ice Cream, Portland

Salt & Straw is a small-batch ice cream shop known for combining familiar desserts with unusual ingredients. Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek founded the business in 2011, first selling ice cream from a cart. Kim funded the venture by cashing out her retirement savings, while Tyler taught himself ice-cream making with second-hand equipment. The name refers to an early method in which ice cream was frozen with rock salt and packed in straw for insulation.

The menu combines regular favourites with rotating seasonal flavours created with farmers, bakers, chefs and local producers. Past experiments have included turkey stuffing, cranberry sauce, chocolate-covered crickets and mealworms. Its annual Upcycled Food Series uses ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, such as cheese whey and date seeds, turning food waste into new desserts.

Visitors can sample flavours before choosing a cup, cone or hand-packed pint. Dairy-free options are usually available, along with edible culinary perfumes designed to be sprayed directly onto a scoop to change its aroma. The company has also attracted well-known supporters, including investor Dwayne Johnson, and received national attention when then–Vice President Joe Biden visited one of its early shops in 2014.