If you’re on TikTok, you’ve likely noticed a recent cucumber obsession.
As New York City comedian Meg Ruocco joked: “Somehow my For You Page has become 10% Chappell Roan, 10% that pommel horse guy, and like 80% that guy who eats a cucumber every single day.“
That “cucumber guy” would be Logan Moffitt, a 23-year old content creator from Ottawa, Canada, who has taken over social media with his dozens of cucumber recipes on TikTok this summer. Moffitt estimates he eats two to three cucumbers a day, but “somehow I’m still not tired of cucumbers,” he told HuffPost. “So more cucumber videos coming.”
“Any time I get an idea, I just type it in my little notes app,” he said. Moffitt said he is constantly thinking about how regular food menu items can be turned into cucumber salads. “I just saw someone making jalapeño poppers on my TikTok. And I was like, ‘That would be so good in a cucumber salad.’” And indeed it was.
So far, Moffitt has made popular cucumber salads that are based on California sushi rolls, taste like tzatziki, contain peanut butter and chili crunch or are inspired by Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese, Michelin-awarded dim sum chain.
Before he was known for his cucumber TikToks, Moffitt was also known for documenting his love of cooking and eating Korean food, for which fans have praised him as an “honorary Korean” and “the epitome of cultural appreciation.”
Unlike other white food creators who have faced backlash for appropriating Asian recipes without acknowledging their origins, Moffitt gives credit where it’s due.
He said he is inspired by the recipes of South Korean-born chef Maangchi, whom he calls his cooking teacher. “I grew up on watching her. Definitely, for sure, she’s a big inspiration,” Moffitt said.
Why Everyone Is Obsessed With Cucumbers Prepared In A Deli Container
But despite his endless variations on what a salad can be, Moffitt’s star ingredient remains an English, or hothouse, cucumber. It is a vegetable that most people can readily find in their grocery store, which Moffitt believes is partly why his videos have been so popular.
“Cucumbers are really accessible, cheap and healthy,” he said. “I’m just glad that it’s a food trend that a lot of people can participate in.”
Refreshing cucumber salads have long been a hot-weather staple, but what also makes Moffitt’s cucumber recipes fun to watch is his method of stuffing all the salad ingredients to the brim of a quart deli container and shaking them together without any apparent leaks.
As one shocked comment to his video says: “I swear your container is a pocket dimension because HOW do you fill it so much and still have the ability to shake it into being mixed?!”
Moffitt said people can use a bowl to mix the salad, but he prefers a deli takeout container since “those deli containers don’t leak. Like, they are very tight, especially when they’re new, the seal’s really good,” he said.
Moffitt knows that his cucumber moment might not last into the cold-weather season. “I’ve been on TikTok for almost four years now, so I’ve seen a lot of food trends come and go, and they don’t usually last forever. So I’m just trying to appreciate it while it’s still around,” he said.
But for now, Moffitt is embracing being known as the cucumber guy. “Being called cucumber guy, or cucumber boy, or whatever it is, I think it’s a pretty cute nickname, so I don’t mind,” he said. His TikTok bio now reads: “Join the cucumber community.”
The Cucumber Guy’s Favourite Cucumber Recipe
Moffitt said he does not use formal measurements with his cucumber recipes. “I just measure with the heart,” he said.
Below is a roadmap of his favourite cucumber recipe, which contains smoked salmon with everything bagel seasoning and has over 28 million views, that you can use as a jump-off point to make your own.
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1 tablespoon of whipped cream cheese
- 1 serving of smoked salmon
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced (only use a bit of it, to taste)
- 1 half of an avocado
- Some capers
- Some MSG seasoning
- Some everything bagel seasoning
Steps
1. Slice a whole cucumber with a mandolin over the container. Slice up smoked salmon into chunks with a knife, then add to the container. Slice up “some” red onion with the mandolin, then add that with the avocado, according to Moffitt’s video.
2. Add a sprinkle of capers on top, then add a sprinkle of salt, pepper and “obviously, some MSG,” as Moffitt puts it, and everything bagel seasoning to taste.
3. Firmly close the lid of your deli container and shake the container vigorously. The ingredients should be combined by a maximum of “two minutes to shake,” Moffitt said.
4. Enjoy. Try eating with chopsticks, as Moffitt does in his videos.
Tips: If you don’t have a large deli container, use a bowl, Moffitt suggests. And if you can, use whipped cream cheese because “that definitely aids the process of shaking.”