Supermarkets in Iceland are facing an unusual produce shortage after a viral TikTok trend triggered a surge in demand for cucumbers, according to the BBC.
The recent boost in interest in cucumbers stems from TikTok influencers who have sparked a trend of making simple cucumber salads.
The main recipe? Grated cucumbers, soy sauce, fish sauce, a spoonful of sugar, sesame oil, grated garlic, green onions and toasted sesame seeds (recipes vary).
The TikTok trend started with TikToker Logan Moffitt, known online as “the cucumber guy,” whose catchphrase is: “Sometimes, you need to eat an entire cucumber,” a phrase he begins most of his videos with.
Moffitt, who has 5.7 million followers on the platform, posts a clip making a variation of a cucumber salad at least once every week — sometimes multiple times a day. He has been posting cucumber salad recipes since July. His popularity has since skyrocketed. There are more than 289 million TikTok clips related to “Guy Eating Cucumbers.”
Cucumber mania has been so widespread in Iceland that farmers have been struggling to keep up with the meteoric rise in demand, said Iceland’s farmers association, the Horticulturists’ Sales Company, as reported by the BBC.
The Horticulturists’ Sales Company’s marketing director, Kristín Linda Sveinsdóttir, said she hopes cucumber supply will return to normal “in a week or so.”
Hagkaup, a grocery store chain in Iceland, said that it is typical for cucumber sales to increase during this time of year as students return to school, but noted that the cucumber salad trend coincided with a doubling in cucumber sales, per the BBC.
“Everything is happening at the same time,” Sveinsdóttir told the BBC. “This is the first time we have experienced something like this.”
Who is ‘Cucumber Guy’ on TikTok?
Logan Moffitt, a TikToker recognized on the internet as “Cucumber Guy,” is known for his cucumber salad recipes.
Moffitt has shared dozens of cucumber salad recipes on his page. The recipes range from simple to slightly absurd — such as mixing cucumbers with salmon cream cheese, ranch, onion, capers and more.
“I think cucumbers are a really perfect baseline for a lot of different flavors,” Moffitt told CNN. “They’re also really accessible — they’re very cheap, especially this time of year, and so a lot of people can participate in the trend.”
Here are a couple of Moffitt’s most popular cucumber clips:
Before his cucumber obsession, Moffitt regularly posted clips for other recipes, most of which were inspired by Asian cuisine. He got a following sharing recipes for cold noodles, kimchi and tofu dishes.
He’s experienced increased success with his cucumber salad recipes, which he believes is because of how accessible the vegetable is.
“People who are maybe beginner cooks and people who are advanced can all draw inspiration,” Moffitt told CNN. “Because a lot of my recipes, I don’t measure, honestly … I present it in a way that makes it stress-free and simple.”
What is the viral cucumber salad recipe?
There are several variations on the viral cucumber salad recipe; most are based on Moffitt’s original cucumber salad, which contains:
- One sliced cucumber
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- A splash of fish sauce
- Spoonful of sugar
- A dash of MSG
- Lots of sesame oil
- One grated garlic clove
- Two chopped green onions
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
Here is a clip of “The Cucumber Guy” making the viral cucumber salad:
Moffitt rarely gives specific measurements for his recipes, so if you want a more structured recipe, here are a few highly-rated options you could try: