Milk Shakes
One of my salesgirls here in my Ice Cream Store has worked here for 25 years and has the local reputation of making the best milk shakes in town. I read your post, and walked out of my office and asked her "how do you make your milkshakes?"
She rolled her eyes and said (in Spanish, of course), "Oh, you know, two decent scoops of Ice Cream, 3/4 of a cup of milk, and just a small shot of grenadine." Depending on the size of YOUR milkshake cup, you'd increase or decrease the amount of milk and Ice Cream. Antonia is giving measurements based on the size of our Milkshake cups. The quality of the Ice Cream is important: with really good 100% dairy Ice Cream, you don't need to add malt to make the milkshake thicker, but you can play around with the amount of milk you add.
I've been running this store for 22 of the near-25 years I've lived here. I have never had a complaint about our Milkshakes except to be told that they are addictive. Any decent blender should work. We never use ice. Again; the quality of the Ice Cream you use is important. Cheap ice cream made with vegetable fat is cheap ice cream made with vegetable fat. Jeff Cooper said: "You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" but he was going to say "You can't make a good milkshake using cheap ice cream" but changed his mind at the last minute because he thought the concept might be open to too much debate from the uninitiated.
Photo: Toña, the girl farthest back in the shot, stands hear the green Milkshake blender about midway down our counter. This shot is a couple of years old but the Store has hardly changed at all.
By the way, our Coke Floats are made using "The Real Thing", Coca-Cola in the 7.5 ounce green-glass bottles still bottled here in Mexico using the original 1955 Sugarcane Coca-Cola formula, not the "New Coke" that was pushed on the North after 1985.
Anyway, remember: Ice Cream quality is very important to your final product. If you are going to use a cheaper Ice Cream, probably add some malt to the mix. If you are using a very good Ice Cream, you're fine but a small shot of grenadine perks up some flavors. Lose the ice. You use ice in Smoothies, not milkshakes.