I drink protein shakes nearly every day and can make a pretty delicious shake. I make many different flavors and love the taste but have never been quite able to achieve the smoothness you get with a really good milk shake from a quality ice cream parlor. Mine always seems to have little chunks of ice and I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Do I need to buy an expensive, sophisticated blender or different ice cubes or what? Same thing with Margaritas most of it is smooth but still the little chunks of ice.

not trying to be smart, but I've never put ice in a milk shake............... just milk and ice cream (never any little chunks of ice )

I guess I should have said protein milkshakes. I don't want to put ice cream in, or if I do only one scoop of frozen yogurt, it kinda defeats the purpose of eating healthy. Usually I use skim milk, half a banana, strawberries/blue berries/pineapples/etc and maybe some coconut and some ice cubes plus 40 grams of Walmart powdered protein. I have one or two a day and in the hot summer time especially, they taste better to me than a greasy burger or some fast food.

Try cutting the banana into small pieces about 1 inch thick and freeze them first, then add to you blender mix and blend til smooth.no ice cubes.

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NRA Life 1969
OGCA

+1 on freezing the fruit. I keep a selection in the freezer and add to orange juice plus some non-fat yogurt. No ice. No milk.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

You need a shave ice machine, like a snow cone machine, blend the rest of the ingredients, then add shaved ice.

As soon as you say "no ice cream", you are talking about smoothies, where I come from. Yogurt, ice, fruit, all smoothie ingredients.

A milk shake starts with milk and ice cream. We always used to add Quik or chocolate syrup. If treating a hangover, we'd break a couple of eggs in there before hitting the blender.

Vietnamese places make great smoothies, mango, jackfruit or cantaloupe, with tapioca pearls or fruit jellies that you suck up through an oversized straw.

Just talking about it makes me want an Orange Julius about now.

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You need the Hamilton Beach milkshake machine with the Stainless cup. Accept no substitutes.
No stinkin' ice in a milk shake. No stinkin' skim milk either.

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

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.

Original receipt from the 1950's era ,Drugstore soda fountain.

Can use a blender If no old time Frappe machine is available.

Three cups whole milk
Two -three scoops French vanilla ice cream
Hershey chocolate syrup
One Raw egg ( optional )
Mocha syrup,tablespoon, ( optional )
Doesn't get any better than this.

My father knew a Hamilton Frappe machine salesman back in the 50's.This was the recepiet that came with the machine.This receipt was used over all the country at Diners,carhops,and drugstores back in the good ole days.

Walmart sells a number of machines oriented to making smoothies. I suppose Macys likely has even better ones.I have been thinking about getting one to work on this idea I have for drinkable bacon. Sonic actually did have bacon milkshakes for a while.

In Wyoming it is illegal for a man to be caught drinking smoothies without a doctor's note.

I have one of those. Relatives ran a Dog and Suds (root beer) place years ago and I snagged the HB milkshake machine (in Jadeite Green and chrome) when it closed. My wife worked there as a kid and says that you need Malted Milk to make a true milk shake. Add whole milk and ice cream along with Cacao powder (you can get it on Amazon.com).

Great,.... now you got me wanting one.....

Dang - that sounds really good! Gotta try this one out - thx Farmer17

Pete

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Don't tread on me

The ice is the problem. freeze a cup of yogurt for thickness. I've only done this a couple of times. I used vanilla and chocolate silk milk for a chocolate-like shake. I used just plain old silk milk and strawberry yogurt, along with frozen strawberries for a strawberry-like shake. I imagine a vanilla would be easy, just use more yogurt. All milkshakes were of good consistency, as good as one could get for not being a normal milkshake at least..

I can understand the ice in the margaritas, and sorry, I do not have a solution for that. For those though, I don't think a little bit of crunch is a bad thing.

Any place that really knows what they are doing knows the difference between a malt and a shake. Ask for a malt and they will add the malt powder. Shake - no powder.

That stainless cup always gives you a dividend, which can vary from a few ounces to a whole second glass. An operator who gives the biggest dividends will get the best tips.

I had a shake from White Castle the other day, just adequate to damp down some Jalapeno Cheeseburgers, but really no comparison to one from the lunch counter made with real ice cream instead of soft-serve.

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Not in jail.

I made one yesterday from stuff we had on hand.

2 envelopes of Carnation Instant Breakfast, chocolate
7 ounces of whole milk
3 ounces of whipping cream
5 ice cubes

Put it all in one of those"Power Egg" blenders. Let it run until the ice cubes quit making a clanking noise. Wasn't awful. The cream really helps give it a real milkshake flavor. Calories had to be thru the roof, but my wife is worried I'm loosing weight.

Next time I'm gonna dissolve the Carnation Instant Breakfast mix in hot milk, first. Then let it cool. See if I can get some of the added mineral supplements to go into solution. Make it a little smoother.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~