According to Forbes, Tyler Malek has tasted and crafted over 230 ice cream flavors. Malek is the ice cream epicure and co-founder of Salt & Straw, an ice cream brand based out of Portland, Oregon. With his cousin Kim Malek, Salt & Straw's founder and CEO, Tyler helped turn a humble, local ice cream shop into an ice cream Goliath. Despite its locations being on the west coast, with a couple Miami stores coming soon, Salt & Straw has become a go-to destination for its out-there ice cream flavors (think Goat Cheese Marionberry Habanero and Bone Marrow & Smoked Cherries).
Salt & Straw has made appearances on "The World According to Jeff Goldblum" and "The Kelly Clarkson Show," and the brand launched a cookbook last year to help people bring Salt & Straw flavors into their home. Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, which founded Shake Shake, is an investor, and it's resulted in some impressive food collaborations. Malek gave us a scoop on his kitchen essentials, and, of course, they all relate to ice cream.
Zerroll Ice Cream Scoop
"This scoop is my most-often used tool. I’ve experimented with them all (most not successfully) and keep coming back to the plain-old, two-ounce standard scoop made by Zerroll. It’s solid and has a scoop curvature that cuts through the ice cream nicely. They just make for a good-looking scoop."
White Mountain Hand-Crank Ice Cream Machine
"What ice cream maker I use, and recommend, really depends on the ice cream occasion. There are three different types of ice cream makers and each has its own perks. Hand-crank makers are best for the fun and novelty of making ice cream at home. White Mountain is my favorite in this category and one of the few crank makers remaining."
Cuisinart Ice-21
"A frozen bowl machine is super entry-level and easy to use for those just starting to get into ice cream making. It’s cheap, easy and makes great ice cream. The only downside is the 24 hours of advance freezing required and being limited to making only one flavor!"
Breville Smart Scoop
For those pretty serious about at-home ice cream making, I recommend an internal compressor machine. Our go-to in this category is the Breville Smart Scoop. We use this kind in our R&D kitchens and churn many flavors all day long."
Waring Qwik Stik
"For some reason, every recipe we create typically needs a stick blender. It’s so helpful. It can mash berries; it can emulsify olive oil; it’s the best at combining ingredients in an ice cream mix. This is one of the best multi-tools in my home kitchen, too. It can quickly emulsify a tricky vinaigrette and more.
Made In Saucepan
"Good candy and caramels are critical in our Salt & Straw kitchen. Ensuring we get replicable recipes through even heat can be the difference of a caramel sauce coming out luscious and velvety versus tacky and tooth-breaking. A good saucepan will go a long way in every facet of the kitchen, from candy making to a quick hollandaise for those weekend brunches. I love the pans from Made In Cookware as they work on both our induction and fire burners, and they last forever."
