Shake it Up!

When one considers the history of the milkshake, it is a wonder that it has survived to be as popular as it is today. Milkshakes were originally made for invalids and children. According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia the history is as follows:

The first reference to the term 'Milkshake' appeared in print in 1885 and contained some whisky. The malted milkshake includes a malted milk powder (contains dried milk, malted barley and wheat flower) which was invented in 1887 by William Horlick. The drink was designed for invalids and children. Original versions of the drinks were more of an eggnog version than what we are used to today.

The milkshake made it into the mainstream when in 1922 a Walgreens employee in Chicago, Ivar "Pop" Coulson, took an old-fashioned malted milk (milk, chocolate, and malt) and added two scoops of ice cream, creating a drink which became popular at a surprising rate, soon becoming a high-demand drink for young adults around the country.

Nowadays we are lucky that we don’t have to be an invalid or a child to enjoy a good milkshake. Just like the smoothie there are a countless number of flavors when it comes to milkshakes. I have to admit that my favorite is just a plain old Snickers milkshake. For fun of your own, try our Milk Shake Maker. And, if you would like to take a walk on the wild side here are a couple of exotic and interesting milkshake recipes.

Avocado and Pineapple Milkshake

1 large very ripe avocado
1 pint skim milk
6 oz pineapple cubes
½ cup ice cubes
pinch of salt

Scoop the avocado out of the skin. Discard the stone and put the flesh into a blender and blend till smooth. Add the milk, ice cubes, pineapple chunks and salt, and process until thoroughly blended and the mixture is nice and frothy. Pour into glasses and serve with a stick of celery.

Chocolate and Grenadine Milkshake

2 scoops chocolate ice cream
3 Tbl. Grenadine syrup
½ cup milk
1 pinch of fresh mint

Put chocolate ice cream into a blender. Add milk and grenadine syrup. Blend quickly and pour into a cold milkshake glass. Garnish with mint and serve.

Creamy Apple Milkshake

16 oz lowfat vanilla yogurt
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 cup apple juice frozen concentrate thawed, undiluted
3 cup milk

Thoroughly combine yogurt, sugar, honey and apple juice concentrate. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until thoroughly chilled. Then add milk to chilled yogurt mixture and serve cold.

Makes 6 servings.

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